There’s a lot of age-old wisdom out there. Especially in the leadership world. We have loads of books that can change our lives if we let them.
But, this month, I want to look at newer books. Books that haven’t been out for years and years. These books are fresh, new, and impactful.
Here are 5 books you need to consider reading this month to boost your leadership knowledge.
5 Leadership Books To Read In September 2026
1. The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance by Zach Mercurio:
People want to matter. Too often, they feel they don’t matter in their organization. That’s one reason people leave organizations.
What if you could make people feel appreciated? What if you could show them you cared? What if you could show them they make a difference?
Zach Mercurio knows the importance of this and helps leaders show their people they matter.
2. The Power of Positive Habits: Proven Strategies to Exponentially Grow You by Jon Gordon:
Jon Gordon has long been one of my favorite authors. I love his use of parables to help leaders understand leadership principles. It’s similar to how I examine movies for the leadership lessons they contain.
In The Power of Positive Habits: Proven Strategies to Exponentially Grow You, Jon Gordon strays from his tried-and-true formula. This book is not a parable or fable. It’s a hands-on guide on the power of positive habits.
If you need to know the power of positive habits, pick up the book here.
3. Re-Placed: Answering the Call of Leadership in the Age of AI by Kari Zeller:
We’ve been told AI will make things faster, more efficient, more correct. Some of us feel like it may even replace our jobs. Will it?
With the rise of AI, leaders now have to ask themselves what they’re going to do now. It’s a question all of us should have been asking ourselves long ago.
It’s okay, though. Kari Zeller tackles this difficult question in her book: Re-Placed. She’ll help you learn how to shift your perspective to adapt to the new age we’re in.
4. From GAP to Great: Leadership Books New Approach: Why Some Leaders Multiply Performance While Others Drain It by R.F. Price:
Have you ever been in the presence of a leader who drains the room? The moment they enter, you can feel the energy, the passion, the desire leave the room. It’s depressing.
None of us want to be that leader. Thankfully, R.F. Price can help all of us be a leader who multiplies performance rather than drains it.
Let’s stop dragging people down. Let’s start lifting them up. That’s Price’s motto. It can become yours as well.
5. Purposeful Performance: The Secret Mix of Connecting, Leading, and Succeeding by Jonathan Stanley:
What does purposeful performance look like? Is it growing the bottom line? Is it having a lasting impact on your community? Is it a mix of both?
There’s more to business than money. There’s the connection and impact you and your organization can make in the world.
Jonathan Stanley helps you realize how to do this in Purposeful Performance. You won’t want to miss this book.
