Which Leadership Books Will Actually Help Your Gym Right Now?

Different gym owners need different leadership books.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares a simple plan to help you use the contents of any book to improve yourself and your business, and then he recommends specific books in each realm of leadership.

Self-Leadership (to go fast, go alone):

• “Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty
• “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin
• “Courage Is Calling” by Ryan Holiday
• “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown 
• “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield
• “Drive” by Daniel Pink

Team Leadership (to go far, go together):

• “Be the Unicorn” by William Vanderbloemen 
• “Good to Great” by Jim Collins
• “Vivid Vision” by Cameron Herold
• “Leadershift” by John Maxwell 

Peer Leadership (share the mission beyond your gym):

• “Influence” by Robert Cialdini 
• “Building a StoryBrand” by Donald Miller
• “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann 
• “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

Tribe Leadership (influence your community at scale): 

• “The Wisdom of Joseph Campbell” by Michael Toms 
• “The Dichotomy of Leadership” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin 
• “Enchantment” by Guy Kawasaki 
• “Resilience” by Eric Greitens 
• “Tribes” by Seth Godin 

Plus, from Feb. 9 to 13, 2026, only, Coop is giving away free digital copies of his 10 books for gym owners.

Go to Gym Owners United (linked below), DM him with your biggest challenge, and he'll send you the right book to start with.

Links

Gym Owners United

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1:56 - Your leadership diagnostic

