When you’re responsible for making decisions that affect other people, you start to understand why reading is important for leaders.
This came up recently with one of my executive coaching clients. One of his goals for the year was simple: read more. So I gave my client an assignment: go to the library and check out two books — one business-related and another of any other kind.
I feel like my client was a little surprised. Kind of like, “This is what we’re going to do in executive coaching?” Not exactly, but I did have a few reasons for making that the first assignment. First, it’s a simple, easy goal that we can check off the list to build momentum. But more importantly, I know that reading is one of the fastest ways leaders can learn from other people’s experiences without having to make every mistake themselves.
Reading Is One of the Most Common Leadership Habits
If you look at the habits of strong leaders, reading shows up again and again because it improves how leaders think, not just what they know.
Many leadership and professional development experts (here’s one) point to reading as one of the simplest ways to strengthen critical thinking and decision-making. Regular reading exposes leaders to more complex ideas, arguments, and perspectives than they typically encounter in everyday conversation.
It also strengthens communication. The more leaders read, the more language patterns, vocabulary, and ways of explaining ideas they absorb, which makes it easier to communicate vision and strategy to others.
Reading also expands perspective. Leaders regularly face problems with no obvious answer. Exposure to different viewpoints through books, articles, and research helps leaders approach those challenges with a broader lens.
Books Create “Borrowed Experience”
One of the best explanations I’ve heard for why reading matters is the idea of borrowed experience.
Books allow you to learn from someone else’s journey before you face the same situation yourself. A founder writes about scaling a company, a nonprofit leader writes about navigating board dynamics, or an author shares how they approached risk or failure.
Suddenly, you’re learning lessons that may have taken someone else ten years to figure out.
This is another reason reading is important for leaders. It accelerates learning in a way that experience alone cannot.
My Recommended Business Books
Over the years, a few business books have had a big impact on how I think about work and leadership.
One of the books I recommend most often is Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. The central idea is simple but powerful: your organization isn’t the hero of the story — your customer or client is. You are simply the guide.
Another book I frequently recommend is The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi. While it isn’t technically a business book, it offers a framework for deciding what matters most and letting go of the rest. That idea applies surprisingly well to leadership and work.
And then there’s The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, which helped reinforce the importance of focus. Leaders are constantly pulled in different directions, and the discipline of asking “What’s the one thing that matters most right now?” can be incredibly powerful, even if it makes you uncomfortable or unpopular.
Recently I also listened to Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff. The book is about goal setting, but I felt like it was written for me, the perfectionist, who won’t start or complete something because I want everything to be perfect. (Looking back, it’s probably a book I should have read when I was deciding whether to start my own business.)
Why Reading Still Matters for Leaders
Leadership requires constant learning. Organizations evolve, industries change, and new challenges appear all the time.
That’s why reading is important for leaders. It keeps ideas fresh, expands perspective, and helps leaders learn faster than experience alone would allow.
Whether it’s business books, biographies, or even fiction, reading gives leaders something incredibly valuable: access to ideas beyond their own experience.
Your Next Step
If you’re looking for some support in your leadership journey beyond books, executive coaching may be right for you. Let’s start with a free discovery call to learn more.
About mkw+co
mkw+co is a boutique consulting firm specializing in strategy, marketing, education, and coaching for small businesses and nonprofits.