Books on Leadership
Connect · Engage · Build · Explore
A curated selection of books by Columbia alumni and faculty offering ideas and insights for leading, thinking, growing, and connecting.
- No One Understands You and What to Do About It
Heidi Grant Halvorson ’97GSAS, ’01GSAS, ’01GSAS
Explores the gap between how we think we come across and how others actually perceive us—and how to bridge it.
- Go To Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask For, and Accept Help
Deborah Grayson Riegel ’98SW
Practical strategies for getting better at something essential to strong relationships and leadership: giving, receiving, and asking for help.
- Next to Normal
Tom Kitt* ’96C and Brian Yorkey ’93CC
The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical explores family, love, loss, and the ways people connect and persevere through profound personal challenges.
- Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together
Michael Morris* · Columbia Business School Faculty
Explores how our deeply rooted group instincts shape culture and behavior—and how leaders can harness them to build trust, strengthen communities, and bring people together.
- Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025
Jelani Cobb* · Dean, Columbia Journalism School
A collection of essays examining the political, social, and cultural forces that have shaped American life over more than a decade.
- Safe Havens for Hate: The Challenge of Moderating Online Extremism
Tamar Mitts* ’13GSAS, ’15GSAS, ’17GSAS
An examination of how extremist communities operate online and the challenges technology platforms face in countering harmful content while preserving open expression.
- Feature and Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists 1st Edition
Duy Linh Tu ’99JRN† · Columbia Journalism School Faculty
A practical guide to using narrative, reporting, and multimedia tools to tell compelling stories and connect more effectively with audiences.
- Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others
Adam Galinsky · Columbia Business School Faculty
An engaging look at the qualities that make leaders inspiring—and how those skills can be learned and developed.
- Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent
Sydney Finkelstein ’86BUS, ’88BUS
Explores how exceptional leaders recognize, develop, and inspire talent—and create the next generation of leaders.
- Inner Mastery, Outer Impact: How Your Five Core Energies Hold the Key to Success
Hitendra Wadhwa PhD · Columbia Business School Faculty
Explores five core inner energies—Purpose, Wisdom, Growth, Love, and Self-Realization—as foundations for authentic leadership and meaningful impact.
- Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow
Joshua Spodek ’93CC, ’96GSAS, ’99GSAS, ’06BUS
A hands-on approach to developing leadership skills through practical exercises, reflection, and experience.
- Soulfluent Leadership Business Guide: Amplify Your Message, Visibility and Profits by Leveraging Your Archetype
Priscilla Stephan ’98SIPA
A guide to developing an authentic leadership presence and using individual strengths to strengthen communication, visibility, and impact.
- Growing for Justice: A Developmental Continuum of Leadership Capacities and Practices
Eleanor Drago-Severson · Teachers College Faculty; Jessica Blum-DeStefano ’13TC, ’14TC; Deborah Brooks Lawrence · Teachers College Faculty
A research-based approach to developing the capacities leaders need to support others, foster growth, and lead meaningful change.
- Think Bigger: How to Innovate
Sheena Iyengar · Columbia Business School Faculty
An evidence-based method for generating new ideas, approaching problems creatively, and turning innovation into a learnable skill.
- Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen
Rita McGrath ’81BC, ’82SIPA · Columbia Business School Faculty
A guide to recognizing important shifts early and making smarter decisions in times of change.
- Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement
William Duggan ’74CC, ’79GSAS, ’82GSAS, ’86GSAS
Explores how breakthrough ideas emerge and how past experience can lead to creative new solutions.
- You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World
Michele Wucker ’93SIPA
Examines how our individual “risk fingerprints” shape the way we perceive and respond to uncertainty—and how understanding them can improve decision-making.
- Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work
Melody Wilding ’11SW
Practical strategies for overcoming self-doubt, managing overthinking, and turning sensitivity and self-awareness into strengths.
- Type R: Transformative Resilience for Thriving in a Turbulent World
Ama Marston ’05SIPA
Reimagines resilience as the ability not simply to bounce back, but to use adversity and change as catalysts for growth.
- You Have a Choice: Beyond Hard Work to Meaningful Impact
Eric Nehrlich ’08SPS
An invitation to rethink traditional definitions of success and make more intentional choices about work, purpose, and life.
- Embody Joy: A Woman’s Journey of Reconnection with Her Body
Beatriz Fritschler* ’08SIPA
A personal journey of healing and self-discovery that explores reconnecting with the body and finding greater joy, freedom, and self-acceptance.
*Panelist, 2026 Columbia Alumni Leaders Experience
†Moderator, 2026 Columbia Alumni Leaders Experience