6:31 - Self-leadership books

8:44 - Team leadership books

10:57 - Peer leadership books

11:58 - Tribe leadership books

Transcript

Chris 0:03

Before you dive into any leadership book, I want you to get more from the books you read. What I recommend is that you do this. You read the book, and as you read it, you take notes. You don't just copy verbatim or highlight what's in the book. I mean, that worked in elementary school, maybe in high school. But now you need to say, how does this apply to me? You need to reflect on it. As you're reading the book, you reflect on it. You say, How does this apply to my situation? And after you're finished, you try one thing from the book, and then you measure the result. And then you record your thoughts on that result. Was that good enough? Then you tweak it and try it again. And you measure the result and you record your thoughts, and then you tweak it and you test it again. And you go through this at least three times before you start the next book on leadership. This is how we grow, not by speed reading 50 books, but by applying five books over and over and over again. So here's the cycle of building leadership. First is try. You pick one concept from the book, and I'm going to give you a great list. Pick one concept from one of those books and you implement it. Then you measure, you track what happens when you apply it. Then you reflect. You think about why it worked or how it could work better or why it didn't work. And you write that down. And then you adjust, you tweak your approach, and you try again. So try, measure, reflect, and adjust. And this is how you build leadership. It's how you build skills in anything, really. You do not become a better baseball player by reading books about baseball. You do not become a better machinist by reading books about the machine that you're going to be working on. You become better by trying something, measuring your outcome, reflecting, what could I do better, and then trying it again and getting better and better and better. So which leadership book should you read first? What's the right leadership book for you to start with in 2026? Well, let's figure out where you should focus. So for most gym owners, 80% of the people listening to this podcast, your first priority should be self-leadership. I've learned this after mentoring thousands of you that if you can focus, if you can be patient, if you can remain calm, if you can put aside your skepticism, you know, your judgment, and just do the work that we give you, you will see amazing results. But if you're unable to focus, unable to be patient, unable to just head down do the work, you won't see results. If you have specific burning fires within your gym business that's related to your staff, then you might need to prioritize team leadership right now. But you're going to eventually need self-leadership if you're going to lead those staff. And if you're already strong in both areas of self-leadership and team leadership, then peer leadership might be your next frontier. So I'm going to give you a quick diagnostic and I want you to rate yourself honestly on a scale of one to five for each statement, where one is no, not at all. And five is, yeah, I can do that consistently well. Okay, so here's the self-leadership diagnostic. First, I can focus without distraction for a full hour. A one, no, I can't. No way, not even close. A five, yep, full hour, no distraction, no problem. Second, I can quickly recover from setbacks, stress, or negative feedback. Man, I am a low score on this one. I'm more of a one or a two. Third, I can sustain deep thinking and problem solving for several hours without losing quality. One is low, five is high. Fourth, when unexpected changes happen, I adjust quickly without frustration or loss of momentum. Again, I'm on the lower end of the scale here. Fifth, I can delay immediate gratification and stay committed to long-term goals. That is me all day. That's probably my strength. Sixth, I have a clear sense of my values and make decisions aligned with them. Uh candidly between me and you, I'm working on this every single day. That's the self-leadership diagnostic. Here's the team leadership diagnostic. First, I have documented systems and processes for all recurring tasks in my business. Documented means it's out of your head and on paper. Second, I regularly train my staff to ensure consistency and delivery. They're following the process because we train on it. Third, I evaluate staff performance objectively and provide timely feedback. If you haven't done an evaluation in the last three months, you're a one on this. Next, I coach my team members to help them grow beyond their current roles. Hey, most of us are actually doing pretty good at this, but if we're not sure what we should be coaching them on because we haven't done an evaluation, then we're not a five. Next, I delegate effectively and I don't need to micromanage. Next, I communicate clear expectations and I hold my staff accountable. Give yourself a rating from one to five. One is low, five is high. Nobody's gonna test you on this. There's not a score, there's no judgment, there's no right or wrong. We're just trying to help you figure out where you should be starting and then what type of book you should be starting with this year. Here's the diagnostic for peer leadership. When the gym is going great, your staff are all super happy and achieving what they're supposed to be achieving, that's key. Now it's time to start looking at community partnerships, you know, maybe acquiring other gyms or pairing up with other leaders. This is the peer leadership tier. Uh so this is the diagnostic. First, I build strong partnerships that create win-win opportunities. Second, I can influence peers to take action even when I have no authority over them. Third, I maintain credibility and trust in professional and personal circles. Hey, if you're running down the local chiropractors or the local dietitians, you're not doing that. Fourth, I step into leadership roles during times of crisis and I provide clarity. Fifth, I share knowledge and resources generously without expecting an immediate return. Next, I collaborate effectively with peers to achieve shared goals. Okay, so we've done three diagnostics, one for self-leadership, one for team, one for peer. Here's how to interpret your scores. If your self-leadership score is below 24 out of 30, start there because that's the foundation to everything else. If your self-leadership is solid, but your team leadership score is below 24, and maybe you're experiencing high staff turnover or client complaints about inconsistency, or you can't take a vacation without everything falling apart, start with a book on team leadership. I'll share my list in a minute. If both of those scores, self and team leadership, are 24 or higher, consider peer leadership to expand your influence beyond your gym walls. Remember, 80% of gym owners should start with self-leadership because fixing the owner will fix their business. So here's the best leadership books of 2026. First, self-leadership. The motto here is if you want to go fast, if you want to get things done quickly, you need to go alone. But eventually you're going to need a team around you. Now, self-leadership books will help you develop the mental fitness, clarity, and resilience to lead yourself effectively. So here's my number one is Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty. You need to learn to quiet your mind, to find clarity, and make decisions that are aligned with your values. Some of these book titles are going to surprise you, by the way, because they don't say the word business or scale or growth engine anywhere in them. The second book that I recommend for self-leadership is called The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Again, probably a surprise to a lot of listeners. But this is how you discover how to tap into your creativity and sustain deep focus without burning out. That is so key because if you're burned out, then you know your patience, your focus, these things don't matter. They don't exist anymore. The third book on self-leadership that I recommend is called Courage is Calling by