20+ books ... a signature aspect of rlf

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RLF is famous for fostering deep knowledge of various leadership principles through each Forum's book discussions -- taking place throughout every 2-day session.

The "core books" required of all RLF participants in 2026  are:

• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High (3rd Edition)
• Managing Transitions (25th Anniversary Edition): Making the Most of Change
• Man's Search For Meaning
• Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
• The New Emotional Intelligence
• The Nibble Theory and the Kernel of Power
• The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction
• True North: Leading Authentically in Today's Workplace (Emerging Leader Edition)
• Two Old Women (Anniversary Edition): An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival 

Each RLF region adds its own mix of titles, chosen by facilitators to reflect their program’s unique themes and conversations.

• Courageous Culture
• Dare To Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
• Networking For People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected
• Never Lead Alone
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
• The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
• The Last Lecture
• The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All
• The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias

• Courageous Culture
• Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World
• Never Lead Alone
• Networking For People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected
• Right Kind of Wrong
• Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
• Theft of Spirit: A Journey to Spiritual Healing

• A Leader's Legacy
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
• Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
• Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions that Make or Break a Leader
• Matriarch: Create Alliances with the Woman Within You, the Women Around You, and Leverage Your Feminine Superpowers
• Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected
• The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
• The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All
• The Pearl
• Your Brain at Work

• Courageous Culture
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
• Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World
• Never Lead Alone
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
• Right Kind of Wrong
• Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy
• The Creative Act: A Way of Being
• The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships
• The Pearl
• The Person You Mean To Be: How Good People Fight Bias
• Theft of the Spirit: A Journey to Spiritual Healing

• A Leader's Legacy
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
• Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit
• Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected
• Never Lead Alone
• Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World
• Orbiting The Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace
• Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
• Right Kind of Wrong
• The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life
• The Meaning Revolution
• Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man
• Your Brain at Work

• A Leader's Legacy
• Adversaries Into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion
• The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life
• Leadership Passages: The Personal & Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader
• The Leadership Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All
• Leading With Soul
• Networking For People Who Hate Networking
• The Prince
• Secrets to Winning at Office Politics
• Theft of the Spirit: A Journey to Spiritual Healing
• Unthink: Rediscover Your Creative Genius