I am an avid reader and have dedicated a big chunk of my time during the pandemic to educating myself about various causes and history, and have been consciously working on my critical thinking skills.
Here’s a list of some of the books I recommend everyone read in 2021 and beyond to become a better leader and human being (you can find many more via my Instagram feed):
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Dispatches from the Race War by Tim Wise
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria
The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power
For the Love of Men by Liz plank
Kill Switch, the Rise of the Modern Senate by Adam Jentleson
Continuing education and learning is important for everyone — but critical for a leader. I seek books to expand my understanding in general, to learn more about those who live and work with us all, and to give me a view into the brilliant mind and perspective of those I respect.
The lack of critical thinking in this country is appalling. We need to add to the priority list of the current administration a major overhaul of our education system.
And unlike what some online ‘experts’ are preaching, it desperately needs to go beyond simply teaching our youth how to be entrepreneurs or help prepare them for the new world of good jobs.
We need to teach them to think, to reason, to empathize, to understand research, and how to use common sense.”
Favorite takeaway/quote:
“There are people in the world who think only about themselves. They don’t care what happens to other people so long as they get what they want. They put other people down to make themselves feel important.“
“Then there are people who do the opposite; who are able to imagine how others must feel, and make sure that they don’t do things that hurt people. ‘So,’ she said, looking me squarely in the eye. ‘Which kind of person do you want to be?’ ― Barack Obama, A Promised Land
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