Here are 100 books that Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership fans have personally recommended if you like
Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership.
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I have been interested in leadership style since my teenage years. My father was a leader in a retailing organization, and I was entranced by behaviors that seemed to connect with others and those that did not. As I grew older, I started to think about leadership style behaviors and models that might capture the most effective ones. While I recognize that leadership needs vary based on industry, scope, and tenure, I do believe that we all should know the leadership styles that are important to us to the extent that we can describe them if we are asked to do so.
We often times spend all of our energy on the ways we should behave as a leader and do not put any energy into recognizing behaviors that are not helping us. Also, as your career unfolds, what might have worked for you previously may no longer be effective, yet we continue doing this behavior as it worked in the past.
I needed insight into my overall leadership behaviors and greater insight into behaviors I needed to evolve or move away from. Behaviors like “Failure to give proper recognition,” “Passing judgment,” and “an excessive need to be me” are all behaviors from which I needed to grow away and evolve. This is stuff we don’t hear enough of—often, we focus too much on where we need to go and not what we are doing now.
Your hard work is paying off. You are doing well in your field. But there is something standing between you and the next level of achievement. That something may just be one of your own annoying habits.Perhaps one small flaw - a behaviour you barely even recognise - is the only thing that's keeping you from where you want to be. It may be that the very characteristic that you believe got you where you are - like the drive to win at all costs - is what's holding you back. As this book explains, people often do well in…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve always loved solving problems. Over 30 years ago, I worked for a company that had high employee turnover and an inability to recruit. The problem was the worst in the company backbone—the employees who made us money. I moved from Finance to HR even though I didn’t know anything about HR. Quickly, I identified the root causes of our turnover, developed plans, and implemented them. Within six months, we’d shut down the exodus, which immediately made recruiting easier. Over the years I’ve worked with a wide variety of firms in many industries. I have demonstrated my process with continued success while moving beyond much of HR’s dogma.
I loved this book because it put the onus of building a well-run organization right where it belongs—on management.
I’ve had the opportunity to see multiple organizations work through this book with varied results. The results were based exclusively on how management individuals responded to the challenges presented in the book.
________________________________ Can a good company become a great one? If so, how?
After a five-year research project, Jim Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organisation to make the leap from good to great while other organisations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.
Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel. It is widely regarded…
I’ve always loved solving problems. Over 30 years ago, I worked for a company that had high employee turnover and an inability to recruit. The problem was the worst in the company backbone—the employees who made us money. I moved from Finance to HR even though I didn’t know anything about HR. Quickly, I identified the root causes of our turnover, developed plans, and implemented them. Within six months, we’d shut down the exodus, which immediately made recruiting easier. Over the years I’ve worked with a wide variety of firms in many industries. I have demonstrated my process with continued success while moving beyond much of HR’s dogma.
This was one of the first business books I read after getting out of school.
I recommend it to everyone, and I don’t think I’ve met anyone who wouldn’t benefit from it. I took comfort in those areas in which I was already following his advice. I also worked on those areas that I was lacking in, and it made me a better person, employee, and manager.
New York Times bestseller - over 25 million copies sold The No. 1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century
"[Thirty] years after it first appeared, the wisdom of The 7 Habits is more relevant than ever. On an individual level people are burning out, and on a collective level we are burning up the planet. So Dr. Covey's emphasis on self-renewal and his understanding that leadership and creativity require us to tap into our own physical, mental, and spiritual resources are exactly what we need now." Arianna Huffington
One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written,…
I've been fascinated throughout my career by what makes an effective leader. I read about leadership; I carefully observed effective leaders; and I worked hard to become a leader. After a 40-year career, I concluded that nonprofit leaders required a leadership model that met the unique challenges of leading a nonprofit organization and that I was the right person to write the book. I'm proud of The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders. I believe the book addresses the unique challenges of leading a nonprofit organization. I hope you discover how to use its principles to make a bigger difference in achieving your organization’s mission. Nothing could be more important for the future of our nation.
I’ve had the good fortune to work with Noel to develop a leadership program for Boys & Girls Clubs leaders that is based largely on the content of The Cycle of Leadership.
