The 2013 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards Shortlist: Leadership

Over the course of this week, we will be posting the shortlist selections for our 8 business book categories: General Business, Leadership, Management, Innovation/Creativity, Small Business/Entrepreneurship, Marketing/Sales, Personal Development, Finance. Then on Monday, December 16th, we'll announce the 8 category winners! In early January, the overall winner of the 2013 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards will be awarded, so stay tuned to The Daily Blog for all the good news.

The selections for the Leadership category are:

• Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge By Henry Cloud, HarperBusiness
• Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential By Matthew Kohut, John Neffinger, Hudson Street Press
• Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over--And Collaboration Is in By Peter Shankman, Palgrave MacMillan
• Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works By A G Lafley, Roger L Martin, Harvard Business School Press
• Visual Leaders: New Tools for Visioning, Management, & Organization Change by By David Sibbet, John Wiley & Sons

There is truly something for everyone in the leadership category this year. If you are looking to improve performance, Boundaries for Leaders lays out how the establishment of clear limits, and even containment, benefits productivity. But, since all people think, learn, and lead differently, visual tools such as StoryMaps can greatly improve communication, and Visual Leaders will teach you how to implement them. And while it may seem that some people are born leaders, Compelling People teaches us all that we can all be leaders once we learn to balance strength and warmth. Speaking of warmth, Nice Companies Finish First refutes the assumption that successful leaders are cutthroat and lead companies that suppress employee enjoyment, and instead encourages a humanistic approach to organizational leadership. And, finally, an example of wildly successful leadership and growth would be Proctor & Gamble, and its strategy for success is revealed in Playing to Win by current CEO of P&G, AG Lafley, and the esteemed Roger L. Martin.