Further Reading — Chapter 25: Leadership and Influence

Foundational Academic Sources

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. Free Press. The book establishing transformational and transactional leadership as the primary distinction in modern leadership theory. Bass operationalized Burns's earlier political science concept into an empirically testable framework. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) developed from this work has been used in hundreds of studies. Somewhat dated in writing but foundational for understanding why the transformational/transactional distinction became the organizing framework for three decades of leadership research.

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. The original psychological safety paper. Edmondson's nursing team research — finding that better teams reported more errors because safety made reporting possible — is the empirical foundation for the Project Aristotle findings and three decades of subsequent research. Clear methodology, clean findings, accessible writing for an academic paper. Essential for anyone who wants the original evidence.

Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business. The source for the influence principles described in this chapter. Cialdini's research on compliance-gaining identifies the psychological mechanisms — reciprocity, commitment/consistency, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity — through which people are moved. The 2021 edition adds the Unity principle. Not exclusively a leadership text, but the most practically useful account of how social influence works. Essential reading for anyone who leads, negotiates, or needs to persuade.

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Life cycle theory of leadership. Training and Development Journal, 23(5), 26–34. The original paper establishing situational leadership theory. The four-style, four-development-level framework has been refined in subsequent work (and criticized for limited empirical validation), but the core insight — that effective leadership adapts to the follower rather than applying a fixed style — remains one of the most practically useful ideas in the field.

Books for General Readers

Bennis, W. (1989). On Becoming a Leader. Addison-Wesley. Bennis's accessible and influential account of leadership development, built on interviews with ninety leaders. The emphasis on self-knowledge, authenticity, and leadership as development rather than a fixed trait is ahead of its time. "The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born" is from this book. Readable and practical; the interview-based approach gives it texture that purely theoretical accounts lack.

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Paulist Press. The foundational text on servant leadership. Greenleaf's essay "The Servant as Leader" (1970) introduced the concept; this book extends it. Somewhat dense and spiritually oriented by contemporary standards, but the core insight — that the leader's primary role is to serve those being led — has generated substantial empirical support in subsequent decades. Most relevant for leaders who feel disconnected from the relational dimensions of their role.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Harvard Business School Press. Heifetz and Linsky's accessible treatment of adaptive leadership for a general audience. The distinction between technical and adaptive challenges is central, but the book's primary contribution is its account of why leadership is dangerous — why the status quo defends itself against those who try to change it, and what personal and organizational resources are required to sustain the effort. One of the most psychologically honest accounts of what leading through significant change actually costs.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley. Edmondson's book-length treatment of psychological safety for a general management audience. Covers the research, the application across organizational contexts, and the practical leadership behaviors that create or destroy safety. The most directly applicable text for leaders who want to implement the psychological safety findings in their teams. Readable and practically oriented.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books. Goleman's popular treatment of the EI concept and its applications. The specific claim — that EI matters more than IQ — is an overstatement of the research; the more defensible finding is that EI predicts outcomes that cognitive ability alone does not, particularly in people-coordination roles. Readable and accessible; best treated as an introduction to the concepts rather than as a precise account of the empirical literature.

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press. The definitive account of Kotter's 8-step change model, built from analysis of over 100 organizational change efforts. The primary finding — that most change efforts fail because leaders skip steps, especially urgency creation and coalition building — is well-supported and practically important. Somewhat formulaic in prescription but the diagnostic framework is genuinely useful. A standard text in organizational development and leadership development programs.

On Trust and Integrity

Covey, S. M. R. (2006). The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything. Free Press. Covey's treatment of trust as an economic variable — that high-trust organizations operate faster and cheaper than low-trust ones. Less psychologically rigorous than the academic literature but more practically specific about trust-building and trust-restoring behaviors. Useful for leaders who want concrete guidance rather than theoretical frameworks.

Dirks, K. T., & Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 611–628. The meta-analytic review of trust-in-leadership research through 2002. Establishes that leader trust is among the most robust predictors of follower satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance. Reviews the ability-based, integrity-based, and benevolence-based trust distinction with empirical support. For readers who want the academic foundation rather than the popular account.

On Developing as a Leader

McCall, M. W. (1988). The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job. Lexington Books. The research underlying the 70-20-10 model. McCall and colleagues' study of senior executives' development found that challenging on-the-job experiences were the primary source of significant leadership learning — far exceeding formal training. The book identifies the specific types of experiences (hardships, new roles, high-stakes challenges) that produce the most growth. Essential for anyone responsible for talent development.

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. Simon & Schuster. The book presenting Gallup's Q12 research on what makes the best managers. The finding that the immediate manager is the primary driver of engagement, performance, and retention — more than company, compensation, or benefits — is one of the most robust findings in organizational psychology. The twelve questions (Q12) that predict engagement are practically useful as a self-assessment for leaders.

The Character Reading Lists

Jordan is working through: - The Fearless Organization (Edmondson) — found it after the Rivera conversation; it describes his culture problem precisely - First, Break All the Rules (Buckingham & Coffman) — Sandra recommended it at the start of the role; he is reading it again now that he has twelve people to apply it to

Amara is working through: - On Becoming a Leader (Bennis) — a recommendation from Marcus; she is thinking about what it means to lead clinically, not just as a practitioner - The Speed of Trust (Covey) — relevant to thinking about the therapeutic relationship as a form of leadership relationship