Lindsay LaNore: A new year’s reading list

In a rapidly evolving world, it’s more important than ever to commit to lifelong learning, but it’s just as challenging to make time for it. Expanding education beyond the classroom, however, can be as easy as planning a reading list, starting a departmental book club or gifting each member of your team a book that you love.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are some great suggestions from members of the ICBA Bank Education Committee.

1. The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn: The most recommended book on this list, The Fred Factor uses the true story of a community-minded mail carrier to educate readers on making a real difference every day and building strong relationships.
2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni: Told from the perspective of a CEO whose team’s dysfunction threatens to bring her company down, this fable reveals why teams frequently struggle and often fail—with advice on how to avoid it.
3. Becoming a Person of Influence, John C. Maxwell and Jim Dornan: A must-read, this classic work teaches readers how to interact more effectively with others, whether you’re a bank leader or a parent.
4. The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni: Lencioni was a popular choice for this list, and this work on organizational health is recommended as a great group read for leadership teams.
5. The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey: It will come as no surprise that trust is essential to a successful business, but this book argues it’s a key competency in our global economy, with advice on how to grow it.
6. Great Leaders Grow, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller: This recommended read advocates that personal growth is critical to leadership success and offers help designing a unique growth plan.
7. Results That Last, Quint Studer: It may have been written for the medical profession, but one of our members loved this book so much, he asks every new team member to read it.
8. The Go-Giver Leader, Bob Burg and John David Mann: A parable about a chair manufacturer forced to modernize to survive, this was chosen as an end-of-year gift for all supervisors at one of our member banks.
9. Make Your Bed, William H. McRaven: Written by an admiral who trained as a Navy SEAL, this intriguingly titled book shares principles gleaned in basic training that can change the way we work.
10. Thank You for Being Late, Thomas L. Friedman: A much-lauded guide to overcoming stress while surrounded by accelerations in technology, globalization and the environment, this is another must-read, if only to find out what the title means!

With thanks to Shane Pilarski, Aaron Panton, Brenda Foster, Martha Haymaker, Jason Jones, Josh Pape, Noah Wilcox, Frankie Cole and Emily Mays for their contributions.