BOOKS THAT WORK

A numbers person is someone who understands the metrics, can read what they are given, looks for trends in the data and can communicate the data to others. They have conversations about action, are future focused and solutions orientated. They think slowly and critically about the data they have. Numbers people are enjoy seeing evidence of their impact, and knowing they are making a difference.So let's help build our data literacy and ability to be that sort of person.

This playbook explains how respect, fairness, integrity, attention, empathy, humility and courage are the characteristics of the compassionate leader.And it's not all about putting everyone first – compassionate leadership starts with self compassion.

Psychologist, Dr Sarb Johal, helps us navigate uncertainty, understanding how our brain drives our reactions, the role of structure and habit in creating calm and how self regulation makes us more creative, positive and optimistic.

Future You helps us challenge our assumptions and embrace the future - harnessing the creative benefits of change, learning all the way from Gen Z, by observing as leaders and making sure we have flexibility and spontaneity in what we do.Author, entrepreneur and educator Frances Valintine leads by example in this.

In a post-pandemic world flexible work has blurred the boundary between our professional and personal lives. How do we take back control, deal with the demands of work and have greater freedoms?

Drawing on a decade of research and experience of creatively solving problems with Design Thinking, Experiencing Design challenges us to deeply understand what Design Thinking is, and how it can shake-up the way we lead and work together.

From ideas to funding, history shows us that innovation has been stifled because of gender - hear the examples from author Katrine Marçal and how we might change to bring more innovation and ideas to life.

Learn what created the culture at Netflix from their Chief Talent Officer of 14 years Patty McCord, and how this applies today in a Covid world.Powerful takes us inside culture lessons from Silicon Valley and sheds light on what a culture of freedom and responsibility does for people, teams and organisations. Hear about concepts such as relentlessly focusing on the future, a recipe for building great teams and creating CV worthy experiences so people leave organisations where it was a great place to be from.Patty talks about Radical Honesty – a concept that was part of the Netflix way of working - and one thing she regrets about this approach.

Learn how perspective, perspective on ourselves and others and what behaviours are created through fear of loss at work to develop wiser, more compassionate leadership.

Why does it matter to feel the pain of change and embrace the grief that comes with change? How do you find patience and hope? And what role does being clear on your values help in recovering from change? Plan B lays out this and more to master change.

Understand the pitfalls of always wanting to ‘win' or be right at work and how a different approach changes how we operate and the results we can achieve.. Learn the difference between Radiators and Drains, how bad bosses can be great bosses and why awards matter.

Former Sportsgirl and Sussan CEO Colleen Callander's story of leadership success is centred on changing the emphasis from profit to people, purpose and passion. She's a leader who plays the long game – putting people first and knowing profit will follow. Colleen is proof that this approach to leadership works.Leader by Design shares the things that Colleen knows creates successful leadership – in a genuine, practical, very accessible way.

This Empathy episode is essential if you:Are leading a team through a particularly tough challengeWant to master the art of connection with your teamAre keen to build a diverse and inclusive cultureRun a company and want to grow a culture with a strong sense of belongingHear what empathy is, how we're wired to be empathetic and why it makes business sense.

Discover the case for trust – even though it's time consuming, can be risky and the return isn't always obvious - learn why trust matters, what anchors trust and practical ways for how to build it.

Discover a proven formula for a 4 day week that maintains productivity and ensures 100% of pay for the workforce.As we grapple with what workplaces and the workforce looks like and needs in a Covid 19 world where many people are questioning the role work plays in their lives, there's no better time to get serious about learning about the 4 Day Week.

Learn what confidence is, why it matters and how to build it. It's worth it, as confidence can make us healthier, happy, wealthier, kinder and more motivated.

Key insights from six Books That Work authors to help lift our sights to thrive at work, as individuals and to help build good workplace cultures. A Books That Work episode special.

We take the best and most useful bits of our business books to date to provide a shortcut into the skills we need from our leaders.

Get insights into the importance of flexibility in leadership, how to make good decisions, the power of systems leadership, the language strategic leaders use and the questions they ask.

Discover what burnout looks like, what causes it, how to spot it and what to do about it personally and as leaders.

Silver Linings shares the magic that turned the pandemic clouds on the horizon into silver linings. It teaches us about the Kiwi leadership and running businesses that should also make a difference to how we operate now and in the future.

Suneel Gupta was the poster child for failure before he uncovered how to turn ideas into backable ideas and action. He shares the seven surprising changes we can make to get people to take a chance on us. Backable encourages us to think and do some things differently to make ourselves ‘backable'.

Judith Beck draws on decades of experience as an executive recruiter to share what sets the top 10 percent of people apart. She believes the key to speeding up our career progression is to think as individuals, not as genders, and when we do this the sooner their will be equality for everyone

This is the story of achievement, and how small steps of cultivating positivity can give anyone a competitive edge. Deena Kastor is proof that scanning the world for goodness can create a whole new channel of energy to reach our potential and open possibilities.

Global Generation has been building communities while building gardens in London since 2004. Hear the leadership stories that emerged during this time and how models centred on “I, we and the planet' can help our thinking when tackling work and organisational problems and opportunities.

A formula for unleashing our inner brilliance as leaders, to make a difference for ourselves and our teams.Be Brilliant teaches us how to own our own spotlight. Proudly – like flamingos.We're challenged to get on the good side of the self doubt versus self belief and invisible and visible continnuim. To do any of this and to lead our teams we need to own our own spotlight, and the assets we each have as individuals.

Gail Kelly passionately argues for putting people and customers at the heart of a business and leading with courage and generosity of spirit.Gail is a leader worth following, whose pragmatic, practical advice and tips are inspiring and motivating for any leader or any person wanting to know more about what good leadership looks like.Learn from Gail's experience and insights about being bold, backing yourself, having the right people in the right roles and loving what you do.Leadership like this is what makes organisations, teams and individuals thrive and be successful. And she lead the way more than a decade ago.

What will jobs look like in the future? Will Artificial Intelligence and robots take over? What chance have I got to survive and thrive at work with so much technological change?What the future of work looks like is worrying many people according to research. Forever Skills provides a raft of calm in the boiling ocean of concern and uncertainty about the future of work.Uncover the 12 skills that will future proof yourself, your team and your children.In a world where so much is changing – Forever Skills focuses on what is unchanging but crucial for the future. Authors Kieran Flanagan and Dan Gregory want people and teams to be ‘lit up' about what the future holds, not just ‘putting up' with what's coming.

The playbook for how to create a great place to work. Practical, straight up advice and tips as a leader or to get your organisation and team to sit up and take culture seriously.Making culture the number one priority for organisations and team, with investment to match.Culture is the thing that gets people out of bed in the morning and is often the last thing they think of before they go to bed at night. A poor culture leads to unhappy people, unhappy people don't feel empowered to make decisions and inertia sets in. In other words poor culture creates freefalling profitability and lack of success.Get energised about the power of culture, and equipped with evidence and actions to grow culture and get measurable results and improved performance.

In this pilot Books That Work episode we talk about being a change maker, working out what drives you, how to open your thinking to doing things differently, trying out new things at work and just going for it, courageously. Get five actionable things to try or test at work as well.