Welcome to the curated collection of leadership insights that have shaped my thinking and guided my work. These books stand out for their wisdom, relevance, and practical value. Whether you're leading a team, building a culture of feedback, or simply striving to grow. Each title comes with a brief note on why it matters and how it can sharpen your leadership edge.
The Ember & Oak Bookshelf
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Theme: Feedback that challenges directly and cares personally
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Few books cut to the heart of feedback like Radical Candor. Kim Scott, a former leader at Google and Apple, shares a practical framework for giving feedback that is both clear and compassionate. Her central thesis, that effective leaders must challenge directly while caring personally, offers a refreshing, actionable approach to one of leadership’s most difficult tasks.
Scott categorizes feedback into four quadrants: Radical Candor, Obnoxious Aggression, Ruinous Empathy, and Manipulative Insincerity. These simple labels help leaders quickly reflect on their own behaviors and course-correct. What makes the book stand out is how real it feels. It’s packed with stories, missteps, and lessons learned from the front lines of leadership.
Why I Recommend It:
If you're trying to build a culture of feedback, this book is a must-read. It’s not theoretical. It’s real, raw, and applicable. Radical Candor complements the RA-RA Feedback Model by reinforcing the idea that feedback isn’t about checking a box. It’s about building trust, sparking growth, and having the courage to speak the truth with respect.
What you’ll take away:
How to strike the balance between direct feedback and genuine care
Why “ruinous empathy” and “obnoxious aggression” sabotage team culture
A practical framework (Care Personally, Challenge Directly) to build trust without backing down
How to create a feedback culture that supports growth, not just compliance
Whether you're new to leading or refining your craft, this book will challenge the way you think about feedback and equip you to do it better.
Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen
Theme: Becoming better at receiving feedback, even when it's poorly given
Why It’s Worth Reading:
While most feedback books focus on how to give it, Thanks for the Feedback flips the script, helping you become a stronger receiver. Stone and Heen, both lecturers at Harvard Law School and part of the Difficult Conversations Project, explore why feedback so often triggers defensiveness, confusion, or withdrawal, even when it's meant to help us grow.
They outline three types of feedback: appreciation, coaching, and evaluation, and explain how each plays a different role in development. More importantly, they address the emotional side of receiving feedback: the identity triggers, relationship dynamics, and the stories we tell ourselves that get in the way of hearing what we need to hear.
Why I Recommend It:
This book is essential for leaders who want to build a culture of feedback but forget that giving is only half the equation. The RA-RA Feedback Model emphasizes mutual growth, and Thanks for the Feedback strengthens the "Reflect" and "Adjust" phases by equipping you to process input with clarity and resilience, even when it’s uncomfortable.
What you’ll take away:
Why receiving feedback well is a distinct and learnable skill
The three types of feedback, appreciation, coaching, and evaluation, and how to spot what you’re getting
How to manage your triggers and shift from defensive to developmental
How to use feedback, even when poorly delivered, to accelerate your own learning and leadership
If you've ever dismissed feedback too quickly or taken it too personally, this book will help you pause, reflect, and grow. It’s a masterclass in feedback, humility, and a powerful tool for any leader who wants to lead by example.
Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet
Theme: Empowerment through shared ownership and trust.
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Turn the Ship Around! isn’t just a story of military leadership; it’s a case study in rethinking authority, empowerment, and accountability. Marquet, a former U.S. Navy submarine commander, recounts how he transformed the USS Santa Fe from one of the worst-performing submarines in the fleet into one of the best, not by giving better orders, but by giving fewer. His mantra? “Don’t take control. Give control.”
Why I Recommend It:
At its core, Marquet’s “leader-leader” model hinges on trust, clarity, and responsibility. These are the key ingredients in any effective feedback culture. Instead of top-down evaluations, he fosters continuous dialogue. Team members are taught to say “I intend to…” rather than “Can I…,” which forces clarity of thought and encourages initiative. It’s feedback in action: constant, embedded, and owned at every level.
What you’ll take away:
Why the best leaders focus on creating more leaders, not more followers
How language reshapes responsibility and ownership in teams
How to apply intent-based leadership to foster high-trust, high-performance environments
If you're building a culture where feedback isn't a moment but a system, Turn the Ship Around! offers a real-world example of how leadership can unlock latent potential, starting by letting go.
This animated video, titled "Greatness," is adapted from Captain David Marquet's talk and is based on his book Turn the Ship Around! . It illustrates Marquet's transformative leadership journey aboard the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine. Confronted with the limitations of traditional top-down leadership, Marquet shifted to a "leader-leader" model, empowering crew members to take initiative and make decisions. This approach led to remarkable improvements in performance, morale, and retention, turning the Santa Fe from one of the worst-performing submarines into a top performer in the fleet.
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last makes a powerful case that leadership isn’t about status, it’s about service. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, and organizational psychology, Sinek reveals how the most successful teams are built on trust, not fear. The title comes from a practice in the military where senior leaders let their people eat first, symbolizing that leaders put their team’s needs ahead of their own.
Sinek introduces the idea of the “Circle of Safety,” a cultural construct where people feel secure, valued, and empowered to collaborate. When leaders expand this circle by listening, protecting, and supporting their teams, they unlock loyalty, innovation, and resilience. The book mixes storytelling and science to show that human-centered leadership isn’t just ethical, it’s strategic.
Why I Recommend It:
If you’re serious about building a culture where feedback thrives, this book is essential. Trust is the soil that feedback grows in. Leaders Eat Last pairs beautifully with the RA-RA Feedback Model, especially the “Ready” and “Align” steps, where emotional safety and shared values matter most. Sinek reminds us that leadership is earned through consistent acts of service, not titles or metrics.
What you’ll take away:
Why trust, belonging, and safety fuel high-performing teams
The role of biology, such as dopamine, oxytocin, and cortisol in shaping leadership behavior
How the “Circle of Safety” transforms organizational culture
The long-term costs of short-term, metric-driven decision-making
Why great leaders eat last and how that mindset changes everything
Whether you lead a team of five or five thousand, this book will reframe how you think about responsibility, culture, and the role of a leader in creating conditions where people can thrive.
Theme: Trust as the foundation of leadership
