Inspiring and educating the community through reading and discussion.
The Laspa Center is committed to exploring the intersection of leadership and gender, focusing specifically on authors who identify as women and women of color. The Center selects one book each semester to uncover new perspectives on bridging the gender gap. All members of the swag外流 community are invited to participate in book club discussions.
Current and past selections and book club discussion guides are listed below. Limited copies and audio recordings are available for short-term check-out through the Laspa Center*, Denison Library, and Honnold Library as possible. .
*We strive to source our books from local independent booksellers whenever possible. This is part of our commitment to pursue equitable representation and practice inclusion, as well as support the ever-growing number of women entrepreneurs operating small businesses.
Have you read something compelling recently? .
The Purpose of Power
by Alicia Garza
Spring 2022 Read to Lead Selection
“With the speed and networking capacities of social media, #BlackLivesMatter became the hashtag heard 鈥檙ound the world. But Garza knew even then that hashtags don鈥檛 start movements鈥攑eople do. This is聽迟丑别听story聽of聽one woman鈥檚 lessons through years聽of聽bringing people together to create change. Most聽of聽all, it is a new paradigm for change for a new generation聽of聽changemakers, from聽迟丑别听mind and heart behind one聽of聽the most important movements聽of聽our time.”
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Lead from the Outside
by Stacey Abrams
Fall 2021 Read to Lead Selection
“Leadership is hard. Convincing others鈥攁nd often yourself鈥攖hat you possess the answers and are capable of world-affecting change requires confidence, insight, and sheer bravado.聽Lead from the Outside听颈蝉听迟丑别听handbook for outsiders, written with the awareness of the experiences and challenges that hinder anyone who exists beyond the structure of traditional white male power鈥攚omen, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make a difference.”
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Radical Candor
by Kim Scott
Spring 2021 Read to Lead Selection
“Radical Candor is a simple idea: to be a good boss, you have to Care Personally at the same time that you Challenge Directly. When you challenge without caring it鈥檚 obnoxious aggression; when you care without challenging it鈥檚 ruinous empathy. When you do neither it鈥檚 manipulative insincerity. This simple framework can help you build better relationships at work, and fulfill your three key responsibilities as a leader: creating a culture of feedback (praise and criticism), building a cohesive team, and achieving results you鈥檙e all proud of.”
More Than Enough
by Elaine Welteroth
Fall 2020 Read to Lead Selection
“In this part-memoir, part-manifesto, the revolutionary editor who infused social consciousness into the pages of聽Teen Vogue聽explores what it means to come into your own鈥攐n your own terms. Throughout her life, Elaine Welteroth has climbed the ranks of media and fashion, shattering ceilings along the way. In this riveting and timely memoir, the groundbreaking journalist unpacks lessons on race, identity, and success through her own journey to finding herself on the frontlines of a modern movement for the next generation of change makers.”聽 Penguin Random House
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The Likability Trap
by Alicia Menendez
Spring 2020 Read to Lead Selection
“Relying on research, interviews, and personal experience, The Likeability Trap聽delivers an essential examination of the pressure put on women to be amiable at work, home, and in the public sphere, and explores the price women pay for internalizing those demands. Rather than advising readers to make themselves likeable, Menendez empowers them to examine how they perceive themselves and others and explores how the concept of likeability is riddled with cultural biases. Our demands for likeability, she argues, hinder聽别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 progress and power.”聽 Harper Collins Publishers
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Brave, Not Perfect
by Reshma Saujani
Fall 2019 Read to Lead Selection
“By choosing bravery over perfection, we can find the power to claim our voice, to leave behind what makes us unhappy, and to go for the things we genuinely, passionately want. Perfection may set us on a path that feels safe, but bravery leads us to the one we鈥檙e authentically meant to follow.”聽 Penguin Random House聽
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Reshma Saujani delivered the commencement address for swag外流 in 2017.聽.
Dare to Lead
by Bren茅聽 Brown
Spring 2019 Read to Lead Selection
“Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential. When we dare to lead, we don鈥檛 pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don鈥檛 see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don鈥檛 avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it鈥檚 necessary to do good work.”聽 Penguin Random House
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