Mastering Community is a comprehensive breakdown of everything an organization should think about to foster cohesion. Concepts such as radical candor, kissing up/kicking down, and ruinous empathy are discussed to help frame what helps a community gel.

A Minute to Think walks us through how adding blocks of open, unscheduled time, or “white spaces,” can change the nature of how we work. If you want a more sane flow of daily work or are looking to achieve a new level of effectiveness, this book is a must-read.

Partnering unpacks the many ways that human connections can be improved. Using examples from climate change, religion, politics, and her own personal life, Jean Oelwang gives the reader reasons to reflect on the past and plan for stronger partnerships in the future. Ideas such as enduring trust, nurturing generosity, and positive amnesia are all part of the blueprint to better relationships. Schools are at their heart an intricate web of partnerships and this is a great read for anyone looking to make those partnerships, and therefore schools, a better place.

In the dramatically titled Learn or Die, Edward Hess uses research and models to nudge our thinking on two topics: how we learn and how we can build organizations where learning is at the center of all we do. If you like analyzing topics such as self-efficacy, System 1 and System 2 thinking, and positive psychology’s impact on learning then Learn or Die will scratch those intellectual itches and more.

Are you interested in a philosophical linking of adversity to success? The Obstacle is the Way is a collection of historical examples where people found guidance, motivation, or meaning in various nadirs of life. It may be true that thinking more deeply about the struggles at your school or in your career will shine light on the best path ahead.

Do you ever feel like while training to teach you learned concepts that sounded great, but when put into practice in the classroom did not seem to be effective? In her book, Seven Myths About Education, Daisy Chrisodoulou dispels seven myths she was repeatedly taught when she was training to be a teacher. After much research, Christodoulou wrote this book to demonstrate what modern science tells us we need to change about the education system.

The quality of training for education leaders varies widely. If you are in a leadership role and have a counseling background, psychology degree, or SEL training then Mindwise, by Nicholas Epley will reinforce, update, or supplement what you already know. If not… then you might want to become familiar with lens perspective, correspondence bias, and the curse of knowledge, among other impactful ideas. Moving education towards implementing what research tells us is effective will depend on our engaging in books like this.

James Altucher gives us page after page of reframing how we operate in Skip the Line. Think you need 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” to master something? What about a steady string of experiments to see what's possible? Think you need to network in person with business cards? What about sending four targeted texts every single day. No need to wait your turn, this book will show you how to create opportunity and then invite others to join you!

Have you ever wanted to start your own school? In Courage to Grow, Laura Sandefer takes the reader from the inception of the Acton Academy School model to scaling it internationally. The Sandefer family decided one day to open a new school model because they were unsatisfied with their children’s traditional schooling.

In a technological landscape dominated by hand-held devices and social media, some educators and experts are concerned that young people are losing the skills to engage in face-to-face conversation with others. In education, effective conversations are needed when talking to colleagues, students, and parents. Administrators and teachers will benefit from the insights in Making Conversation, since it clearly lays out how to design conversations that move us from speech to action.

Think capturing market share, hiring employees, and growing rapidly are the signs of a successful business? In Company of One, Paul Jarvis is here to turn these preconceived notions on their head. Jarvis will convince you that new tech platforms and changes in access to labor have opened the door for companies of one to reach many people and make plenty of money while keeping control of the company in one person’s hands.

Think a positive culture is luck or charisma driven? Daniel Coyle is here to convince you that it is actually a series of intentional steps that anyone can do. The Culture Code lays out how comedy troupes, Navy SEALS, San Antonio Spurs and jewelry thieves all inadvertently use the same tactics and process to build culture.

Think Masters of Scale has nothing to do with school? If you are thinking about how school used to be, you may be right. If you are thinking about how we might educate all children more uniformly, then you may be quite wrong. What is working well at your school or in education that might be able to scale so that it benefits all?

Nudge is a great book for teachers and administrators to read as we want to guide children towards learning a bit easier. If we see ourselves as “choice architects” more and purveyors of knowledge less, our students will certainly be better off. This is a great read for any educator looking to set up relevant choices for their students and/or teachers.

Wondering what the value of hiring young teachers and administrators might be? Looking to give a shot to someone switching careers? In Rookie Smarts, Liz Wisman will take you through all of the variables of giving those with a fresh perspective the chance to do new work. This book will change the way you hire, promote, and evaluate… three critical components to all leadership positions.

Prepared could have just as accurately been titled, How Summit Public Schools Were Started. Diane Tavenner relays her journey to create a school (and then school system) where real-world problems, self-direction, reflection, and collaboration are the foundation of the learning experience.

After covering the chemicals in our bodies that drive us, Simon Sinek spends the last three-fourths of Leaders Eat Last explaining what great leadership looks like. Using examples from the Marines, Costco, GE and many others, he convinces the reader that giving of yourself is the most important trait a leader can have. Avoiding “destructive abundance” and focusing on treating others well is a core message in this book, and a valuable reminder to us all.

Have you seen progress at your school delayed because of conflict? Are there tension points that never seem to go away? Stone, Patton, and Sheen use Difficult Conversations as a guide to confronting and resolving all of that.

At first blush, Algorithms to Live By might seem too narrow to support our work in education. In reality though, there are concepts and dilemmas throughout that can reframe our work. If you see yourself as an analytical or model thinker, there will be sections here that will push your thinking and improve your school for sure.

In Work Rules!, Lazlo Bock systematically relays how Google’s approach to people and work pushes the boundaries of traditional human resource protocols. You will learn why instincts actually impede the hiring process, why focusing on the two tails of a distribution is most valuable, why salary scales are in fact problematic, and why nudges are better than just providing information or making decisions for others.