10 Personal Growth Books Every Coach Should Read This Year
A few weekends ago, I wrapped up another month of my book club.
I started this book club back in November because I realized something. As a coach, I was great at recommending growth work to my clients. I was less great at making time for my own.
Books have always been a safe place for me. They don't talk back. They don't sound judgy. They give me permission to step out of my own story for a minute and live inside someone else's.
And yet, I procrastinate on reading just like everyone else.
"I don't have time."
"I have too much going on."
"There are so many of them, I don't know where to start."
"I only really read a few of my favorite authors."
Sound familiar?
Why coaches need to keep reading
Coaching is one of the few professions where your inner work and your outer work are inseparable.
The mindset you bring to your business is the mindset your clients pick up on. The patterns you haven't healed in yourself are the patterns you'll struggle to coach in others. The way you talk to yourself shows up in how you market, how you sell, and how you show up on a call.
Reading is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to keep doing your own growth work. And the books you read at the right time can change everything.
My favorite genre has always been self-help and personal development. I rarely picked up fiction or biographies on my own. Joining a book club with women who read across all genres opened me up to perspectives I would have never found by myself. That alone has made me a better coach.
10 books to add to your shelf
Here are 10 personal growth books I'd recommend to coaches at every stage. Some will sharpen your mindset. Some will help you market with more clarity. Some will give you new tools to coach your clients through.
Pick the one that calls you. Read it slowly. Let it actually change something.
1. Believe IT by Jamie Kern Lima
Jamie Kern Lima went from struggling waitress to founder of IT Cosmetics, eventually selling the company for over a billion dollars. Along the way, she was told her body wouldn't sell makeup. She kept going anyway.
Best for: coaches who keep waiting until they feel "ready" before they fully put themselves out there. This book is the kick to start now.
2. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
A sweeping novel about the Great Depression and one woman's strength to survive it. Hope, resilience, and the unbreakable will of a mother building something out of almost nothing.
Best for: coaches who need a reminder that hard seasons are part of building anything that matters. Plus, it's a beautiful break from the self-help shelf.
3. Think Again by Adam Grant
Adam Grant on the art of unlearning. He invites you to argue like you're right, but listen like you're wrong. The whole book is about letting go of beliefs that are no longer serving you.
Best for: coaches who built their business on outdated advice and need permission to update what they believe about marketing, sales, and visibility.
4. Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel
A practical playbook for changing the thoughts that keep you stuck. Groeschel writes for anyone who's tried to think their way out of bad habits and ended up more stuck than before.
Best for: coaches battling the inner critic that says "who do you think you are?" every time they try to charge what they're worth.
5. The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
McGhee's brilliant analysis of how racism costs everyone, including the people it claims to benefit. A heartfelt vision for a future where life is more than a zero-sum game.
Best for: coaches who want to grow as humans and as leaders. The deeper your understanding of the world, the deeper your coaching gets.
6. How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera
Dr. LePera (the Holistic Psychologist) gives you the tools to recognize your patterns, heal from your past, and recreate yourself. A celebration of empowerment that will change how you think about mental wellness.
Best for: coaches who keep finding the same patterns showing up in their business (under-charging, over-giving, hiding) and are ready to do the deeper work.
7. Beyond Order by Jordan Peterson
Peterson's follow-up to 12 Rules for Life. He argues that too much security is dangerous, and offers strategies for finding meaning and purpose even when you feel powerless.
Best for: coaches who play it too safe in their business and need a push to take more risks with their messaging, their offers, and their voice.
8. Your Brain Is Always Listening by Dr. Daniel Amen
Dr. Amen shows you how to recognize the hidden "dragons" influencing your happiness, habits, and relationships, and how to vanquish them. Practical tools for getting your brain back on your side.
Best for: coaches who feel like they self-sabotage their own business and want a science-backed way to understand why.
9. Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff
Doucleff travels with her toddler to learn parenting strategies from Maya, Inuit, and Hadzabe families. The big insight: these cultures don't have the same problems with children that Western parents do.
Best for: coaches who are also parents and want a grounded reset on raising kids while running a business. Even if you don't have kids, the cultural lessons are gold.
10. Living the Confidence Code by Katty Kay
Stories of girls from Bali to Brazil to Afghanistan who took risks, doubted themselves, sometimes failed, and kept going anyway. A multitude of examples of what confidence actually looks like in the real world.
Best for: coaches who think "confident" looks one specific way and are ready to find the version that fits them. Especially great if you have a daughter who could read it next.
How to actually finish the book this time
Buying the book is the easy part. Reading it is where most coaches stall.
Here's what works for me and my clients:
Read 10 pages a day. That's it. 10 pages, every day. Most books are 250 to 300 pages. You'll finish in less than a month.
Pick a time and protect it. First thing in the morning with coffee. Last thing before bed. Pick one. Make it sacred.
Have someone to talk to about it. This is why book clubs work. You read more when you know you're going to discuss it.
Quit if it's not working. If a book isn't landing, put it down. Life is too short to slog through a book that isn't serving you.
One last thing
Good things come to those who believe in it.
You hold the key to decide that today is going to be like no other day. Today is a good day to begin.
Pick a book. Open the first page. The growth happens in the doing, not the planning.
Which one are you picking up first? I'd love to hear.
Ready to put what you're reading into action in your coaching business?
If you're a coach who's done all the personal growth work and you're ready to translate it into a business that actually books clients, I'd love to help. We'll look at where you are right now and the simplest next step to move forward.
