Ep218: Summer Reading List

David shares some great leadership books to explore this summer as the podcast takes a few months off:

Don't feed the elephants by Sarah Noll Wilson

CEO Excellence by Dewar, Keller & Malhotra

Keep Going by Joseph Marshall III

The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni

Make Your Bed by William McRaven

Transcript

David Wheatley (00:10)
Welcome to this episode. I'm your host, David Wheatley, and this is the last episode of Season Two before our summer hiatus in 2025. We’re going to take a couple of months off and come back to you in September.

Since you're probably busy doing other things this summer, I thought I’d close out this season by sharing a potential summer reading list. I’ve got a pile of books I’ve read recently that I thought might be worth passing along—these are the ones that stood out from the less memorable pile.

The first one is a simple and short read: Make Your Bed by Admiral William McRaven. You may have seen the commencement speech he gave that inspired the book. I don’t normally recommend military special forces-type books because they tend to operate in a different world, but this one is really accessible, down-to-earth, and well worth your time. A great one to share with your team, too.

Speaking of your team, The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni is a few years old now, but still a solid read. Like most of Lencioni’s work, it’s a business fable—with familiar characters if you’ve read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It zeroes in on how to find and hire people who are humble, hungry, and smart. That overlaps nicely with Humanergy’s four choices of leadership. If you ever want a comparison chart of the two frameworks, just let me know.

Next up is Keep Going by Joseph Marshall III. It’s a bit off the traditional leadership track, but it’s a powerful little book focused on perseverance. It’s very readable and has a strong Native American lens that adds depth and perspective.

Another recommendation that came from one of my CEO clients is CEO Excellence by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra. It lays out six things every CEO should be doing. If you know Humanergy’s work, you’ll know we’ve long coached around five key elements for CEOs—developed about a decade before this book came out. There's a strong overlap, and it’s a solid read for anyone in the executive seat.

And finally, Don’t Feed the Elephants by Sarah Noll Wilson. Sarah joined the podcast late last year to talk about this one. It’s super aligned with Humanergy’s What Great Teams Do Great model—offering a practical and relatable look at workplace dynamics, the “characters” you may recognize, and how to productively navigate common team challenges.

So, those are some summer reads I think are well worth your time. I hope you pick up at least one. And if you do, let me know what you think! Or, if you have a recommendation for the Humanergy community, drop me a note and tell me why—it’s always great to share.

Otherwise, have a wonderful summer and happy reading.