Six Books That Will Change How You Lead

This article is adapted from Ted's Smart Thinking podcast episode 373: Books For Break.

Spring break is almost here. And if you're anything like me, you've been running hard. Long days, full calendars, and that particular kind of tired that comes from giving everything you have to the people around you.

You need a break. But here's the thing about breaks: the best ones don't just recharge you. They transform you.

I want to share six books I'm recommending right now, books that will feed your mind, stretch your thinking, and send you back into your work with more clarity, more empathy, and more fire than you had when you left. But before I get to the list, I need to share something even more important: a formula for making sure what you read actually sticks.

The Formula That Changes Everything

A few years ago, one of my good friends, Mark, a member of our Boys, Bourbons, and Book Club, asked me a question that I've never forgotten. He said, "Ted, how do you remember and apply all of the reading? As I get older, so much of it just gets lost."

Great question, Mark. Here's the answer. There are three things you need to do with every book you read. Reflection. Socialization. Education.

First, reflect. Stop at the end of each chapter and ask yourself questions. Reshuffle the knowledge in your brain. Grow those dendrites. Second, socialize your learning. Be the person at the table who says, "I just finished the most amazing book and here's what I found." Yes, you might be a little annoying. Do it anyway. When you enthusiastically share what you've learned, you build new connections in your brain and deepen your ability to recall and apply that knowledge later. Third, educate others. Teach what you've learned. Rework your thinking by adapting it for someone else. That's where wisdom really takes root.

In our book club, we use what I call the 4-3-2-1 process. Four things you learned. Three ways you've applied it. Two questions you have for others. One thing you've already done differently because of the book. It works every time.

And here's a bonus tool I've been loving lately: AI. I've been using a simple prompt to generate chapter-by-chapter study guides for every book I read. Just type: "Create a study guide for a book club that includes chapter reflections for the book: [title]." What comes back is remarkable. Discussion questions, reflection prompts, key themes, all organized by chapter. Print it out. Use it while you read. It's like having a personal learning coach for every book on your nightstand.

Now, let's get to the books.

Book #1: Yes to Life by Viktor Frankl

I reread this one every year. Every single year. And every year I find something new.

This year, on page 47, I landed on this: each person is imperfect, but uniquely imperfect. And because of that, each of us is irreplaceable. Our imperfections are what make us valuable to others.

Stop and sit with that for a moment.

Viktor Frankl survived the Holocaust. He watched everything be stripped away. And from that unimaginable suffering, he found a way to teach us about meaning, about responsibility, about the work of living. This book is a companion to his more famous "Man's Search for Meaning," but where that text tells the story of his experience, "Yes to Life" shows us how to apply the lessons. If you read one book this break, make it this one.

Book #2: 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do by Amy Morin

I picked this up at the Women Leading Wisconsin conference and I could not put it down. I finished it in two hours and then bought copies for my wife, my daughter, and every woman in my life.

Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. But here's the truth: these 13 things are for all of us.

Mentally strong people don't compare themselves to others. They don't insist on perfection. They don't let self-doubt stop them from reaching their goals. They don't overthink everything. They don't put others down to lift themselves up. They don't downplay their success.

I read these and thought, that sounds like the job description for a great leader. At the end of each chapter, the author gives you a simple but powerful reflection: what's helpful, and what's not helpful. It's practical, it's honest, and it's the kind of book that holds up a mirror. Read it.

Book #3: The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Galloway

This book just celebrated its 50th anniversary. I found it on TikTok, of all places, when someone was walking through a bookstore recommending books for mental resiliency. The first one they pulled off the shelf? This one.

Bill Gates wrote the introduction for the 50th anniversary edition, and he describes it as the best guide to getting out of your own way.

Here's the core idea. We all play two games: the outer game and the inner game. You might get really good at the outer game. But if the inner game is working against you, it will undermine everything. The first skill Galloway teaches is nonjudgmental awareness. When we stop judging ourselves at every turn, something remarkable happens. A more natural, more powerful process of learning and performing begins to emerge.

You is what's waiting. That's what he says. You, unobstructed.

This is a short book. A perfect beach or pool book. But don't let its size fool you. I've been waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the implications of what this man discovered. That's the mark of a great text.

Book #4: The Digital Delusion by Jared Horvath

I couldn't leave this one off the list.

Jared Horvath makes a compelling, research-backed case for how classroom technology, the kind we often assume is enhancing learning, is actually interfering with the brain's ability to acquire, retain, and use new information. Smartphones, he argues, are a special kind of bad.

This book will challenge you. It may make you uncomfortable. Good. That's what great books do.

What I love about Jared's approach is that he doesn't just diagnose the problem. He ends the book with reflection checklists and practical tools to help you identify your blind spots and rethink your approach to technology in learning environments. If you work in education, this one is essential.

Book #5: Who Is Government? by Michael Lewis

A friend handed me this book a few weeks ago. I'll be honest, sometimes when people hand me a book I didn't choose myself, it ends up sitting in a corner for years. But this one? I couldn't stop reading.

Michael Lewis, the author of "Moneyball" and "The Big Short," spent years writing essays for the New York Times about the extraordinary, ordinary people who work in public service. And this book collects those stories.

Chapter by chapter, you meet someone who is quietly, faithfully doing something that impacts all of our lives in ways we never notice. A man who looked at coal mining differently and almost eliminated the deaths that had been accepted as inevitable. Person by person, mission by mission.

What this book does is build your empathy. It opens your eyes to all the remarkable human beings moving through your world every day, doing things that matter, even when no one is watching. And if you ask me, that's one of the most important leadership skills there is: seeing the people around you and understanding the mission that drives them.

Book #6: Theo of Golden by Alan Levi

I don't usually recommend fiction. My brother Tom has been trying to get me to read novels for years and I usually say, hard pass, I'm reading about process management. But last time he came rolling in, he was so enthusiastic about this one that I gave in.

And then he told me the main character's name.

When I was in high school, one of my teachers said "Theodore Neitzke" out loud in class, and from that day on, my friends called me Theo, after the character on The Cosby Show. So when Tom said, "You need to read this book called Theo of Golden," I didn't have much of a choice.

This book is currently the number one bestseller on the New York Times list, and it earns it.

It's the story of a man who walks into a coffee shop in a fictional Southern city and sees the walls covered in beautiful sketches of ordinary people. And Theo becomes fascinated. He wants to know their stories. Who are they? What drives them? What does their heart beat for?

Every time I put this book down and went out into the world, I found myself staring at people and thinking, I wonder what their story is. That is what great leaders do. They don't just see data. They see the heartbeat behind every data point.

Data doesn't have a heartbeat. But people do. And understanding what keeps each person going is one of the most powerful leadership skills you can develop.

Now, Here's Your Smart Thinking Assignment

Before you go: pick one of these books. Buy it for a few people in your life. Tell them you're going to read it over break and then get back together to talk about it. Reflect on it. Socialize around it. Educate each other with what you found.

That's not just a book club. That's how leaders grow.

Go enjoy your break. Read a little. Grow a little. And go.