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Reading nonfiction is one of the best options for building your aptitude in leadership. Books are relatively inexpensive and can expose you to a wide range of ideas, often to a surprising degree of depth. They can grant you access to some of the best thinkers in history and across the globe. Reading expands your perspective, arming you with a variety of mental models which are your primary toolbox as a leader. Further, reading can help you reflect on your own behavior as a leader. But in the mind-numbingly vast world of non-fiction, it can be difficult to find titles that will help you develop as a leader. Here are five of my top book recommendations for every nurse leader’s reading list. These were influential to me and contain ideas that I have found exceedingly effective when I apply them.

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1. the 7 Habits of highly effective people, Stephen R Covey

This is a landmark work for a reason, and you’ve probably already had it recommended to you. In my mind it is required reading, and one of the few nonfiction books I regularly revisit. A truly transformative book that explores the very foundation of leadership – your character and integrity. Published in 1989, the writing style is a bit more earnest and paternal than modern readers may be comfortable with, but personally I think it fits the subject. The late Dr. Covey walks you through a soul-searching journey to master the “inner victory” of leading yourself, before moving on to the “outer victory” of influencing others. Throughout, you will be challenged to reflect on your own beliefs, attitudes, and behavior and whether they “fit the territory” of reality and your core values. Dr. Covey’s numerous vignettes, though mildly anachronistic against a modern backdrop, are poignant and profound. If you have not yet read this book, get ahold of it as soon as you can.

2: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Another must-read, this book will change the way you think about leadership. Former U.S. Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin demonstrate the leadership principles forged in the warzone of Ramadi, Iraq. The principles they espouse are simple, not easy (if you know, you know…). By alternating between engaging stories from their combat experience and vignettes illustrating the same principles applied in the business world, they demonstrate the effectiveness of these ideas. The overall message drives home a profound but uncomfortable truth with which the book opens: “there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” With the brutal directness you would expect from special operations officers, and the combat and business examples to back up their claims, Willink and Babin force you to face your own propensity to make excuses head-on. Reading this book, you will learn to think differently about failure, delegation, dealing with the chain of command, and the role of a leader through the hard-earned wisdom of combat veterans. The follow-up book The Dichotomy of Leadership deserves an honorable mention as it fleshes out the principles even further, but since it largely expounds upon the first, I did not include in this list of five.

3: Building a Culture of Ownership in Healthcare – Joe Tye and Bob Dent

Another book with Ownership in the title, I don’t think that’s a coincidence. This book is more immediately actionable than the first two for nurse leaders, since it makes direct application to a healthcare setting. The authors are eminently qualified, as you’ll see clearly in the books development. They catalog best practices for establishing a culture where accountability is built into the architecture; no small challenge in the highly bureaucratic world of healthcare. They use real world examples from their own careers and one hospital system’s transformation. This book will help you learn how to help teams “buy in” to a larger, collective identity, which drives accountability to high standards. I frequently return to this book when I need practical strategies for setting expectations, building a culture of excellence, and sharing vision as a transformational leader.

4. From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Nursing Practice – Patricia Benner

You probably learned about Patricia Benner and her work in school, especially if you have a graduate degree in nursing. You probably know her for her “novice to expert” stages of developing expertise. It’s true that Benner applied the well-established Dreyfus model of skill acquisition (the true source of the novice-to-expert arc and terminology) to nursing practice. However, if what you know about Dr. Benner is the concept of 5 stages Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, and Expert, then you only know the surface. Benner’s seminal work can be difficult to acquire, but is well worth the expense, as it is packed with valuable information. In the first part of her book, she details from her research rich qualitative descriptions of nurses in each stage of development. This includes reflections from the first person perspective that are insightful. Reading her book truly gives you a window into the mind of a nurse developing expertise. It will also help you reflect on your own journey and appreciate the complexities of transitioning into a new clinical specialty or adapting to new technology. I find this knowledge invaluable in dealing with staff. Benner’s work helps you hear the overwhelm of the novice, the rule-following of the competent, and the intractable intuition of the expert in the voices of your staff. Benner also provides actionable strategies to support the development of nurses in each stage. Her work is often lauded by educators and academics but I think it has just as much application and value for leaders.

5. Complexity Leadership: Nursing’s role in Health Care Delivery – Diana M. Crowell

This is another supremely actionable book. It reads more like a textbook than the others on this list, but I found the information inside riveting. The author provides a survey-level primer on complexity theory and complex adaptive systems. These theories are extremely applicable to healthcare environments, as you’ll learn in the book. Beyond just a conceptual model, the book dives into practical application of the ideas of complex adaptive systems directly to nursing leadership. This book changed my paradigm around leading and motivating groups and establishing culture. I highly recommend it to any aspiring leader in healthcare.