I’m slightly embarrassed to admit (especially if my husband is reading this) that my current count of texts on the human side of organisations is 527 (sorry darling, must have been the fairies).  I happily lend these books to coaching clients and look forward to the conversation that follows the reading.

My top ten, at the moment, are:

Managing as a Performing Art – New Ideas for a World of Chaotic Change by Peter B. Vaill.

If you wanted to get a good handle on the purple arts of organisational development and could only read one book, this would be the one.  Peter Vaill gets OD to his boot straps – both the science and art of it.  If you read nothing else, read his preface – I love it when an introvert takes a deep breath and shows themself and what they stand for.

The EQ Edge – Emotional Intelligence and Your Success by Steven J. Stein and Howard E. Book.

This is the companion to the Bar-on Emotional Intelligence tools and when it was first released, I think I heard many professionals chorus, “at last”! These guys managed to keep this text practical and accessible, especially important considering many leaders are still tentatively putting their toe in the water with regard to EQ. Having cut through the abstract debate, they offer a EQ roadmap for improving your success at work and life.

The Mindful Therapist – A Clincian’s Guide to Mindsight and Neural Integration by Daniel J. Siegel.

Better still, read anything he’s written; The Mindful Therapist is probably best suited to those in the coaching/counselling professions. This guy has an amazing brain and knows how to use it. My bet is that he’ll get a Nobel Prize in time, maybe the Peace prize since his insights are helping many to see inside and make peace with themselves … always a good starting point.

Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar.

One of my older rellies asked me why I couldn’t just be happy without reading about it. But I, like many, have successfully cluttered my life with other stuff so every now and then, I need to be reminded and this is the first book I would turn to. It’s real, no saccharine added!

The Culture Cycle – How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance by James Heskett.

I don’t mean to diminish the other authors but I do have a little thing going with Manfred (not anything he knows about) and I’m a long term literary stalker. I still actively refer leaders to his “Lessons from Pygmies article” when we are talking team effectiveness and that was produced back in 1999. He thinks broadly about life and leadership and has lived a life that reflects that; he is both Narcissus and Goldmund.

The Beauty of the Beast – Breathing New Life into Organizations by Geoffrey M. Bellman.

I had the privilege of working with Geoff at a master course he facilitated. Many things have stayed with me; one of these, which is well represented by this work, is that the organisations we work in or for are worth respecting. It doesn’t mean we can’t improve them or have the occasional whinge, but really, they have given us much and if we are there begrudgingly, aren’t we just victims of our own apathy? He reminds me of the importance of working with things and not against them.

Was That Really Me? – How Everyday Stress Brings Out Our Hidden Personality by Naomi Quenk.

Naomi Quenk is one of my favourite personality type writers and stress is as relevant a subject now, as ever before … if not more. She writes about what is often hidden and only emerges under stress which is often where a coach is called on. I sometimes feel her sitting by my shoulder as I’m listening to those who are going through a particularly tough time in their lives. She’s illuminating and comforting.

Relax It’s Only Uncertainty – Lead the Way When the Way is Changing by Philip Hodgson & Randall P. White.

OK I admit it, the first word caught my attention because I am quite sure that my life is so much easier and I’m so much more effective when I relax. Aside from my own preoccupations, this book represents a good audit on where your head is at in relation to contemporary organisational challenges and a healthy wake-up call. I see so much avoidance and resistance around the traps and to some extent, these authors are implying that we are shadow boxing and gently encouraging us into the light.

Adapt – Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford.

Tim Harford provided me with a welcome opportunity to think more broadly about my organisationally-focused world by taking me to visit some big-ticket socio-economic challenges across a global arc. He weaves together psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, physics, and economics and is incredibly well researched. No wonder the English politicians are coveting him.

Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman.

Daniel K is only at the bottom of my list because I read this latest work most recently. He is a man who has lived one incredible life and is at the peak of his powers. His knowledge is undisputed as is his contribution to society – after all he received a Nobel Prize in Economics never having taken a single economics course, but what I’m enjoying is his wisdom – his vast knowledge has been integrated. I am sometimes found whispering one of his quotes when I’m in need of perspective; “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.”