2024 Best Reads

As an HR executive, you know better than anyone the importance of continuous learning. Whether you’re focused on upskilling or personal growth, reading is a long-standing medium to gain new lessons and expand your mindset.

We received thoughtful book suggestions from People + Strategy readers.

Here are the books that shaped the HR community in 2024.

1. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy 
   
   My favorite book from 2024 that helped me advance my professional and personal growth was Eat That Frog!. After prioritizing daily tasks and goals, it’s important to put first things first and focus on the most difficult. This is considered “eating the frog.” This alleviates stress and allows you to put first what is most important. 
   —James Barrett, national benefits analyst, CRH Americas Inc. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results by Cy Wakeman
   No Ego is a wonderful complement to Wakeman’s Reality-Based Leadership work. It’s a reality check for leaders and HR professionals alike—her results-driven strategies for engagement challenge the status quo and encourage equating engagement with ownership and accountability rather than likability. Every leader I’ve recommended No Ego to has come back to me with rave reviews and a new drive to push their teams in a No Ego direction, looking to achieve not only psychological safety for their staff but to encourage excellence regardless of circumstance.
   —Elizabeth Chun, SHRM-CP, HR business partner, system services, Baptist Health
   
   
3. The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan 
   For any business leader who wants to fully understand the macro complexities that are in flux today, Zeihan provides an incredibly accessible and thoughtful narrative. Through transportation, currency, energy, and other crucial world pillars, he provides historic framing that leads to an up-to-date view of the current strains in the systems we take for granted. Zeihan offers new lenses for thinking about how we can create a different future.
   —David Reimer, CEO, The ExCo Group
   
   
4. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith  
   This book was recommended by my executive coach. As a leader who values ongoing opportunities to improve, I found this book eye-opening and incredibly helpful. I gifted it to my direct reports in hopes they would also find valuable insight into their own leadership styles. 
   —Elda M. de la Peña, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, chief administrative officer/CHRO, Tri-State G&T 
   
   
5. Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant
   This book confirmed for me the importance of giving without intent to receive. You will receive the benefits without looking for them at the outset. 
   —Priya S. Smith, MPH, chief employee human resources officer/regional administrative officer, Kaiser Permanente
   
   
6. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
   
   Dare to Lead encourages leaders to create an environment of psychological safety through vulnerability and daring leadership. This book offers powerful, data-driven insights into how teams thrive, and the mistakes leaders make that compromise their values. It encourages self-reflection and open dialogue within and among teams to ensure mutual success in an organization.
   
   As an HR practitioner, it’s shaped my approach with both employees and leaders—the level of connection I’ve attained with clients has impacted me more than I can say. Dare to Lead is my go-to recommendation for new leaders and HR professionals alike.
   —Elizabeth Chun, SHRM-CP, HR business partner, system services, Baptist Health 
   
   
7. The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
   The Ideal Team Player offers a more granular view into the individuals that make up the team, a complement to his celebrated work The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. In this narrative-style framework, Lencioni offers a way to not only look for but instill the values needed to become an ideal team player, which, in turn, leads to a culture of commitment and teamwork. This book is a great read for hiring managers who want to build great teams and hire people who will hit the ground running with the mindset needed to support their organization. As an HR practitioner, I use The Ideal Team Player’s methods when I interview and when I educate leaders on best practices for interviewing.
   —Elizabeth Chun, SHRM-CP, HR business partner, system services, Baptist Health 
   
   
8. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein  
   If you’re someone who finds themselves doing a bit of everything throughout your career and never settling into being an expert at just one thing, you’re likely a generalist. This book helps you frame your achievements and identify your strengths so you can better position yourself in the workplace.
   —Molly Cohen, lead, executive content, SHRM 
   
   
9. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow
   Graeber and Wengrow prove adept at shaking long-held assumptions about how cultures and societies work. This is a deeply smart book. Drawing from anthropology, archaeology, history, and the study of religions, the authors unpack a messy but rich way of thinking about how cultures form and support the contexts and belief systems that produce them. For business leaders attempting to be intentional about the cultures they are creating, this book will alter your sense of what's possible.
   —David Reimer, CEO, The ExCo Group
   
   

10. How to be a Coffee Bean, 111 Life-Changing Ways to Create Positive Change by Jon Gordon and Damon West 
    
    I loved the wonderful and inspiring messages this book provides. On challenging days, I can open the book to any page and be inspired and reminded of why I do the work I do. 
    —Elda M. de la Peña, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, chief administrative officer/CHRO, Tri-State G&T 
    
    
    
    
    
    

     

    
    And Two Suggestions from SHRM's President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP ...
    
    

11. Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the 21st Century by William B. Johnston and Arnold H. Packer 
    There’s a lot that can be learned from futuristic books such as Workforce 2000. They serve as opportunities to look back and see how much of our current workforce landscape was predictable and should inspire us to look toward—and start planning for—the future now. Written in 1987, the authors predicted with surprising accuracy four key trends that would shape the last years of the 20th century. Many are now our reality. 
    
    From the rise of service industries to the demographic shift to an older, more female workforce to the increasing need for skilled workers, these are real trends creating real challenges in our workforce today. Challenges we could have, and should have, been preparing for. I take it as a wake-up call to not only meet these challenges head-on, but to also proactively identify where our workforce is headed and start preparing now for the future of work. 
    
    
12. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness by Robert Greenleaf 
    This book puts a spin on outdated leadership strategies of bygone decades, flipping the traditional script from putting your company first to putting your employees first. At first, I was a skeptic: I’ve seen many leaders go to their grave trying to please everyone. But this book isn’t about people-pleasing.   
    
    Greenleaf contends it’s through treating employees right that we ultimately see our businesses succeed. He reminds us of the great power, influence, and moral authority a leader carries, responsibilities not to be taken lightly, as you hold your employees’ livelihoods in your hands. And when you treat your employees as you would want to be treated, prioritizing their well-being and leading by example, you can trust the process, and the coveted business outcomes—including the ROI—will follow. Servant leadership is not just the right thing to do, it’s a smart business move.