Ryan Holliday. This is where you build the courage to face fear, take action, and lead through uncertainty. The fourth book is called Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. This is where you develop vulnerability-based leadership and emotional resilience. The fifth is called The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. This is where you overcome resistance and develop the discipline to do the work that matters. And the next is Drive by Daniel Pink. This is how you can understand intrinsic motivation and how to align your actions with long-term goals. Now, look, it sounds like I'm telling you to read a bunch of self-help or therapy books. Here's the reality: most of the problems in your business have at least their roots in you. You're not confident, you're not focused, you're not organized, you're not patient. One of those things. And that is trickling down onto your staff. And it's probably affecting your team leadership, but it's definitely affecting how you show up and your own productivity and your own frustration and your own ability to grow your gym. Until you have at least a baseline level of competence at all of those things, focus, patience, long-term thinking, et cetera, it's you're going to struggle to lead staff. I mean, this your staff leadership is not just going to work. However, at some point, you're going to need a team. You're going to need a staff, and they have to behave like a team and act like a team and focus on getting you toward the same goals instead of just having a job. And the the expression here is if you want to go far, you go together. So these books focus on leading staff who have a clear incentive to follow you. You're paying them, you're telling them what to do, it's your job to make sure that they do it. Getting your business out of your head and creating systems on paper that you can give to them and say, follow these instructions, that takes you from a sick business to a well business, from minus one to zero. Creating this cycle of documentation and delivery and evaluation and coaching takes you from zero to one, one to two, two to three, et cetera. And so some of these books are amazing. You'll have heard of some of them, but probably not all. The first is Be the Unicorn by William Vanderblomen. This is how you learn to hire, develop, and retain exceptional team leaders. William spoke to our tinkers this year. This book I almost didn't read because of the title Unicorn Doesn't Really Appeal to Me, but it was incredible. I highly recommend it. The second book I recommend is Good to Great by Jim Collins. I read this book every year. This is how you build a culture of disciplined people, thought, and action. The third book I recommend for team leadership is called Vivid Vision by Cameron Harold, another summit speaker at Two Brain. This book helps you create a compelling vision that your team can rally behind. The fourth book I recommend is called Leadershift by John Maxwell. Now, John has a lot of great books on leadership. They just seem to be getting better and better. This is how you make the critical shifts necessary to become a more effective leader of people. You know, I don't have a ton of books on team leadership because it's better to read these books several times over than it is to find a whole bunch of different ones about making your bed and, you know, just never saying no and turning the ship around and all that stuff. Now, peer leadership is when your team leadership is strong, your self-leadership is great, and you want to share the mission with others who aren't paid by you, who you don't have direct control of, but you do influence. Most entrepreneurs never reach this level because their customers are usually compelled to keep dealing with them, right? But the best entrepreneurs are good at peer leadership. You want to keep doing business with them because of who they are, not what they sell. You're not locked into a contract with them. You have a social contract, a connection. You like them. Influence is built fastest, by the way, in times of crisis. And the top book on this topic is Influence by Robert Cialdini. You need to master the psychology of persuasion and ethical influence. Another great one is Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. This is how you clarify your message and you connect with people emotionally. My favorite of all time is The Go Giver by Bob Berg and John David Mann. This is how you act with generosity and create lasting influence. Remember, influence isn't self-serving. It's not greedy. It's about giving first, helping first, and then being open to the rewards that come back. Another classic book, and I read this every year too, is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It's a classic on building relationships and influencing others. Now I'm going to talk about books to build tribe leadership because when your influence eventually scales beyond one-on-one, and your followers, your clients, your team start recruiting other people to be on your team, recruit other people to join your tribe, that's when you need to be good at tribe leadership. And most gym owners won't need to focus here yet, right? Greg Glassman did. You probably don't have to yet. But if you're ready to build a movement and influence your community at scale, then these books will help. The first, and again, some of these titles are going to surprise you, but the first is The Wisdom of Joseph Campbell by Michael Toms. This is how you understand the power of myth and storytelling to unite communities. The next is The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. You need to balance the competing demands of leadership at scale all the time. The third is Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. You need to learn to inspire and delight people and win their hearts. Another one I love and read every year is Resilience by Eric Grirtons. This is how you build the mental toughness to lead through adversity. Another favorite by a favorite author is Tribes by Seth Godin. You need to understand what it takes to lead and have your tribe connecting to one another. So here's your next best step. I want you to pick one book from your priority area: self-leadership, team leadership, peer leadership, or tribe leadership. Read the book. Then, and this is the important part, apply the leadership growth cycle. Try one concept from the book, measure what happens, reflect on what worked and what didn't, and then adjust it and try it again. Go through this cycle at least three times before you move to the next book. Remember, becoming a better leader isn't about eating the frog or making your bed or starting with why. It's about practicing the habits of leadership, trying new things, reflecting on the outcome, and then trying to improve them. Now, most people don't need to be leaders. Most of your friends will never need to be leaders. Hell, most people don't want to be leaders. But if we really want to change the world, we need to start with positive people. That's you, who have the right why, again, that's you, and give them the skills to lead everybody else through the desert ahead. Fixing the owner is how you fix the business. You need to start with yourself and the rest will follow. Now, please, this week and this week only, the digital copies of all my books, all 10, are free this week only. All you got to do is go to gym ownersunited.com, send me a DM, and let me know your biggest challenge right now. If you've done the assessment, you can tell me, ah, Coop, I need something for, you know, what is the biggest challenge in my business? Is this I need uh one of your books to help me with self-leadership. Great. Any book that I've written and published, I will give you the digital copy for free this week. Okay, and I'll tell you which one you should read first, and then you can tell me how you've applied it and what the result was. Okay, so go to gymownersunited.com, send me a DM, let me know what your biggest challenge is right now, and I will send you or help you get a digital copy of one of my 10 books for free. I'm Chris Cooper. This is Runner Profitable Gym. And if you want to fix your business, start by fixing the owner.