Five Business Books for Any CIO and IT Leader

Some people think that CIOs and IT Leaders are particularly challenged with "business leadership" because so many were/are highly technical people who got promoted over time, and who now find themselves in team leadership roles without a complete understanding of what it takes to be a leader.

What prompted this post is a recent CIO Magazine article entitled:  7 Essential CIO Leadership Skills That Get Results.  It's a good article, but we all know that reading one article or one book is not going to change our leadership style.  For CIOs and IT Leaders who want to manage truly high performing teams, and who want to be amazing team leaders, there are a number of books that I recommend from my own reading list.  Each of these is a relatively quick and easy read, and, while the words and music are different, the messaging is remarkably similar.  Seeing this message reinforced in a variety of ways is a great way to internalize the changes, assuming we need some, in our leadership styles, that can lead us to great success.

1. The Secret: What Great Leaders Know - And Do, by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
3. Gung Ho!  Turn on the People in Any Organization, by Ken Blanchard
4. The Inside Advantage by Robert Bloom
5. High Five!  The Magic of Working Together, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

Yes, you can probably tell that we are fans of Ken Blanchard, and we truly think these books are great resources for leaders of any group or any organization.  There are a ton of others, including Good to Great by Jim Collins, and the only reason it's not on this list is because it is a tougher read (much more academic).

According to the CIO Magazine article, the seven essential CIO leadership skills are:

1. Commit to leadership first and everything else second
2. Lead differently than you think
3. Embrace your softer side
4. Forge the right relationships to drive the right results
5. Master communication
6. Inspire others
7. Build people, not systems

It's amazing really, that when you step back and really look at all of the books that are out there, how most of them say the same thing - different words, same ideas.  Start your reading with "The Secret," and you'll see some great similarities to this list. 

What books would you add to this list?