Leadership Audiobooks to Learn on the Go

Leadership audiobooks let you keep learning during time you already spend driving, walking or doing chores. Step 7 of the 10 Steps to Leadership Development includes six picks to start with, and you can often borrow them free through your public library.

step 7 develop leadership qualities hero: headphones

Plenty of managers feel they don't have time to read, and after a full workday the thought of taking time to learn isn't always a priority. That's why it's important to identify spare moments throughout the day. For example, many people spend an hour or more each day in the car, out on a walk or working around the house, with their hands busy and their mind free.

Audiobooks turn that time into learning without adding anything to your calendar. You can borrow them free with a library card and pick up right where you left off, whether that's while mowing the lawn or folding laundry.

Listening also suits people who find it hard to sit still with a book at the end of a long day. Many leadership audiobooks are read by the author, and hearing the examples in their own voice can make the ideas easier to remember.

What you do after you listen matters most. Capture one idea at a time and try it out with your team.

How Much Listening Time You Already Have

Most people have more listening time than they think. A commute is the obvious one, and a daily walk, a workout or the chores that occur throughout a typical week, from laundry and dishes to yard work or cleaning out the garage.

Added up, a typical week can look something like this.

Spare moment	Typical time	Per week
Commute	30 minutes each way, 5 days	5 hrs
Daily walk	20 minutes, 7 days	2 hrs 20 min
Workout	45 minutes, 3 days	2 hrs 15 min
Dishes and laundry	20 minutes, 7 days	2 hrs 20 min
Yard work or the garage	1 hour on the weekend	1 hr
Total		About 13 hrs

Many leadership audiobooks run between 5 and 10 hours, so even the commute alone can cover two books a month. You won't use every slot every week, and you don't need to. For one week, write down where your hands are busy and your ears are free, and you'll know what you have to work with.

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.”

- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack

Six Leadership Audiobooks to Start With

These six are among the best leadership audiobooks for managers that we've reviewed, and each one has an audio edition you can look for at your library.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell. Each short chapter covers one law, which makes it easy to listen to in 20-minute stretches. A good first book for a new manager.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith. Covers the habits that hold back leaders who are already successful, such as needing to win every argument. Best for experienced managers.

The Energy Bus, Jon Gordon. A short story built around 10 rules for positive energy, and easy to follow while you drive. A good one to share with your whole team.

One Minute Mentoring, Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz. A quick listen on how to find a mentor or become one, without a big time commitment.

Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Explains why some ideas are remembered and others are forgotten, which helps any time you need your team to remember a message.

No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline, Brian Tracy. Practical chapters on building self-discipline at work and in your daily habits.

Free and Low-Cost Ways to Listen

Our Leadership Book Reviews cover more than 30 books on leadership and management, and many of them are available as audiobooks. Pick one that matches a skill you're working on, and be sure to check your library for the audio edition.

Your public library may lend audiobooks free through apps such as Libby and Hoopla. All you need is a library card, and you can download a book to your phone and listen offline.

If you'd rather own your audiobooks, Audible sells them by monthly subscription.

The Classic Leadership Library has free PDFs of classics such as As a Man Thinketh and Acres of Diamonds. Many of the same books are free as audiobooks on LibriVox, where volunteers record books that are in the public domain.

How to Turn Listening Into Leadership Growth

A few small habits help what you hear turn into something your team notices.

Choose a book that matches one skill you want to build, such as delegation or communication from your Step 3 self-assessment.
Listen in the time slots you already have, and keep the next book downloaded on your phone so it's ready.
When an idea fits a problem you're facing, pause and say it out loud in one sentence.
Write that sentence in your leadership journal at the end of the day.
Try one idea with your team each week, and make a note of what happened.

Leadership Audiobooks Example

Andre supervises 12 drivers at a regional delivery company, and he drives 35 minutes each way to the depot. He hadn't finished a book since he was promoted, and his morning huddles had turned into a list of what went wrong the day before.

ANDRE'S COMMUTE

The time: 35 minutes each way, five days a week, adds up to just under 6 hours of listening a week.

The books: He got a library card, downloaded the Libby app and started with The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. In three months he finished five audiobooks and spent nothing.

The idea he used: Each night he wrote one idea in his journal. After The Energy Bus, he began opening the 10-minute morning huddle with one thing that went well the day before, then moved on to the day's priorities.

Two months later: Driver sick days dropped from 9 a month to 5, and two drivers who had been quiet in huddles started bringing up new ideas to improve the route schedule.

Measure	Before	After
Audiobooks finished in three months	0	5
Driver sick days per month	9	5

All five audiobooks came from the library, and every hour of listening happened in the car on the way to and from work.

Leadership Audiobooks FAQ

The questions below address what leaders most commonly ask about leadership audiobooks.

Click on the (+) sign below to expand each question. Click the (-) sign to collapse it again.

Are audiobooks as good as reading for learning?

They can be. You'll remember more if you pause to note key ideas and write one down afterward, and books with charts or worksheets are often easier to use in print.

Where can I get leadership audiobooks for free?

Many public libraries lend audiobooks free through apps such as Libby and Hoopla, and all you need is a library card. Older classics in the public domain are also free on LibriVox.

What are good leadership audiobooks for new managers?

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell is a good start because each short chapter covers one idea. One Minute Mentoring by Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz and The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon are also quick listens.

How do I remember what I listen to?

Pause when an idea fits a problem you're facing, say it out loud in one sentence and write it in a journal at the end of the day. Trying the idea with your team that same week helps it stick.

Do leadership podcasts count?

Yes. Podcasts work the same way and are usually free, and shorter episodes fit well into a quick drive or a walk. Use the same habit of writing down one idea after each episode.

Continue the 10 Steps Series

See all 10 steps

Step 6: Respond Thoughtfully

Step 8: Use Wise Words

Step 9: Keep a Journal

Richard Gorham has led teams in financial services for more than 30 years, from retail branches and operations to investments and insurance, and he still leads a team today.

He founded Leadership-Tools.com in 2002 to give managers free, practical tools like the ones he used in his various leadership roles. Every tool here has been used in a real workplace and comes with a filled-in example you can follow.

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