Must-Reads: My top 6 Female Leadership Books
Female leadership books: The power of literature for women in leadership roles
In today’s rapidly changing work environment, female leadership books are essential for women in leadership positions. Not only do they provide inspiration and knowledge, but they are also signposts that help us to understand and overcome the many challenges and opportunities that await women in the modern working world. With Female Wake-up Call, I have made it my mission to encourage and support women in leadership roles to succeed in their careers and personal lives. This blog post highlights some essential female leadership books that every woman in a leadership position or on the way there should read.
Female Leadership Books: Empowerment through knowledge
Knowledge is power, especially in the world of work. Books are a rich source of experiences, insights and strategies tailored to the needs of women in leadership positions. By reading these books, women can gain new perspectives, understand themselves better and learn how to achieve their goals. These books offer a wide range of insights and suggestions, from practical leadership tips to inspiring stories of successful female leaders.
Top 6 female leadership books
Hier sind einige Must-Reads der Female Leadership Bücher, die jede ambitionierte Frau lesen sollte:
Top 6 female leadership books: “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown
“Dare to Lead” is particularly aimed at professionals in leadership positions and explores how to become a “daring” leader who motivates and inspires her employees to develop their skills and fulfill their roles in the best possible way.
Brown challenges leaders to face fears and insecurities head on and teaches that authentic leadership requires vulnerability, values, trust and resilience. She debunks myths about workplace culture and argues that courageous leadership requires four core competencies.
Accordingly, the book is divided into four parts, which represent the main principles of courageous leadership: 1. dealing with vulnerability, 2. live our values, 3. create trust and 4. learn to stand up. These elements are critical to fostering a culture of courage and boldness in any organization. In a world that demands continuous innovation, fear of failure and shame can cause people to hold back ideas, avoid risks and avoid difficult conversations. This hinders learning and creativity and impairs success.
„Dare to Lead“ bietet somit einen umfassenden Leitfaden für Führungskräfte, die ihre Führungsfähigkeiten stärken und eine Kultur der Courage und des Vertrauens in ihren Organisationen fördern möchten.
Top 6 female leadership books: “Female Leadership – The Power of Women” by Kerstin Plehwe
The book“Female Leadership – The Power of Women” by Kerstin Plehwe explores what makes people successful, in particular the skills possessed by women who have made it to the top.
The author, herself an experienced entrepreneur and advisor to political and business leaders, has met influential women from all over the world to understand how top managers, top politicians, Nobel Prize winners, Olympic athletes and entrepreneurs think about the important questions in life. Plehwe examines how these women experience and shape personal happiness, success and motivational leadership.
Top 6 female leadership books: “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg
“Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg examines why gender inequality persists in the workplace and advises women to be more assertive (“lean in”) to demand equality. Sandberg analyzes both systemic barriers and internal obstacles that prevent women from aspiring to leadership roles and suggests how women can find a balance between work and family.
She emphasizes the importance of support from partners and mentors and encourages women to actively tackle gender inequality and support the progress of other women.
Top 6 female leadership books: “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle
Untamed” by Glennon Doyle, published in 2020, is a profound memoir that sheds light on Doyle’s personal journey of self-discovery and emancipation. She confronts social conditioning, especially in relation to women, and encourages authenticity and self-acceptance.
Doyle describes her journey from a conventional marriage to a relationship with a woman and explores themes of motherhood, faith, sexuality and social activism. The book, which has been praised for its empowering message and Doyle’s honest storytelling, is a call for liberation from societal expectations and norms.
Top 6 female leadership books: “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado Perez
“Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” is an award-winning book by Caroline Criado Perez that was published in 2019. It uncovers the “gender data gap”, a gap in data collection and analysis that has led to systematic discrimination against women and girls.
This gap means that many gender-related issues, such as health, safety and financial inequality, are overlooked or undervalued in the design of products, services, policies and laws, and the book uncovers how the gender data gap affects different areas of everyday life:
- Arbeitsplatz: Frauen sind oft in der Datenerhebung unterrepräsentiert, was zu einer Vernachlässigung ihrer Erfahrungen bei der Gestaltung von Richtlinien und Programmen führt.
- Gesundheitswesen: Ähnliche Probleme bestehen im Gesundheitssektor, wo Frauen in klinischen Studien und in der medizinischen Forschung unterrepräsentiert sind, was zu einem Mangel an geschlechtsspezifischen Behandlungen und Medikamenten führt.
- Technologie: Im Technologiebereich führt der Mangel an Daten über Frauen dazu, dass Produkte und Dienstleistungen oft nicht auf die Bedürfnisse von Frauen abgestimmt sind.
- Politik: Auch im politischen Bereich werden die Bedürfnisse von Frauen häufig übersehen, was zu einer ungleichen Verteilung von Ressourcen und Macht führt.
Perez argues that the gender data gap not only affects women’s health, but also their economic status. This leads to discriminatory systems that put women at a financial disadvantage and create jobs that do not take women’s needs into account.
“Invisible Women” fordert eine radikale Veränderung in der Art und Weise, wie Daten gesammelt und analysiert werden, um die Geschlechterlücke zu schließen und die Rechte von Frauen weltweit zu schützen und zu respektieren.
Top 6 female leadership books: “Child and career – both are possible!” by Maren Wölfl
As the author of “Kind und Karriere – es geht beides!”, I, Maren Wölfl, want to address women, mothers and managers who do not want to choose between family and career. In my book, I show that reconciling career and family doesn’t have to be an illusion. It requires change – in society, in companies and also in our individual lives and thinking.
I present practical tools and methods that help you to overcome mental barriers, take responsibility for yourself and develop the courage to be a leader and a mother at the same time. I also shed light on specific areas of action in companies and examine what employers can do to give women, and mothers in particular, more management positions without compromising their family life. Greater flexibility in terms of working hours and location plays a key role here.
My vision is a working world in which diverse teams are successful and in which the return of a mother from parental leave is perceived as an enrichment for the team. This is because mothers have numerous skills that are also of great importance in management positions. “Child and career – both are possible!” is an appeal and a guide for all those who are looking for and want to achieve this balance.
Female leadership books: The role of self-care and mindset
For women in management positions, there are numerous resources for further development and growth. The female leadership books mentioned above are an excellent starting point. I encourage readers to take a look at these books and be inspired by them.
Self-care and a strong mindset are essential for success in leadership positions. Female Wake-Up Call emphasizes the importance of self-care and cultivating a positive mindset. This includes taking time out for yourself, setting healthy boundaries and focusing on your own strengths and abilities. A mindset like this makes it possible to tackle challenges with confidence and be successful both at work and in your private life.
sitionen erschweren können. Diese Herausforderungen können sowohl persönlicher als auch struktureller Natur sein: