Resources

These books, models, and theories are primary resources that Lauren turns to again and again and shares with her clients. They are a foundation of her practice and we hope that they will help you Illuminate Your Possibilities!

Self Leadership

Dare to Lead

by Brene Brown

This is a go-to leadership guide that will have highlights and post-its all over it. Brene takes her research with thousands of leaders around the globe and now shows us how to have courage and lead authentically by having important conversations when the stakes are high every day.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

This leadership classic has transcended the test of time, and has taught generations practical tools for taking responsibility for their behavior change one habit at a time, in a comprehensive tool for self-development that rings true 30 years after its first edition.

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The Leadership Challenge

Kouzes & Posner

This is an inspiring reminder that anyone can be a leader and that it is based on your behaviors more than your title. Five key practices of leadership are outlined and are actionable, which is why we turn to it again and again.

Brief: Making a Bigger Impact by Saying Less

Joseph McCormack

This quick read gives some memorable pointers for improving the efficiency of our messaging and how to streamline messaging and make it compelling enough for others to want to act on it. It’s a call to action and memorable. Well worth the read.

The Making of a Corporate Athlete

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

While this article is not new, it's a reminder that managing energy not time is the key to performance and personal renewal. There is a hierarchy of needs and a prescription for self-care that are so needed in today’s unpredictable and stressful work environment.

Triggers

Marshall Goldsmith

Sometimes we get in our own way when it comes to improving our own performance. Marshall Goldsmith helps you get more in touch with what might trigger negative behaviors or resistance to the need to change. With that awareness, we can move forward to sustained improvement.

A Year of Mindful Wellness

Lisa Feder

If you are looking for a guide to feeling more present and in control in your life Lisa’s book gives you practical self-management tips you can implement in manageable segments. It’s a great way to start practicing self-care.

The Next Level

by Scott Eblin

In working with leaders breaking through to the next level, this is my go-to book on how to change your mindset to think more broadly, empower others and develop executive presence.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Patrick Lencioni

Many team building models are aspirational and do not highlight the challenges of teamwork. This book presents a diagnostic process to help you assess your team’s challenges and some prescriptive strategies to improve them. My favorite tool is the summary in the back as a quick reference I turn to time and again.

Servant Leadership

Robert Greenleaf

This is a foundational book on leadership and the power of leaders who put others first with a service mindset. He highlights the power of listening as a foundational leadership tool that leads to trusting relationships and improved effectiveness.

The Drexler Sibbet Model of Team Performance

This model can be used as a diagnostic tool for identifying which areas of team performance need attention on your team. Each stage has a name, questions and resolved and unresolved behaviors that help you identify where you are having issues, with simple descriptions of each of the 7 stages.

Crucial Conversations

Patterson, Greeney, Mcmillan, Switzer

This book can change the way you think about conflict, confrontations and important conversations by giving you strategies for improving important conversations in every part of your life.

The Heart of Coaching

Thomas G. Crane

Coaching is a skill that can move your business to the next level. Thomas Crane outlines a step by step approach to honing your skills in reaching, motivating and helping everyone on your team improve their performance.

Emotional Intelligence: HBR’s 10 Must Reads

Emotional Intelligence is a critical concept and key to leadership in today’s work environment. This collection of articles from Harvard Business Review is a great primer on the topic and a quick read.

Change the Culture Change the Game

Roger Conners and Tom Smith

This guide to organizational change provides a model and simple framework for effectively designing a change effort across an organization, and we have used it as a foundation of our change management practice.

The Advantage

Patrick Lencioni

This book’s concise and clear approach to creating organization culture that values communication and productivity. Lencioni’s easy to read, straight-forward style makes the content approachable and a business classic.

Playing to Win

A. G. Lafley and Roger Martin

This book is one of my favorite tools for defining strategy, with a clear process. It helps you identify how to win in the marketplace with clearly defined “do’s and don'ts."

Flawless Consulting

Peter Block

For those working inside of organizations in staff roles or with customers as an external consultant, this primer is a bible of sorts for how to add value and impact the bottom line for your customers in a way that will get you repeat business and partnering relationships.

The Ultimate Board Member’s Guide

Kaye Sprinkel Grace

If you find yourself as a new member of a non-profit board, this quick handbook is a wonderful tool to help you understand your role and how to make a difference. We have used this to help enhance role clarity when building foundations for nonprofit excellence and engagement.