10 Brilliant Books For Amazing Professional Relationships

We love books and are intrigued by them.

We pick them up for inspiration, for practical use, and more importantly- for advice that we discretely seek in order to make our lives better.

I’ve found a few thought-provoking books that have helped catapult me and many others into a meaningful mission in the world of business.

Here are 10 of the best to help you improve on your professional relationships.

Brilliant Books for Amazing Professional Relationships in the Business World

1. The 4-Day Work Week by Tim Ferriss

I was floored at how dreamy and catalystic this book was as I was contemplating the shift from Corporate America to entrepreneurship a few years ago.

Tim Ferriss helps you to see that if you have determination and are capable of sticking to a system, you can be successful.

I took away the thought, “Hey, that sounds easy enough.  I can do it!”

2. The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller

This delightfully deep piece teaches you to be curious versus judging.

I read it in an hour and it completely changed my approach, especially on professional relationships.

Instead of thwarting my own thoughts, I find myself ask action-oriented questions like “how can I approach this messy house from a curious perspective instead of a judging perspective?”

3. Powerful Conversations by Phil Harkins

When I think of powerful conversations, I am convinced that this book saved a $90 million contract for a fortune 500 company where I was an organizational development leader.

The communication model is so effective that I use it for communication, conflict, and negotiation. Good stuff!

4. From Invisible to Incredible: Secret to Brilliant Executive Presence by Angela Nuttle

Of course, I have to mention the first book I ever published.

Anyone who is in business knows that executive presence is ruling business decisions.

I teach business people how to show up like a bright bulb in the room so they can step into the role they are called to do.

My reviews have been astounding because the book is practical, realistic, and inspiring.

This book has been called “the real deal” by everyone who reads it, and you can order it on Amazon.

5. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman & Elise Foster

This is an elegantly written book about how leaders show up well, and how they can really jack up their professional relationships with their direct reports.

It’s perfect for people who need leadership self-awareness, and an understanding of how their “accidental diminishers” can hurt engagement.

It came at a time when I was dealing with a leader who had good intentions, but was a wrecking ball to a number of her reports.

The book helped open her eyes to her true impact.

6. 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers by Stephen Covey

The classic leadership and life model book!

Anyone who aspires to be a leader or wants to understand how to be impactful has read this book.

These foundational principles should be in every leader’s cadre of skills.

7. A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

An IBM global study of 1500 CEO’s revealed that creativity is the #1 most needed competency of the future.

Daniel Pink breaks the mold of strategy and business in this book as he provokes people to embrace whole brain thinking.

As an artist, I HAD TO READ IT, and it does not disappoint!

I give it an A+ for Awesome.

8. StrengthsFinder by Tom Rath

Strengths based performance is hot right now and organizations are trying to tap into what their people do best.

I equate the 34 “themes” to how people like to show up in their daily work.

The concept gives people a new language to describe behavior and create an acceptability of diverseness.

I find that when I do StrengthsFinder workshops for teams, they suddenly receive each other more openly and want to solve world peace together.

Very cool effects!

9. Good to Great by Jim Collins

So many business gurus refer to this as one of the greatest books ever.

Although the book is pretty dry for the most part, I like it for one reason: Jim emphasizes creating a sense of urgency.

Every person has a mission, but if they can’t articulate why it has to happen now, then the audience will be lost and the mission will become another task.

10. Leadership is… by Bob Bennett

The age of storytelling is blaringly present and integral to personal inspiration.

Bob has a way of telling real stories, drawing you in, and leaving you with a sense of “I have to do something about my life.”

I know Bob well.

He is the ideal leader-humble, level-headed, and authentic.

Do you have a favorite book on improving professional relationships?

Our coworkers, bosses, and professional contacts are vital in all aspects of our careers.

Knowing how to handle them gives us the advantage of not only enhancing our experience at the office, but could also give us lifelong friends and mentors.