Below are some of my favorite books, people, and ideas that have shaped me over the years. I hope you take away something new and informative from this list:
What Really Happens in Executive Coaching?
- “What is it you do, exactly?” As an executive coach, people ask me this question all the time. Here’s a great article by Madeleine Homan Blanchard on what you can expect from executive coaching.
How Women Rise
- In How Women Rise, by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, the authors identify and exemplify the roadblocks that women face as they seek to advance in the workplace. Interestingly, it’s not only what women don’t do that keep them stuck, but also the things women continue to do that keep them from moving forward. Furthermore, the roadblocks that women face actually differ from those that men face, as defined in Goldsmith’s previous book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful.
Brené Brown on Empathy
- How many times has a well intentioned friend or family member tried to make you feel better, but only ended up making you feel worse? Sometimes people respond with sympathy, when they should strive to respond with empathy. Brené Brown outlines this beautifully in this animated short.
(Don’t) Follow Your Passion
- We’re often told to “follow your passion” when searching for happiness. But what if you don’t have one singular passion? Elizabeth Gilbert instructs us: Don’t chase your passion and maybe you’ll find it. In her mind, the world is divided into two kinds of people, the jackhammers and the hummingbirds. Which one are you?
Invisible Acts of Power
- Caroline Myss is a renowned medical intuitive and spiritual mystic. My favorite book of hers is Invisible Acts of Power. According to Caroline, every relationship we have is an expression of power, and by choosing to act with compassion, kindness, and generosity, we actually empower ourselves. I also subscribe to Caroline’s idea that These Two Words are Troublemakers.
Schopenhouer’s Porcupines
- As a graduate student, I was required to read Schopenhauer’s Porcupines: Intimacy and Its Dilemmas: Five Stories of Psychotherapy. The premise of the book was based on the philosopher Schopenhauer’s theory about human relationships, beautifully explained here by Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for her memoir Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.
Far From the Tree
- Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, by Andrew Solomon, is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read. It examines what happens when exceptional children are born to a family, how the family and the child cope, and how identities are reexamined and redefined in the family’s new reality. Andrew Solomon is also widely known for his TED Talks, most recently How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are.
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