3 Books You Need to Read as a SNCO

So far this year I have read several books. In fact, I have read three books that I wish I would have read before sewing on Master many moons ago. These books will help you provide feedback and assess how to approach those on your team; how to create important goals and motivate your team to meet them; and how to grow as a leader in your new role.

The first book is: Move Your Bus by Ron Clark. This book offers practical advice from an award-winning school teacher on how to assess and manage those on your team. Ron teaches us that our busses all have drivers, runners, joggers, walkers and riders. Each has a different level of value to add to the team and how to manage each. Move Your Bus is very practical and easy to read.

Many of us have employed the methods from the next book in some form or another, but it is doubtful that you have done all of the steps together. The Four Disciplines of Execution or 4DX by Sean Covey teaches leaders how to set the right goals. This book is a must read if you are leading a team and want to stop putting out fires on a daily basis. This book can feel a bit academic at times, but is packed with actionable advice all leaders should learn.

Lastly, What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith is a book that will stop you from being a jerk boss. It forces us to look at how we can improve ourselves even though we may have been promoted to a position where we aren’t required to change. This book also offers some insightful advice from an executive coach with decades of wisdom in the field.

Leaders are readers. It is vital that we push our minds out of their comfort zones and learn from some of the greatest minds out there. These books are great suggestions to get started, but there are thousands of other books out there for you to choose from. If you find it difficult to find the time to read, we are trying to get a small group of people together to do a group session and discuss some concepts from these books and more. If you are interested in this, email me at inspiretomorrow@gmail.com and just say you’re interested. We plan to start meeting in early June.