Designing for Diversity
Author: Binna Kandola
Publisher: Kogan Page
Price: £31.99
Business psychologist Binna Kandola’s fifth book clearly and engagingly describes the context and barriers to building a diverse and inclusive leadership talent pool. It also contains practical advice on how to develop leaders from underrepresented groups, after outlining what Kandola views as “the failings of DEI”. For leaders wanting to achieve meaningful diversity, this should steer you in the right direction.
Badly Behaved People
Author: Zena Everett
Publisher: Pearson Business
Price: £12.99
Combining a practical business guide with an ‘agony aunt’ approach, Zena Everett’s Badly Behaved People addresses the thorny problem of how to handle tricky people. Examining 15 common ‘problem personalities’ with real-life case studies, Everett aims to help readers understand colleagues’ foibles, and work with them empathetically.
Ping
Author: Andrew Brodsky
Publisher: Penguin Life
Price: £16.99
Whether we work in an office, on a shopfloor or remotely, we are all virtual communicators. And whether it’s through WhatsApp, Outlook or Slack, getting the wrong end of the stick is all too easy. Ping distils social scientist Andrew Brodsky’s research on remote communication into a digestible format, aiming to help readers build relationships remotely.
Read more: Work notifications ruining family time for younger workers
Engaging Teams
Authors: Nick Smallman and Dan Parry
Publisher: Kogan Page
Price: £32.99
The worth of an engaged workforce is well known. But despite that, businesses are struggling with unprecedented levels of disengagement. The writers of Engaging Teams hope to offer a remedy. Full of analysis of academic research, business data, and insights from business leaders, the guide uses case studies from the likes of NASA, Google, and Ikea to show the steps toward creating a motivated, engaged team.
Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It
Editors: Garry Ridge and Martha I Finney
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Price: £30
Offering ‘learning moments’ from the ex-CEO of the multibillion-dollar WD-40 Company, Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It promises insights into building a thriving culture of psychological safety and truly humble leadership. From learning what makes a soul-sucking CEO – and how not to be one – to what happened when he rode a horse into Wall Street, Ridge shares 26 stories that helped him gain pleasure in his work.
This article was published in the March/April 2025 edition of HR magazine.
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