12 Books for School Leaders and Principals to Read This Summer

Even though we know summer isn’t vacation time for school leaders, it does offer a reset button. These warm, sunny days mean being able to exhale, step out of the day-to-day of school leadership, and make space for deeper thinking.

Summer is also a time when principals can make time for their own professional development and reflection—and nothing can beat the immediacy (and portability!) of a great book.

Whether you’re a principal wrapping up another action-packed year or an aspiring leader stepping into a new phase of your professional life, this list was created with you in mind. These 12 summer reads have a mix of fresh leadership insights, thought-provoking views on the modern education system, and a few just-for-fun titles that can remind you how great it feels to get lost in a story. Here’s what to put at the top of your reading stack: 

Leadership-Focused Reads

The Six Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni

Using a framework of six  “working genius” types—Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, and Tenacity, Lencioni helps us understand how individuals and teams can leverage their natural talents to achieve more success, together. This book answers the question, “What if the key to better leadership was understanding not just what you do, but what kind of work energizes you?” A short and practical read, especially for school leaders looking to learn how to collaborate more effectively.

Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss 

In this read, the authors offer a refreshing reminder often missing from other leadership books: leadership isn’t about you, it’s about how effectively you build others up. Drawing on stories on everything from ancient Rome to Silicon Valley, Frei and Morriss say that your greatest image doesn’t come from boosting your status, but helping others rise and succeed. If you’ve been reflecting on the best way to develop your team and empower your teachers and staff, this one hits the mark.

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

How do we win in a game that has no end? Sinek introduces us to the concept of “infinite games”: games with no defined endpoint and no winners or losers, only ahead and behind. This book is a great one for those of us in education, a profession that’s often driven by short-term wins but also needs to focus on the tenets of legacy, sustainability, and service. An essential mindset shift that will resonate with school leaders who want to build cultures that outlast them. 

The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging by Charles Vogl

A strong school culture is built with intention, and intention creates belonging. Vogl outlines seven principles of belonging that leaders can apply to staff meetings, parent engagement, and getting to know students. We especially love the hands-on tools in the book for creatively adapting these principles to any group—formal or informal, mission-driven or social, physical or virtual. It’s an ideal read for any leader seeking to build a vibrant, living culture within their school. 

Education-Focused Reads

The Principal 50: Critical Leadership Questions for Inspiring Schoolwide Excellence by Baruti K. Kafele

Veteran principal and education thought leader Baruti K. Kafele poses 50 essential questions every school leader should ask themselves—questions that go beyond strategy and get to the heart of who you are as a leader. From “Do I lead by example?” to “Do I believe in every student’s ability to succeed,” this book packs a powerful punch of self-reflection and practical challenge. Especially great if you’re stepping into a new leadership role or wanting to reconnect with your purpose before a new school year begins. 

The Principled Principal by Jeffery Zoul & Anthony McConnell

Written for school leaders by school leaders, this book identifies ten core values that guide the best of the best to work and lead with excellence. The authors know from experience that the role of school principal is one of the most challenging and rewarding in education, and each principal leans on stories and real-life examples to make them applicable to every school leader. From prioritization and empowering your staff and students to hiring the right people and keeping calm in a crisis, the chapters—and accompanying prompts—will resonate whether you’ve been in the role for 10 months or two decades. 

Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard: Finding Your Purpose & Putting It To Work by Dr. Linda Cliatt-Wayman

This powerful memoir from Dr. Cliatt-Wayman, a former principal within The School District of Philadelphia, is a masterclass in what it means to lead courageously. She shares how she transformed one of the country’s most under-resourced high schools with the help of fierce love, unshakable belief, and strong moral conviction. Equal parts blueprint and inspiration, this one’s a must-read for principals working in high-need contexts or facing long odds. 

Time for Change: Four Essential Skills for Transformational School & District Leaders by Anthony Muhammad & Luis F. Cruz

According to Muhammad and Cruz, transformational leaders have four distinct skills: strong communication, the ability to build trust, the ability to increase the skills of those they lead, and an orientation toward results. Throughout the book, the authors share concrete tools and strategies to help you develop and strengthen these skills and prepare you to lead your school toward lasting and meaningful change. 

Personal Development-Focused Reads

The Momentum List: Rediscover Your Ability to Delight in Time, Rather Than Be Mastered by It by Dr. Stephen Peters 

Have you ever wondered whether your to-do list is truly working for you? Dr. Stephen Peters, Executive Director of the Program Implementation for the National Aspiring Principals Fellowship at New Leaders, may have another approach for you to try: a “Momentum List.” 

This type of list emphasizes focusing on tasks that align with one's core values and passions, rather than merely checking off obligations. This book is especially beneficial for school leaders seeking to reclaim their time and energy, ensuring that their actions resonate with their personal and professional aspirations.

Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam 

This book is for any leader that wonders: Someday, will life be less hectic? Will you finally have the time for the things you’ve been wanting to do—write that book, run that marathon, travel more with your family? Vanderkam explains that if you want something to happen, you need to design your life to make it happen—and that starts by creating what she calls a “resilient schedule.” To do that, she shares nine strategies to build joy, nourishment, and fulfillment into your busy weeks.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

This modern classic encourages leaders to stop trying to do it all and focus on what really matters. But how do you do that, exactly? McKeown says it starts by applying more selective criteria for where to spend our precious time and energy. For anyone overwhelmed with competing priorities (and let’s be honest—who isn’t), McKeown’s framework helps you focus your energy where it counts, eliminate everything that isn’t necessary, and make the highest possible contribution to the things that are most important to you.

‍Build the Life You Want: The Art & Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. Brooks & Oprah Winfrey

‍Happiness isn’t a destination so much as it's a skill, according to this engaging and encouraging read by Oprah (who most likely needs no introduction) and author and academic Arthur C. Brooks, who serves as a professor at both the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School. Part science and part self-reflection, this book invites readers to take ownership of their emotional well-being through easy-to-use tools and hard-earned wisdom from their own lives.

Take a Pause, Enjoy Your Summer

Reading isn’t just professional development—it’s personal development, too. It’s how we expand our vision, recharge our energy, and reconnect with why we chose this work in the first place. Whether you're looking for a fresh leadership strategy, a meaningful classroom insight, or a few new takes on professional development, there’s something on this list to meet you where you are.

So here’s your permission slip to slow down, refill your coffee, and open a book that feeds your mind and your spirit. Your school will be better for it—and so will you.

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