The best leaders are not only engaging teachers and coaches, they are also eager students who are constantly seeking out new knowledge. Keep your mind passionate, curious and challenged by reading leadership and management books that introduce you to new ideas and push you out of your comfort level. If a particular book strikes a chord with you, pass it along to your colleagues and employees to generate valuable discussion.

Overwhelmed by the plethora of leadership and management training books released in the last year alone? Start with these five recent releases that will keep you turning the pages.

5 New Leadership and Management Training Reads

1. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Do you think you know what motivates people? Think again, according to Daniel Pink. Using psychological, sociological and economic research, Pink sets out to prove that people are not simply motivated by external rewards– the desire to gain more and the fear of losing what they have. On the contrary, he believes that people are inherently driven by internal rewards and will grow and reach their full potential when they are allowed to be more self-directed and autonomous. (Warning: This book may turn conventional wisdom about leadership and management training on its head.)

2. Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself by William C. Taylor

In Practically Radical, Bill Taylor, the cofounder and founding editor of Fast Company magazine, examines 25 for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations to discover how they have succeeded under challenging circumstances. Taylor argues that it is no longer possible just to do what everybody else is doing and survive. Instead of supporting the status quo, he offers some radical and practical ways you can transform the way you lead, manage and work.

3. Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

Being the boss is not always easy. You have to deal with responsibilities and expectations from employees, managers, colleagues and clients, and leadership and management training can often come with a steep learning curve. Linda Hill and Kent Lineback’s book outlines how you can become an effective leader and manager with three basic imperatives: manage yourself, manage a network and manage a team.

4. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz

In Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s second book, he gives a frank and personal account of how his company overcame a period of decline amid challenges such as the global recession, changing consumer behavior and difficult personnel changes. Schultz doesn’t hold back about the trials, missteps, stresses and emotions involved in his journey to turn Starbucks around while staying true to its values, and it is an interesting read no matter where you choose to buy your coffee.

5. The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness by Deepak Chopra

Author and spiritual guide Deepak Chopra’s new book is an unconventional leadership and management training manual that encourages you to get in touch with your core values so you can use them to become a great leader. Chopra says, “A leader is the symbolic soul of a group,” and he believes there is a great need for enlightened leaders in the world.

What is on your reading list? Share your suggestions below.

Learn more about how to take your leadership and management training to the next level with EDSI’s Leading With Credibility course.