First Look: Leadership Books for December 2025

HERE’S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in December 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month.

The Seismic Shift in You: The Seven Necessary Shifts to Create Connection and Drive Results by Michelle Johnston and Marshall Goldsmith

In a world more connected than ever, why are we all feeling so disconnected? Leadership expert Dr. Michelle K. Johnston reveals the hidden crisis plaguing modern workplaces: an epidemic of disconnection that’s eroding team performance, personal satisfaction, and organizational success. The Seismic Shift in You offers a transformative approach to leadership that starts with the most critical factor—you. Drawing on years of coaching top leaders and the latest research, Johnston outlines seven powerful shifts to help you lead more effectively, including: Rediscover your sense of purpose and direction, Transform everyday interactions into meaningful connections, Spark authentic engagement by starting from within, and Cultivate high-performing teams grounded in trust and collaboration. With real-world stories and practical tools, Johnston offers the clarity you need to lead with greater meaning, fulfillment, and results.

You to the Power of Two: Redefining Human Potential in the Age of Identic AI by Joseph Bradley and Don Tapscott

AI tools are already reshaping the way we work and communicate, but as they gain autonomy, they will no longer be mere tools; they will become active participants in our world.
As our digital identities become smarter and more capable, we enter the age of “Identic” AI: a place where ever-present AI companions streamline daily tasks, enhance wellbeing, and offer lifelong learning. For professionals, these intelligent agents will amplify creativity, boost productivity, and expand human potential. But with this extraordinary promise comes profound risks—to individuals, businesses, and society itself. From technology experts Joseph M. Bradley and Don Tapscott, You to the Power of Two is a thought-provoking and timely guide that will prepare readers to thrive in world of personal AI agents

Monster Transformation: Conquer Your Digital Fears, Be AI Ready, and Focus on What Matters to Your Organization by Ari Lightman, Rafeh Masood and Gary Hirsch

In Monster Transformation, a team of veteran digital leaders delivers an expert framework to digital transformation that focuses on the competencies your employees will need to have―and develop―to enable your organization to function in a world defined by generative artificial intelligence. Monster Transformation blends actionable insights, real-world case studies, and immediately recognizable organizational behaviors that can either move forward or derail transformation in the age of AI. Whether you are leading, a part of, supporting or interested in organizational transformation, this book challenges conventional thought on dealing with transformation, provides insights on how and why barriers to effective change arise and pragmatic mechanisms to address challenges, diminish barriers and leverage employees.

Human Edge in the AI Age: Eight Timeless Mantras For Success by Nitin Seth

If you’re wondering how to stay relevant in a world where AI seems to be mastering capabilities once thought to be uniquely human, from cognitive tasks to emotional intelligence, Human Edge in the AI Age is your answer. This is not another book about what AI can do. It’s about what you can do to thrive alongside it. As AI disrupts industries and job roles and the possibility of job displacement looms, it may also herald a new human renaissance—an Era of Entrepreneurs—where individuals take charge of their destinies, innovate fearlessly, and create value grounded in timeless human strengths such as creativity, empathy, and leadership. To navigate this seismic shift, Nitin Seth introduces the POSSIBLE framework, an original eight-dimensional guide to rediscovering the human edge.

The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation by Phil Le-Brun and Jana Werner

Our organizations are stuck. We talk about agility but find ourselves bogged down in bureaucracy. We aspire to innovate but run into systems built to prevent mistakes, not spark breakthroughs. We need to learn and adapt, but we’re operating with an outdated playbook built for efficiency and control. And our attempts to fix all this—by pouring trillions into huge, top-down transformations—make the problems worse. But there is a better way: Building an Octopus Organization. One of nature’s most intelligent and curious creatures, the octopus is everything your organization needs to be: smart, endlessly adaptable, and highly resilient. Its eight tentacles work in concert, but each can also think for itself. This book shows how to achieve the same balance of cohesion and autonomy and to guide your organization toward a living, breathing system—one that learns, adapts, and thrives by tapping into the distributed intelligence of its people.

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* * *“You can’t think well without writing well, and you can’t write well without reading well. And I mean that last “well” in both senses. You have to be good at reading, and read good things.”

— Paul Graham, Y Combinator co-founder

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