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A peek at my bookshelf

If you’ve ever worked with me, you’ll know I’m curious about what makes people tick, how leaders grow, and how we can build workplaces that are both human and high-performing.

Books are one of the ways I keep that curiosity alive. My shelves (and the occasional teetering bedside stack) are full of titles that have challenged, inspired, and grounded me, both as a coach and as a human being.

Here’s a peek at some of the books that have stayed with me, and why.

Thrive - Arianna Huffington

A reminder that success without wellbeing isn’t success at all. This book landed with me at a time when I was redefining what “thriving” meant, I even built a business on it! Not more, but enough. It shaped how I think about energy, boundaries, and sustainability, for myself and my clients.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - Robin Sharma

Read during my quarter-life crisis (now rebranded as my quarter life awakening!) - and perfectly timed.

It’s a reminder that success means nothing without purpose, and that slowing down can be the start of something far more meaningful.

Who Moved My Cheese - Spencer Johnson

A tiny book with a big message given to me by my first brilliant leader and mentor in the 90's when we were embarking on a major restructure before they were a regular 'thing': change happens whether we like it or not.

It’s a reminder to stay curious, adapt quickly, and stop waiting for the old cheese to come back.

The Chimp Paradox - Prof. Steve Peters

I use this and versions of this all the time in my coaching. It’s a brilliant, accessible way to understand the internal chatter that drives (and derails) us. Understanding self talk has helped so many leaders I’ve worked with to stop judging their reactions and start managing them.

Multipliers - Liz Wiseman

Every leader should read this. I run workshops on this! It’s such a clear reminder that our impact isn’t about how smart we are, it’s about how we bring out the intelligence, creativity, and capability of others. That’s Human Leadership in action.

Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg

Whether you love or critique it, this book cracked open important conversations about women, work, and power. It pushed me to reflect on my own choices, confidence, and voice and ignited my passion to support other women to find theirs.

Atomic Habits - James Clear

A masterclass in how small things make a big difference. I use this thinking often when helping clients shift behaviour, real change doesn’t come from huge leaps, but from small, deliberate, congruent actions over time.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni

I can’t count how many times I’ve used this framework when working with teams. Simple, clear, practical, and absolutely rooted in human dynamics. Trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, results - all the messy stuff that makes teams tick (or not).

Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps - Jennifer Garvey Berger

This one blew my mind a bit. It’s short, sharp, and so insightful about the ways our brains trip us up when complexity rises. It’s now part of how I help leaders and teams get unstuck.

Daring Greatly - Brené Brown

The classic. The heart of my work. Vulnerability as courage, not weakness. The reminder that leadership is about connection, not perfection. Every reread hits differently and I love her podcasts and TED talks too, often point my clients to her.

The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working - Tony Schwartz

A call to reimagine how we think about productivity, energy, and rest. This book confirmed for me that pausing isn’t indulgent - it’s essential. The pause is the process.

It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor - Rebecca Longman & Michelle Gyimah

Brilliant, modern, and refreshingly practical. It challenges some of the lazy metaphors about gender and career progression and helps us see what really keeps people stuck - often internally, not externally.

There are more (of course there are) and I'll share more in a later blog as each one has added another layer of insight, provocation, or permission.

These books have all shaped how I think, how I coach, and how I show up in my work.

Because leadership - real, human leadership - is about being a lifelong learner. It’s about staying curious, open, reflective, and willing to change your mind.

So that’s my office bookshelf (or at least one of them).