There's nothing like a good book
I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed going to the library, countless amazon book purchases (and an endless number books waiting to be purchased), and a frequent Libby (Audiobook) user throughout the years. Not all books are the same, and not all books will benefit the reader as it did for me.
I’ve ready hundreds, if not a thousand, books over the years. Here’s a look at my book library for professional development.
Mid-Career Professionals (7+ Years)
You have been successful. The question now is: at what, and is this still what you want?
Mid-career is when the ladder you have been climbing either leads somewhere you actually want to go — or reveals that it was leaning against the wrong wall the whole time. These books are for the professional who is good at what they do but quietly wondering what comes next: whether to accelerate, pivot, or rethink entirely.
They address the leadership behaviors that derail talented people, the transition from doing to leading, and the long game of building a career that compounds rather than plateaus.
If you have a favorite book that should be on this list, please email me at Sim@BalancedAtLast.com
My book recommendations for Mid-Career professionals
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Brief Overview: Daniel Goleman’s foundational work presents emotional intelligence — self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and social skill — as the most reliable predictor of leadership effectiveness, consistently outperforming cognitive intelligence in professional settings.
Range by David Epstein
Brief Overview: David Epstein challenges the ‘10,000 hours’ specialization doctrine with evidence that breadth of experience — exploring multiple fields before settling — produces more creative, adaptive, and ultimately successful professionals across most domains.
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Brief Overview: Researcher Brené Brown presents empirically grounded skills for brave leadership — including rumbling with vulnerability, living one’s values, braving trust, and learning to rise after failure — based on a seven-year study of leadership and organizational culture.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
by Marshall Goldsmith
Brief Overview: Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith identifies 20 specific behavioral habits — including the need to win every argument, adding unsolicited opinions, and failing to express gratitude — that prevent successful people from advancing further. The focus is entirely on interpersonal behavior, not technical skill.
Pivot by Jenny Blake
Brief Overview: Career strategist Jenny Blake presents a four-stage pivot framework — plant, scan, pilot, launch — using existing strengths as a launching pad rather than starting over from scratch. Based on interviews with hundreds of successful career changers.
The Long Game by Dorie Clark
Brief Overview: Dorie Clark provides a framework for making long-term bets on yourself in a world that rewards immediate results — including how to identify your north star, create the white space for strategic thinking, and build skills and relationships that compound over decades.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Brief Overview: Kim Scott’s framework for giving clear, caring feedback — caring personally while challenging directly — addresses the two most common failure modes: being dishonestly nice (ruinous empathy) or being harshly critical (obnoxious aggression). Highly practical for managers at any level.
Drive by Daniel Pink
Brief Overview: Daniel Pink’s research into the science of motivation reveals that the traditional reward-and-punishment model is largely ineffective for complex work. Instead, intrinsic motivation — autonomy, mastery, and purpose — drives performance and satisfaction.
Multiplier by Liz Wiseman
Brief Overview: Liz Wiseman contrasts leaders who amplify the intelligence around them (multipliers) with those who diminish it (diminishers) — often unintentionally — and provides practical tools for shifting from one profile to the other.
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
Brief Overview: Daniel Coyle’s analysis of high-performing groups across business, sports, and military reveals three core skills that build extraordinary cultures: building safety, sharing vulnerability, and establishing purpose. Highly practical for leaders who are shaping team environments.
The Squiggly Career by Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis
Brief Overview: Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis argue that careers no longer follow a predictable upward path, and provide practical tools for navigating a ‘squiggly’ career — identifying strengths, managing career fears, building a values compass, and developing a diverse support network.
Reinventing You by Dorie Clark
Brief Overview: Dorie Clark provides a research-backed roadmap for successfully transitioning professional identities — whether changing industries, pivoting functions, or repositioning a personal brand. Addresses the critical challenge of getting others to see you as who you now are, not who you were.
