My top 10 intentional leadership books

Since launching my business, the term intentional leader / leadership has been my guiding philosophy. Recently, when asked to recommend books on intentional leadership, I realized something important: there's little difference between intentional leadership and intentional living.

The truth is, we're all leaders in our own lives, regardless of our professional title. Leadership isn't confined to an organizational chart—it's about how we show up, make decisions, and create meaningful impact.

In that spirit, I've curated a list of 10 books that I believe will help you live with greater intention. These selections go beyond traditional leadership titles, offering insights that can reshape how you approach life, work, and personal growth.

Narrowing this list to just 10 books was challenging, so I'm inviting you to join the conversation: What books have helped you live more intentionally? Share your recommendations in the comments or drop me an email.

There is a flow to the list: we start with time management (a bit of a different take on it), move to living in alignment with purpose and values, get down to building habits and the last three titles are about bringing intention into our professional lives and workplaces.

Here it goes:

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

This book is so much more than time management. It is an exploration of how we perceive and use time, framed around the idea that the average human lifespan is roughly 4,000 weeks. Instead of focusing on productivity, the author challenges the cultural obsession with efficiency and offers a philosophical approach to living meaningfully within the limited time we have on this planet. He emphasizes embracing uncertainty, setting priorities, and finding joy in the present moment, encouraging readers to let go of the impossible pursuit of "getting everything done." I read this book last year before the holidays and it made me think that I will put up a Christmas tree another 30 times or so. This year, I couldn't wait to do it and did not complain a bit about the work!

Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters by John C. Maxwell

If you haven't heard about John C. Maxwell, you need to look him up. The founder of Maxwell Leadership, author and speaker, he is a legend. This book is about achieving a life of purpose and significance through intentional living which is aligning actions with values. Filled with practical advice and personal stories, he makes us realize that intentional choices can lead to a life of significance and fulfillment. Here is a quote that stayed with me: "When you intentionally use your influence every day to bring about positive change in the lives of others, you achieve significance. There is a big difference between a life of good intentions and an intentional life."

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

The first article I wrote on LinkedIn is based on this book. Re-reading it now, it's actually pretty good. I have evolved since then, but it wasn't bad at all.

A guide for achieving greater focus and impact by eliminating distractions and prioritizing what truly matters, Essentialism is what most of us wish for and cannot quite articulate. It is a mindset and discipline that allows us to discern what's most important. Greg McKeown encourages readers to say no to nonessential commitments, simplify their lives, and focus their energy on what is meaningful which will ultimately lead to more clarity, productivity and fulfillment. If you like this book, he wrote a follow-up, called Effortless: Make it Easier to Do What Matters Most.

The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self by Martha Beck

How I wish I would have read this book when I was younger. I now give it as a gift to young people and I recommend it to anyone who is as many like to say "at a crossroads".

Martha Beck is a coach, author, speaker, and sociologist. In The Way of Integrity, she explores how living in alignment with your true self can lead to lasting happiness and fulfillment. She draws insights from literature (including Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy), psychology and spirituality and outlines a four-step process for achieving integrity - a state of being whole. Topics such as questioning societal expectations, recognizing inner truths, and following personal values are explored. The book offers practical exercises to help navigate the journey to authenticity. If you like this book or you've read it already, you might want to know that she has a new book being released in January 2025: Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life's Purpose.

The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds - Not Crushes - Your Soul by Brad Stulberg

This is a guide to achieving sustainable success and fulfillment in a world obsessed with hustle and achievement. Groundedness is defined as the "unwavering internal strength and self-confidence that sustains you through ups and downs".

The book is based on six principles that form the foundation of groundedness. My favourite one is "Be patient and embrace incremental growth". By using actionable advice, research and stories from high performers across various fields, the author advocates for practices that foster long-term well-being. One of my favourite quotes from the book is "You don't become what you think. You become what you do. Living a grounded life starts with a mindset shift, but it continues as an ongoing practice". If you like this book, Brad Stulberg has a newer one as well: Master of Change.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

A true classic. Sometimes when everyone talks about a book, it makes me not want to read it. If that's you, I promise you that it is well worth reading / listening to Atomic Habits. While you might have heard everything before, what is powerful about this book is the way the information is organized to help you understand that lasting change is identity change. As a coach trained in neuroscience, I understand exactly why that is and how this one shift can allow anyone to make the changes they desire in their life by implementing habits (creating new neural pathways) to support that identity. Eventually, the habits become part of the subconscious which means that the brain uses less resources. In turn, this reinforces the new identity and creates structural changes in the brain. While James Clear does not delve a lot into neuroscience, his 2018 book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make a change......and that is all of us. My favourite quote is "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Another classic, Start with Why explores the idea that successful leaders and organizations inspire action by starting with why—their core purpose, belief, or cause. Simon Sinek introduces the "Golden Circle" framework, which emphasizes the importance of defining why (purpose), then how (process), and finally what (results). Using compelling examples like Apple, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers, he demonstrates how clarity of purpose drives loyalty, innovation, and long-term success. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to lead, inspire, or create meaningful impact.

I've resisted reading this book for a long time, thinking that I know everything in it already. And while that might be true, we can all use reminders of what matters. What makes this book great is the use of stories to illustrate how important it is to be clear about what matters and remain focused on that at all times.

The Buddha and the Badass: The Secret Spiritual Art of Succeeding at Work by Vishen Lakhiani

The title might stop you in your tracks. Written by the founder of Mindvalley, this book blends spiritual wisdom with practical strategies to help the reader create a fulfilling professional life. It applies to those who are employed, as well as to entrepreneurs.

The Buddha represents mindfulness, inner peace and clarity of purpose.

The Badass embodies action, courage and innovation.

This book is for you if you want to build a mission-driven career, experience a state of flow more often, and transform workplace culture.

A great tool that is presented is the personal or organizational manifesto. You can read Mindvalley's here. What I liked most about this book is how applicable it is to anyone regardless of their position within an organization.

Good To Great - Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins

This is the book for you if you lead a team or an entire organization. This classic business book examines how good companies transform into great ones and sustain that success. Based on a 5 year research project, the author and his team analyzed the performance of thousands of companies that made a significant leap and maintained that for at least 15 years. If you are interested in learning the core principles of companies that were great from the beginning, you can refer to the author's earlier book: Built to Last.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies the 5 principles that distinguish great companies from good ones, one which you might have heard of before: The Hedgehog Concept. My favourite principle is "Building a culture where disciplined people take disciplined actions within a clear framework". He emphasizes that greatness is a result of conscious, strategic decisions and disciplined execution.

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni

To be clear: while the word "business" is in the title, this book applies to any organization, be it a public institution, government or non-profit.

You might be familiar with Patrick Lencioni's work if you read or heard about the fable The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

The Advantage is the book we all need right now as employees and leaders in organizations. Organizational health is the foundation of organizational culture and here you can learn how to create a cohesive and healthy organization. It is centered around four key disciplines, each containing actionable tools, frameworks and case studies. My favourite is the second one: Create Clarity. Using 6 critical questions, the author shows us how a leadership team can develop its own playbook that will support the achievement of goals and the growth of the organization. If you've been struggling with how to take a strategic plan and turn it into actions, this playbook can help you do that in a simple and organized way.

And that is all!

Happy reading / listening! Send me a note if you've already read one of these books and tell me what you took away and are currently implementing in your life. I love to hear how people are putting books into practice to improve their lives.

And don't forget to share other reading suggestions in the Comments section below.