Welcome to the December 2015 edition of the Leadership Development Carnival!

For our December edition, we took a page out of last December’s Carnival of HR post and asked about books you have read which have made a difference in your leadership journey. We figure it might provide some gift-giving ideas for anyone who is stuck!

Let’s Get Started

Art Petty of Art Petty Group sent his blog about applying game designing approaches to designing workplaces, in which he recommends the book  Actionable Gamification—Beyond Points, Badges and Leaderboards. Art says, “This is not an easy read, but it’s most definitely a voyage of discovery.” Find Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

Chris Edmonds of the Purposeful Culture Group contributed Don’t Manage Time, Manage Your Values, Priorities, & Habits. Chris summarizes: “Best-selling author Kevin Kruse’s new book, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, features the best productivity habits of entrepreneurs, straight-A students, and a few billionaires.” Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

David Greer of Coach David J. Greer contributed Create Your Business Success. David shares, “Debra Jason gives us the Eight Secrets for Succeeding in Business along with amazing practical advice that let you grow your business today in her book Millionaire Marketing On a Shoestring Budget. If you are feeling overwhelmed by social media, press releases, and marketing in general, you will feel in control after reading Millionaire Marketing. Debra shares her 25 years of building her own business and helping entrepreneurs build their businesses.” Find David on Twitter at @djgreer.

Hollis Thomases of ReinventionWorks provided Influential Reading for Reinventionists-in-the-Making. Hollis tells us, “the principles discussed and practices taught in this book [Managing Thought] made an instantaneous behavioral impact on me. As a Type-A person, too curious for my own good sometimes and  who suffers from the dreaded analysis paralysis, I learned almost immediately how to quiet much of the noise in my head and to, quite literally, manage thought, as the book title says.” Follow Hollis on Twitter at @hollisthomases.

Jeremy Chandler of Thin Difference shared 7 Books Millennials Can Read to Rise Above Our Peers. Jeremy comments, “I admit that at times reading can feel more like a chore than a hobby. But the books on this list were worth the effort. I recommend these seven books to anyone hoping to rise above their peers!” Discover Jeremy on Twitter at @jeremy_chandler.

Jesse Lyn Stoner of the Seapoint Center provided What Is Collaboration And Where Does It Begin?. Jesse summarized: “Collaboration is a powerful tool that leads to break-through results, and is different from cooperation, coordination, and teamwork. This post explains the difference and explores why so many efforts to increase collaboration fail. It was inspired by my friends Ken Blanchard, Eunice Parisi-Carew and Jane Ripley’s new book, Collaboration Begins With You.” Follow Jesse on Twitter at @JesseLynStoner.

Jill Malleck of Ephipany at Work contributed Break Bad Habits by Creating New Ones. Jill shared, “Well-meaning leaders don’t always do what they want to do. Read The Power of Habit for inspiration on how to break bad habits and be the leader you aspire to.” Connect with Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds submitted Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper. Jim says, “What is compelling about this book, in contrast to others out there by former soldiers, is that Mitic openly shares his journey from his problems as a youth to new military recruit to his three tours in Afghanistan as a highly regarded sniper. He talks openly about how he lost the lower parts of both legs when he stepped on an IED, his subsequent journey into darkness, his battle with drugs and alcohol as he fought PTSD, and he how he eventually won. He is now a city councillor in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. It’s a most remarkable story.” Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted To Improve Your Team’s Output, Look at it Differently Joel recaps: “This article will provide five elements of team member output highlighted in the book Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results.” Discover Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

John Hunter of  Curious Cat Management shared Who Inspires Your Management Thinking and Action?, which touches on sveeral authors and books who have influenced him. He says, “From an early age I learned to experiment, appreciate and understand data, respect people and the importance of striving to continually improve. I am thankful for these lessons that I learned as gift from growing up in my family.” Follow John on Twitter at @curiouscat_com.

Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting submitted 10 Books Leaders Need to be Reading. Mary Ila writes, “Leaders are readers. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to grow as a leader is to read about leadership and take the knowledge gained from your reading and apply it.  Here are the top 10 books Horizon Point suggests you should be reading.” Discover Mary Ila on Twitter at @maryilaward.

Michael Lee Stallard of Michael Lee Stallard submitted Why You May Not be Connecting With Others. He shares, “Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cochran have written a thoughtful book about the different rhythms we get into and how connecting with others depends on recognizing the rhythm they are in then adjusting our rhythm so that we connect.  his book provided some practical advice that has helped me both in my work and life outside of work.” Follow Michael on Twitter at @michaelstallard.

Miki Saxon of RampUp Solutions, Inc., contributed a post incorporating the book Startup Land. Miki did not feel any of the books she encountered in 2015 offered sufficient ROI for their readers, but this one has lasting power. Discover Miki on Twitter at @OptionSanity.

Neal Burgis of Burgis Successful Solutions shared Overcoming Fear to be Creatively Confident. Neal summarizes, “Even though the book has been out for a few years, I found Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All as the main book I prefer to help clients with Regaining their own Creative Confidence.” Follow Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Paul LaRue of The Upwards Leader contributed Book Review: Connection Culture Paul continues, “This book gives a powerful common sense approach to building engagement and performance in any organization. Using case studies and real life examples from his professional and personal experience, Michael Lee Stallard has written what I deem is the best leadership book of 2015.” Discover Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.

Paula Kiger of Big Green Pen shared Is Your Mind “in the Boat”? Paula summarizes, “The book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold in the 1936 Olympics made a distinct impression on me. In discussing the University of Washington’s rowing team’s evolution, the author explored how the team lost its way when it began focusing on winning rather than supporting one another.” Find Paula on Twitter at @biggreenpen.

Phil Wilson of the Labor Relations Institute contributed Why You Shouldn’t Start With Why. Phil recaps, “I’m not saying “why” isn’t important, but this book [Start With Why] gets everything backward.” Follow Phil on Twitter at @approachableldr.

Robyn McLeod of The Thoughtful Leaders Blog shared Why You Need to Know More About Mindfulness. The post, Robyn says, “presents the benefits of practicing mindfulness at work, including stress reduction, more focus on work-life balance, and improved productivity and creativity.” Discover Robyn on Twitter at @thoughtfulldrs.

Susan Mazza of Random Acts Of Leadership submitted Living a Life of Significance. Susan summarizes, “By living intentionally, each of us can make a difference with what we have, where we are right now. If enough of us do that, we can change the world.” Find Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership shared 5 Great Books You May Not Know. Wally writes, “Leadership wisdom gets plowed under as one generation succeeds another. Really good books are often forgotten. Here are five to find and read.” Follow Wally on Twitter at @wallybock.

William G. Steiner of Executive Coaching Concepts provided Tis the Giving Season – 3 Steps to Giving as a Leader. Willy says this post reflects on a book, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant and his research about the benefits of Giving. He ties that to three steps a leader can take to give to their team that cost nothing but your time.” Find Willy on Twitter at @coachforexecs.

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month’s carnival! If you would like to be on the distribution list for submission calls, please contact Paula Kiger (paula @ weavinginfluence (dot) com)!