August 2, 2022

Summer Reading for Leaders: Part One

By Ken Giglio, Principal of Mindful Leadership Consulting

A number of years ago, an executive coaching client of mine who was preparing to go on vacation asked me if I could recommend a book on leadership. I told him that vacations and leadership books don’t mix well and recommended a detective novel instead. 

I added that reading a leadership book on the beach would result in alienation from his family and friends, who would think he couldn’t leave work behind. He insisted I give him a title, so I told Moby Dick might do. 

The joke didn’t land, and I found myself recommending a life-changing little book of 176 pages, one that I’ve gifted to leaders and friends over the years – Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard.

Leonard was an aikido master who wrote about human potential. Mastery is full of practical wisdom on how to realize our potential as leaders. For me, the book’s standout Master Key is Practice, not as a verb, but as “something you do, but who you are.” I often hear myself say to clients—leadership is practice. I can guarantee that no one will ridicule you for reading Mastery on vacation, and you just might learn something about leadership.