Looking to grow professionally and as a leader in the nonprofit sector? Get started with this list of essential nonprofit leadership reads. And these books are filled with helpful pointers and advice for any working professional, whatever your position may be. From how to prevent burn out, to how to survive in the face of uncertainty, to how to change the world we live in for the better, these books equip us to utilize our relationships, habits, motivations and mindsets to be our very best and make the most impact.

How to Promote Well Being

The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout

Beth Kanter and Eliza Sherman

The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit serves as a handbook for nonprofit leaders to evaluate their organization, identify any issues, and resolve them gracefully and with attention to all important aspects, from its operations to its culture. Kanter and Sherman are expert nonprofit thought leaders that provide deep insights into how to build a healthy and successful nonprofit that avoids burn-out and retains a sense of well-being.

How to Survive and Be Flexible

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries

If you are a part of a new or growing nonprofit, this is the book for you. In this book, the author proposes an approach to make companies and organizations more efficient with their finances and better able to leverage creativity. He shows several strategies for staying flexible and adaptable under uncertain conditions.

How to Make Lasting Change

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Chip Heath

Bringing together research in `psychology and sociology by using various case studies, Switch shows us how to make lasting and successful changes. The advice offered by this book can apply to anything, from changing your work practices to changing the world through your mission.

How to Inspire and Be Inspired

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Daniel H. Pink

This New York Times bestseller shows us a new way to think about motivation. Pink proposes that our true motivation comes from feelings of autonomy, mastery, and purpose, and he offers techniques for how to utilize these feelings to better our personal lives as well as our relationship to our work.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek

Sinek’s TED Talk, START WITH WHY, is the third most popular TED talk of all time. In his book, he outlines the characteristics of the greatest and most influential world leaders, providing “a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired”. His thesis is that this frame of mind begins with asking “why”.

How to Keep Doing Meaningful Work

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace

Gordon MacKenzie

Mackenzie dares you to dream big and go above the confines of the traditional corporate administration mindset. He encourages the production of work that is both creative and personally fulfilling, while giving insights about how to stay afloat and practical. His approach can help managers invigorate employees as well as assist anyone who wants to achieve a high level, rewarding body of work.

How to Make a Societal Impact

Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits

Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant

This book shows 12 case studies of nonprofits that have achieved extraordinary levels of impact, including Habitat for Humanity and the Heritage Foundation. The authors demonstrate six practices that these organizations have used to create change. This a great read for anyone interested in having a positive impact on the world: nonprofit leaders, donors, and volunteers alike.

What recommended reading do you have for nonprofit leaders? Have some leadership advice to share of your own? Please leave a comment to let us know!