I have always been a big believer in taking responsibility for my own personal development, but also encouraging my team and others to invest in themselves too.
Even as a child, I was always reading books to develop my mind and increase my skillset. In truth, I’m a bit of a bookworm. Today I would like to share some of my favourite books and resources that have helped me to develop as a coach and business owner.Some of them might not be what you’d expect to see.
- Mind Mapping with Tony Buzan – I learnt how to mind map many years ago and although I don’t use this technique for everything, I do find it useful when developing workshops and webinars. Also by Tony Buzan The Speed Reading Book – one that again I read many, many years ago.
- First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman looks at what great managers do differently; for example finding roles that fit individuals, not forcing individuals into roles that don’t suit them.
- What Color Is Your Parachute? 2014: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles. I found this had some useful exercises when I was figuring out what I wanted to do with my career.
- Two great contributions from Edward de Bono: Six Thinking Hats and also Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity.
- Stephen Covey – two classics: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and also First Things First.
- I first came across author Deborah Tannen when I read You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation when I was studying as a counsellor. I then read Talking From 9-5: Women and Men at Work: Language, Sex and Power. Suddenly I understood how to work with some of the other department managers who had come from a US military background. I appreciated why when our CIO said “Jump”, it was their instinctive response to say “how high” whereas my response was always “Why?”
- Two more books that I came across during my counselling studies to help in your self-awareness journey and discover how to communicate with others, no matter what sector you work in:
Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure by Robert de Board
Taming Your Gremlin (Revised Edition): A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way by Rick Carson - Businessballs.com – a free learning & development resource with useful exercises, templates and suggestions.
What about you? What are your favourite resources? Reply below!
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