Getting ready for fall and kissing summer good-bye never got easier with these top five reads. Prepare yourself for leadership development, strategies for improving interactions with diverse cultures, morale boosting and more.

12 Steps To Power Presence
How to Assert Your Authority to Lead
Author: John Baldoni

“Leaders project power through their presence,” says John Baldoni, author of 12 Steps To Power Presence: How to Assert Your Authority to Lead. “People expect their leaders to use their authority to act decisively so others will want to follow their lead.”

“Leadership presence is ‘earned authority.’ Those two words are important. Earned means you lead by example and people trust you,” says Baldoni a much-in demand executive coach. “Leaders with presence are self confident. They project honesty, hope and optimism in the ways they face the issues. And they project compassion in the way they deal with their people.” In 12 Steps To Power Presence, Baldoni addresses ways managers can improve their presence strategically and tactically to develop the trust of their people so that they can accomplish their goals and the goals of the organization. “You need to believe in yourself and your ability to encourage others to follow your lead,” says Baldoni. “Reading 12 Steps To Power Presence,” says Baldoni, “will provide managers with insights and techniques they can use to achieve good results and be considered eligible for promotion.”

The Cultural Intelligence Difference
Master the One Skill You Can't Do Without in Today's Global Economy
Author: David Livermore, Ph.D.

IQ, EQ, and now…CQ! A proven way to measure cultural intelligence, with strategies for pushing the score higher.

Most people know that some basic cultural sensitivity is important. But few have developed the deep cultural intelligence (CQ) required to really thrive in our multicultural workplaces and globalized world. Now everybody can tap into the power of CQ to enhance their skills and capabilities, from managing multi cultural teams and serving a diverse customer base to negotiating with international suppliers and opening offshore markets. The Cultural Intelligence Difference gives readers:

A scientifically validated instrument for measuring their personal CQ score • Customized strategies for improving interactions with people from diverse cultures • New findings on the bottom-line benefits of cultural intelligence • Examples of major organizations that use CQ to achieve success

The Little Book of Leadership Development
Authors: Scott J. Allen, Mitchell Kusy

Great things come in little packages: 50 commonsense (but rarely common) ideas for building the leadership potential of others.

How many managers have time to plow through big books of leadership development? None! And they’ll never need to with this slender book of 50 simple yet powerful ideas.

The Little Book of Leadership Development goes straight to the heart of great leadership.

Free of complicated theories, it focuses on what really works to get people motivated, working effectively, and acting as leaders themselves. The book delivers streamlined instructions on modeling behaviors, sharing information, building accountability, stretching teams, providing feedback, and 45 other practical strategies. Readers will be able to design a system of development tailored to their team and organization.

Managers with the ability to self-reflect and a willingness to implement these positive, powerful ideas will see quick improvements—in communication, efficiency, morale, and every other measure that points to a committed team of emerging leaders.

Full Engagement!
Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People
Author: Brian Tracy

How do you light a fire under every employee? Brian Tracy, the Master of Motivation, shows how.

In these tough economic times, everyone is expected to produce more with less. And yet, studies have shown that on average, employees are working at only a fraction of their potential. What are managers to do? How can they inspire their people to perform at their absolute best?

Whatever the situation, a good manager can quickly organize a group of average performers into a high-functioning team capable of achieving tremendous results for the company. The secret is knowing how—and anyone can learn.

In Full Engagement!, business success expert Brian Tracy shows managers how they can supercharge their employees’ efforts.

Packed with powerful, practical ideas and strategies, this eye-opening guide explains how to:

Unlock the potential of each person • Motivate and inspire employees to peak performance • Trigger the “X Factor” that maximizes productivity • Drive out the fears that hold people back • Create a high-trust work environment • Set clear goals and objectives • Recognize, reward, and reinforce in a way that energizes every employee

A manager’s role is to achieve the highest possible return on the physical, emotional, and mental effort that his or her people put forth. It’s not a return on investment…it’s a return on energy. And when managers fail at that, they fail at their own job.

With this essential guide, all managers can now hold the keys to unlocking superstar performance from their teams

Conflict 101
A Manager's Guide to Resolving Problems So Everyone Can Get Back to Work
Author: Susan H. Shearouse

When conflict brews at the office, it’s a manager’s job to cool things down.

We all know conflict is unavoidable…especially in the workplace. Whether it’s a fight over resources, a disagreement about how to get things done, or an argument stemming from perceived differences in identities or values, it’s a manager’s role to navigate relationships, and build compromises and collaborations.

Conflict 101 gives readers the tools they need to ensure not only that employees get back on track, but that disagreements breed positive results. Readers will learn how to:

• Build trust • Harness negative emotions • Encourage apologies and forgiveness • Use a solution-seeking approach • Say what needs to be said