READERS = LEADERS
Why intentional reading remains one of the most practical leadership disciplines
I’ve long believed that one of the clearest signals of leadership is continuous learning.
Not performative learning. Not collecting certifications.
But the steady, intentional habit of reading in a way that shapes how we think, decide, lead, and live.
The leaders I most respect are readers. They’re curious. They’re open. They’re willing to sharpen the blade long after others assume they’ve “arrived.”
This year’s reading list covered a lot of ground — strategy, ownership, mindset, hiring, trust, performance. Some books were insightful. Some were timely. A few were helpful.
But three stood out for a different reason.
I kept reaching for them.
Not once. Not to highlight a few lines.
But again and again — before important meetings, during strategic work, and when refining Eskaygee’s positioning.
Here are the three that earned a permanent spot on my desk.
1. Find Your Red Thread by Tamsen Webster
This book came to me through my Pinnacle peer, David Quick — and it helped crystallize something foundational for Eskaygee.
Positioning isn’t a tagline exercise. It’s clarity of logic. It’s understanding the throughline that connects what you believe, what you do, and why it matters.
Through this work, Eskaygee’s Red Thread became unmistakable:
Clarity. Alignment. Execution. Guidance.
Those four words now anchor how we communicate, how we engage clients, and how we design strategy. They’re not marketing language. They’re operating principles.
When leaders struggle to articulate what makes their firm distinct, it’s rarely a capability issue. It’s a clarity issue. This book helped sharpen that clarity.
2. The Trusted Advisor by Maister, Green & Galford
Recommended to me by Al Spicer, Psy.D., PCC, this one has become required reading — and re-reading.
Before prospect meetings.
Before important client conversations.
Before connecting with centers of influence.
Trust is not built through competence alone. It’s built through credibility, reliability, intimacy, and low self-orientation. The book’s Trust Equation is deceptively simple — and deeply practical.
In founder-led and employee-owned businesses, trust is the currency. When it’s high, progress accelerates. When it’s low, everything stalls.
This book is a reminder that our job isn’t to impress. It’s to guide — from the side — with clarity and care.
3. Topgrading by Bradford Smart
This one helped crystallize something I see repeatedly in leadership conversations: confusion about what an A-Player truly is.
Many leaders believe they have A-players.
Often, they’re surrounded by B and C players — and don’t know it.
The cost of that false confidence is staggering:
Strategy stalls.
Execution drifts.
Accountability softens.
Culture erodes.
Topgrading provides language and structure around hiring, coaching, and developing high performers. More importantly, it forces leaders to confront a hard truth:
You cannot build a high-performing organization without high-performing people.
Clarity around talent is not optional. It’s foundational.
Reading as a Leadership Discipline
If you’re interested in the broader case for reading as a leadership practice, I highly recommend John Coleman’s article, “For Those Who Want to Lead, Read.” It’s been a personal touchstone — a reminder that leadership depth is built over time, often quietly, through consistent exposure to ideas beyond your immediate field.
Reading stretches thinking.
Thinking sharpens decisions.
Decisions shape results.
That’s the compounding effect.
My 2025 Reading List
For those who’ve asked, here’s the full list from this year:
The Microstress Effect — Rob Cross & Karen Dillon
The SPEED of Trust — Stephen Covey
Walking to Destiny (2nd Ed.) — Christopher M. Snider & Scott Snider
Making Sense of Your New ESOP — Serwinski & McGinley
Peak Performance: The Five Principles Every Great Business Lives By — Greg Cleary
The 5 Levels of Leadership — John C. Maxwell
Topgrading (Revised PHP Edition) — Bradford Smart
Hustle — Joshua Medcalf
Inner Excellence — Jim Murphy
The Trusted Advisor (20th Anniversary Edition) — David H. Maister, Robert Galford & Charles Green
Love and Work — Marcus Buckingham
Taming Your Gremlin — Rick Carson
Don’t Lose Your Balance — Ron Bockstahler
High Altitude Leadership — Chris Warner
Find Your Red Thread — Tamsen Webster
Getting Naked — Patrick Lencioni
(It was a year of revisiting a few favorites — a reminder that depth often comes from re-reading.)
A Final Thought
Reading isn’t about volume. It’s about integration.
The goal isn’t to finish more books.
It’s to become a better thinker.
A clearer communicator.
A more grounded guide.
In that sense, readers aren’t just learners.
They’re leaders.