Best Leadership Training Books of 2025

The book "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, Third Edition" focuses on effective communication skills, especially in difficult situations. It provides readers with techniques to be persuasive instead of abrasive, navigate high-stakes conversations, and handle digital communication. Written in an engaging style, the third edition includes modern-day issues and challenges. The authors, Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory, are international corporate consultants and leaders at Crucial Learning. The book is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their communication skills and build better relationships, whether at work or home.

If you aspire to lead transformational workshops, trainings, or retreats, then "Designing & Leading Life-Changing Workshops" is the book for you. Drawing on real-life stories, new science, and ancient wisdom, this guide provides you with the tools to inspire self-discovery, build trust, and ignite original thinking. With ready-to-use exercises, templates, worksheets, and checklists, you'll create and fine-tune your workshops, trainings, and retreats. This book is full of value for both beginner and experienced workshop teachers, providing specific tips, heartfelt support, respect for diversity, and practical troubleshooting for any issues that arise. It is a masterful, thorough, encouraging, and useful guide that is beautifully written.

Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add Value and Eliminate MUDA is a workbook that explains how to use Toyota's mapping methodology to create lean value streams for each product family. The authors, John Shook and Mike Rother, provide guidance on identifying product families, drawing current-state and future-state maps, designating a manager for each value stream, and breaking implementation into easy steps. With detailed drawings and plain language, this book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to eliminate wasteful actions and create a sustainable production process. Overall, Learning to See is a must-read for leaders and managers interested in implementing lean management principles.

The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family is a remarkable parenting handbook that provides practical advice to parents dealing with behavior problems in their adopted children. Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, the book offers guidance on how to build affection and trust with your child, effectively handle any learning or behavioral disorders, and discipline your child with love without making them feel threatened. The book is a must-read for adoptive parents and families striving to connect with their children. Overall, The Connected Child is an exceptional and innovative work that is compassionate, accessible, and founded on a breadth of scientific knowledge and clinical expertise.

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor is a must-read for anyone wanting to build wealth in the real estate market. Filled with practical advice, this book reveals the proven strategies of over 100 millionaire investors who achieved financial freedom through real estate. It covers everything from developing the mindset and criteria for identifying great investment opportunities to building a "dream team" and tracking net worth. Written in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, this book is a steal and a valuable handbook for anyone looking to become a millionaire investor.

The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook is a comprehensive reference guide for those looking to implement Lean Six Sigma. It provides analyses of nearly 100 tools and methodologies and explains each tool's purpose, use, and efficacy. The book is organized by purpose and usage and covers the DMAIC improvement cycle. With detailed examples and step-by-step instructions, this compact and portable guide is ideal for Green and Black Belts transitioning from the classroom to the field. Overall, the book is an excellent resource for anyone looking to maximize production efficiency and maintain control over the managerial process.

"Business Made Simple" by Donald Miller is a practical guidebook that provides insights to help professionals and business owners grow their careers and companies. Miller shares the nine areas where successful leaders excel, including character, leadership, personal productivity, messaging, marketing, business strategy, execution, sales, and management. The book offers short daily entries and accompanying videos that provide enormous value to readers. The author's expertise and practical approach make this book more valuable than a business degree. Overall, "Business Made Simple" is a must-read for anyone who wants to take their career to the next level.

The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga is an essential guide for yoga professionals seeking to build a fulfilling career. The book covers the nuts-and-bolts of yoga teaching, including business acumen, entrepreneurial skills, and marketing strategies. It provides practical ideas for building a rewarding career that offers inner peace and self-awareness. Written by Amy Ippoliti and Taro Smith, this comprehensive guide is a must-read for anyone who wants to maximize their impact as a yoga teacher and achieve their career goals.

Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skills by Tony Stoltzfus is a comprehensive guide to asking effective questions. The book provides a wide range of tools, models, and exercises, along with over 1,000 examples of questions that can be used in real coaching situations. The author also highlights the top ten mistakes coaches make while asking questions and suggests ways to correct them. The book is a valuable resource for both new and experienced coaches, providing new techniques and illustrations that can be used to enhance their coaching skills. Overall, Coaching Questions is an essential read for anyone looking to improve their questioning skills in coaching.

The book "Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition" by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler is a New York Times and Washington Post bestseller that provides readers with practical tools for communicating effectively in high-stress situations. The authors explain how to transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue and make it safe to talk about almost anything. This book is an essential read for anyone looking to improve their communication skills and handle crucial conversations with confidence.