Noel believes the most successful leaders are teachers. To succeed they need a teachable point of view about how the organization will succeed. The teachable point of view is shared relentlessly shared at every opportunity with all stakeholders.
Part of this conversation is inviting feedback. Thus, the cycle, leaders teach, they receive feedback, and their teachable point of view evolves. One of my greatest learnings from this book was a deeper understanding of how the mission of an organization needs to be the basis for decisions and actions. This provided me with the courage and conviction to act.
In The Leadership Engine, Noel Tichy showed how great companies strive to create leaders at all levels of the organization, and how those leaders actively develop future generations of leaders. In this new book, he takes the theme further, showing how great companies and their leaders develop their business knowledge into "teachable points of view," spend a great portion of their time giving their learnings to others, sharing best practices, and how they in turn learn and receive business ideas/knowledge from the employees they are teaching.
Calling this exchange a virtuous teaching cycle, Professor Tichy shows how business builders from…
I became a nonprofit consultant because I could use my best skills in writing and facilitating and apply them for good. I continue in this work because nothing is more exciting than helping people who have dedicated their lives to making the world better in some specific way actually take the next step to do better. The books I’ve recommended have made me far better at what I do.
It’s really easy to describe the 3-4 basic, essential things that a nonprofit board of directors must do. But when a board is reduced to doing only those minimal activities, then everyone is wasting a lot of time—and all that talent that lives on most boards is lost.
I always come back to this book when I’m helping board members to both be and feel like what they’re doing is actually important for advancing the mission.
A new framework for helping nonprofit organizations maximize the effectiveness of their boards.
Written by noted consultants and researchers attuned to the needs of practitioners, Governance as Leadership redefines nonprofit governance. It provides a powerful framework for a new covenant between trustees and executives: more macrogovernance in exchange for less micromanagement.
Informed by theories that have transformed the practice of organizational leadership, this book sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance. It serves boards as both a resource of fresh approaches…
I’m a CPA with nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting profession and I provide continuing education to CPA firms in the area of accounting and auditing. One of my areas of specialization is government and nonprofit accounting. I serve on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB’s) Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee and the AICPA’s Governing Council. I am passionate about the standard setting process and ensuring financial reporting is accurate and presented in a way to help the user make financial decisions. I have a BSBA from Georgetown University with a concentration in Accounting and International Business.
The Little Book of Boardsprovides a concise and easy-to-read overview of what are the responsibilities of a board member. It provides an excellent overview of the fiduciary responsibilities of the board and then the further responsibilities of someone who takes a leadership position. The appendices provide helpful guidance. When I was researching the nonprofit books out there for board members in preparation for writing mine, I found this one to be practical and well-written. Some books were too detailed but this one provided enough context for someone new to a board position.
Are you new to a board and have no idea what’s expected of you? Do you know what a board’s six key responsibilities are? Do you know what your relationship with the Executive Director should be? If not, this book is for you.
So many board members—especially of small nonprofits—want to support a nonprofit and readily accept the invitation to join the board. It’s only then that they discover they are in over their heads, with no idea of their expectations and responsibilities. The Little Book of Boards is here to throw that drowning board member a rope.
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to…
I’m a CPA with nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting profession and I provide continuing education to CPA firms in the area of accounting and auditing. One of my areas of specialization is government and nonprofit accounting. I serve on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB’s) Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee and the AICPA’s Governing Council. I am passionate about the standard setting process and ensuring financial reporting is accurate and presented in a way to help the user make financial decisions. I have a BSBA from Georgetown University with a concentration in Accounting and International Business.
While governance is a key aspect of any board member's responsibilities, often nonprofit board members are surprised or even disheartened by the requirement to fundraise on behalf of the organization. Some people are afraid that they can’t ask for money or are uncomfortable asking certain people and decide they don’t want to serve on the board. While there are a lot of books on fundraising,Asking Styles helps board members identify their asking style and what would be the most effective fundraising methods for them. It also helps understand how others feel about fundraising and how to work as a team to bring the most success to the organization. The book is a short read but full of great examples and practical guidance.
This could very well become one of the most important books in our field. It is a breakthrough of a methodology that really works. It’s the best antidote I’ve read on taking the fear out of asking. It will make you successful. If you already are, it will make you more so. (From the foreword by Jerold Panas.)
