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.

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.

Brand With Purpose will give you much to think about. Is your website effective? Do you network the right way? Is the Mission of your school articulated online, in print and on campus enough and in the same way? Can everyone state the values of your school in an elevator speech? If you think your school could market itself better, then this book is for you.

We know there is a huge gap between how often school leaders feel they appreciate those they lead and how appreciated the average teacher feels. Leading with Gratitude is the antidote! It’s hard to imagine a better book for a school leader to read than this one. It might affirm you are showing gratitude enough and in the right ways or it could transform how you interact with others.

If you have respect for both those who serve in the military and sound business practices, then Extreme Ownership is the book for you. Want war stories? Check. Want to live in the intersection between military tactics/strategies and leading a school? Check. Looking to step up your leadership game by taking responsibility for everything that happens in your school? Triple check!

If Simon Sinek, Carol Dweck, and Brene Brown participated in a weekend book writing blitz, they may well have produced this book. A variety of themes filtered through the lens of business (particularly Whole Foods) gives us an intentional path to Conscious Leadership.

In this book, Simon Sinek draws a line between organizations with short-term thinking/goals and those playing The Infinite Game. He argues that those leading with future generations in mind will create cultures that will weather hard times, inspire others, and build organizations that will thrive.

Why do employees stay silent in the workplace when they know something is wrong? In The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson explores the idea of psychological safety and argues that establishing a psychologically safe workplace can lead to increased workplace safety, better teamwork, and increased innovations.

Wonder what’s ailing American schools? Ted Dintersmith spent a year traveling America to find out and highlight solutions. What Schools Could Be is the report from his trip to 50 states, 200 schools, over a hundred community forums, and over a thousand meetings. Innovation from K-12, online, colleges and universities as well as more short-term immersive experiences are all highlighted.

Mindful School Communities by Mason, Rivers Murphy, and Jackson have written a practical guide for school leaders and teachers who wish to create a school environment in which students can develop skills to cope with stress and pressure. By creating schools where teachers and administrators model positive relationships with each other and with the students in their care, students can learn how to care for their own social and emotional well-being which can better help students develop academic skills.

Have you ever wondered why we offer a similar education to nearly every child around the world? Have you thought about why we use grades and standardized tests to measure learning when real-world learning looks nothing like that? Hansen uses The Future of Smart to explain the educational landscape in terms of where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we should go.

Do you desire true belonging? Are you courageous to the point that you always stay true to who you are? In Braving the Wilderness, Brene Brown breaks up the word B-R-A-V-I-N-G into a wilderness checklist because you are going to have to be brave enough to enter the unknown wilderness of vulnerability to achieve that sense of belonging.

In The Social CEO, Damain Corbet produces a collection of advice from leading CEOs across a breadth of industries on how CEOs can and MUST leverage social media in order to connect with all stakeholders, from parents and community partners to board members and — especially — employees. If you are wondering how or why school leaders need to embrace social media, this book is a must-read.

In Post Corona, Scott Galloway brings us into the future world economy and the forces that will drive it. While less about Corona than the title implies, it’s a clear window into the future from a great thinker. We would serve students better if we began to think a bit more like Scott Galloway about what’s to come... in education.

Are you leading a school and know that data should be a more integral part of the decision-making process? If so, Got Data? Now What? may just scratch that itch. You will be warned of the pitfalls, walked through the protocols, and told step-by-step what to do to maximize your time and energy while turning data into decisions.

Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath is packed with theories, research examples, models, and protocols around decision-making. It doesn’t matter whether you are well-read on the topic or new to the models/ideas, there is plenty here to keep you reflecting on your decisions from the past and mapping out your upcoming choices.

Have you ever been involved in a negotiation or disagreement and been frustrated by the resolution process or outcome? If so, Fisher, Ury, and Patton have the solution for next time in Getting to Yes. The reader will learn why stating interests rather than positions is key, why where you sit matters, and why acknowledging the worth of the other party are all keys to success.

Ask yourself these questions: Is your leadership team adaptive? Are you thinking that being more nimble might make you a better team? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then pick up The Practice of Adaptive Leadership and explore.

In Upstream, Dan Heath teaches us to think about problem-solving from the root causes, as opposed to the normal focusing on the results. This is a great read for anyone interested in thinking about improving the world through ideas such as deploying ambulances more efficiently, providing housing to more people, and ensuring that more students graduate high school.

Joy, Inc. by Richard Sheridan is a blueprint for creating a workplace that people love. If you are interested in group dynamics, motivation, and industrial organization, you will find this book quite fascinating. If you lead a school, it will push your thinking, and if you are an edupreneur, it will give you ideas of different ways to structure your school.