Best of 2018: Books, Podcasts, and Blogs
As 2018 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the things I’ve read and learned this year. Here’s my “best of” list. It includes the books, podcasts and blogs that enriched, expanded and challenge my thinking this year. I hope you find one or two things that appeal to you and that you can learn from in 2019.
Learning About Complexity
The most important thing I discovered this year was that complexity is not only something we’re dealing with (increasingly!), it’s also the topic of serious study and a profound body of work. For an orientation to one dimension of that work, here’s a post I wrote this fall that summarizes much of what I’ve learned. Recognizing that we can develop greater personal capacity to work with complexity has allowed me to feel less fearful about the pace of change and the uncertainty that we confront daily. This is a framework that I’ve used one-on-one with coaching clients, brought to teams of leaders to explore together, and talked to family and friends about at the dinner table.
Books to Read and Savor
My teacher, Doug Silsbee, wrote his first book specifically directed to leaders rather than coaches. Presence-Based Leadership holds a special place for me as Doug published it just weeks before he died of a rare cancer. The book is a guide for tackling complexity challenges. Doug embraced his own death as his final complexity challenge and shared his journey with grace, wit and vulnerability. I write about that here in case you are interested in learning more about Doug. And, if you’re a coach or interested in coaching, Doug’s first book, The Mindful Coach is one of, if not the best, book I’ve read about coaching.
Margaret Wheatley, who wrote Leadership and the New Science over 25 years ago–and is also a student of systems theory and, more recently, complexity sciences–this year published Who Do We Choose To Be?: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity. While Wheatley’s assessment of our current reality can at times feel harsh, this is ultimately a powerful and inspiring book suggesting that what we do, day to day, moment to moment, matters deeply.
I highly recommend Amanda Blake’s Your Body is Your Brain. Amanda, a wonderful teacher, shares inspiring stories and practical guidance for making change that lasts by attending to both body and brain and the linkage between the two. This book is a great read for leaders and coaches (and not quite as heavy as the first two books.) My most recent post provides a small introduction, drawing on both Doug and Amanda’s work, to the power of somatic (body) work.
Podcasts to Walk With
For me, podcasts and walking go together. Podcasts get me walking, walking gets me to listen to podcasts. I’ve traversed many, many miles while listening to these podcasts. You can listen while driving, doing housework or at your desk, of course!
My day is not complete without listening to the New York Times podcast, The Daily. Each day, for 20 minutes or so, I learn about one story in the news, in depth. While it’s often the “obvious” story of the day, just as often, it’s not. It’s a deeper dive into something I was barely aware of or not aware of at all. I’ve stopped listening to all cable news–so this is one of the few ways I “hear” about the world. (There are other, very good, political podcasts, but this is the only one I listen to all the time.)
While the Coaches Rising Podcast is ostensibly for coaches, I’m including it here since some of you work as coaches and I think that even if you don’t, you’d enjoy listening to the amazing collection of interviews that Joel Monk, one of the co-founders of Coaches Rising conducts on a regular basis with some of the most profound and inspiring people in the coaching universe. Coaches Rising also offers affordable and superbly designed and executed courses for Coaches and those interested in coaching.
One of the ways I’ve learned more about complexity is through the Human Current podcast. Angie Cross and Haley Campbell-Gross host conversations with a wide array of people who explore many different aspects of complexity. One of the most powerful episodes this year is the conversation with Meg Wheatley (see above)–though, honestly, you can’t go wrong with any episode you choose to listen to!
Other podcasts that are oriented to coaches and leaders include Tim Ferris’s podcast–which is almost always a rewarding listen, Amiel Handelsman’s podcast (there are two episodes with Doug Silsbee that are exceptional!) and Work/Life with Adam Grant (there are a limited number of episodes and they are all good.)
Blogs to Follow
Four of the blogs I follow most closely explore the topic of complexity. These include the writing of Sonja Blignaut, Chris Corrigan and Dave Snowden . Other writers/blogger/collectors of insight whose work I’ve come to appreciate include Jennifer Garvey Berger (and her colleagues,) Ed Batista, Mark Storm, Bruce McTague, Jane Watson and Carol Sanford. What all of these people have in common is a willingness to dig deeper–beneath the surface–and almost always surprise me with a new thought or perspective or way of framing something. I recommend them all highly. And, they are all people who have rich Twitter feeds–demonstrating that, used thoughtfully, Twitter can be a force for good. (And, I know I’ve missed some of the people whose work I really enjoy in this list!)
Collections
I also want to point to two collections of posts that I’ve started contributing to and enjoy a great deal. Lets Grow Leaders and the Lead Change Group both share monthly collections, typically around different topics in leadership, for your reading pleasure. You will often find my posts, both the ones I write here and the ones I write for Actionable, in their collections.
Wishing you a good close to 2018 and beginning of 2019! Happy reading and listening!