The breakthrough concept of the Asking Styles makes it possible for anyone to become a more effective fundraiser. Your Asking Style is based on your personality and unique set of strengths when asking for gifts.
I became a nonprofit consultant because I could use my best skills in writing and facilitating and apply them for good. I continue in this work because nothing is more exciting than helping people who have dedicated their lives to making the world better in some specific way actually take the next step to do better. The books I’ve recommended have made me far better at what I do.
This book is the best guide and easiest-to-follow approach to nonprofit strategic planning out there. It shows the way out of the typical SWOT brainstorming towards a more considered, flexible, and impactful approach. I’m especially enamored of the way it focuses on actual strategy—something missing in almost every other strategic planning methodology that drives you to adopt a series of action steps without ever describing what they’ll add up to accomplishing.
Full disclosure, though … this book was written by the founder of my firm. But that aside, I’ve used this approach with probably 100 organizations I’ve worked with, and I’ve found its durability to be outstanding! The approach—or elements of the method—can be self-facilitated for many organizations.
Turner Publishing proudly presents a fully-updated edition of The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution FINALIST, Ben Franklin Awards, Independent Book Publishers Association, Business Category
The world changes continuously and rapidly. It's foolhardy to believe that strategies should not do so as well. Nonprofit leaders already know this, but traditional strategic planning has locked them into a process that's divorced from today's reality. That's why plans sit on the shelf and why smart executives are always seeking workarounds in between planning periods. The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution offers a nimble and powerful alternative. In this groundbreaking book, strategy expert David La Piana introduces "Real-Time…
I’m a CPA with nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting profession and I provide continuing education to CPA firms in the area of accounting and auditing. One of my areas of specialization is government and nonprofit accounting. I serve on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB’s) Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee and the AICPA’s Governing Council. I am passionate about the standard setting process and ensuring financial reporting is accurate and presented in a way to help the user make financial decisions. I have a BSBA from Georgetown University with a concentration in Accounting and International Business.
The Nonprofit Board Answer Book is a question-and-answer style book that takes the learnings from The Best of Boards one step further. It addresses board functions and structure with a section on board member selection and development. Oftentimes nonprofit boards aren’t intentional about these items. The Q&A addresses all the common questions that persons new to a board would ask or need to know. Board Source is a phenomenal organization whose aim is to help boards succeed. When I was researching governance for chapter 1 of my book, I cited several Board Source tools as they really do have the experience with nonprofit governance through their research. I love that each chapter of the text closes with suggested action steps to make the book more hands-on and practical.
An essential guide to good governance for board leaders at all levels of experience and expertise This third edition of the bestselling book for nonprofit board members and professionals offers a thoroughly revised and updated resource that answers the most-commonly asked question on board governance. The book covers such topics as board structure and process, board member recruitment and orientation, board-staff relations, and financial management. This new edition includes updated information on topics that have recently increased in importance including new Form 990; dealing with the financial crisis, risk management, and mergers. * Shows executives and board members how to…
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
I became a nonprofit consultant because I could use my best skills in writing and facilitating and apply them for good. I continue in this work because nothing is more exciting than helping people who have dedicated their lives to making the world better in some specific way actually take the next step to do better. The books I’ve recommended have made me far better at what I do.
Around the time I turned 40, I knew I wouldn’t be doing what I was doing then in 20 years. I went back to school to get my MBA, thinking that those little letters after my name would help me no matter what I decided to do. To my chagrin, one professor was all about self-help books, and most of his class was trite.
This book, however, really helped me at the time and embedded in me a core view of how to approach everything I do. It instilled in me a “strengths-based” approach to what I do, whether it’s coaching individual leaders or developing organizational strategy for a huge nonprofit. We do best when we do more of what we do best.
Based on a Gallup study of over two million people who have excelled in their careers, NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS uses a revolutionary programme to help readers discover their distinct talents and strengths. The product of a twenty-five year, multi-million pound effort to identify the most prevalent human talents, the StrengthsFinder programme introduces thirty-four talents or "themes" and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. Each copy of the book contains a unique password that gives the reader access to the StrengthsFinder Profile, a Web-based interview that analyses people's instinctive reactions and immediately presents them…
