Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular workdays. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about leadership,

From Andrew R. Thomas: The 5 Principles of a Great Boss

“Leadership is a lot like Bigfoot, whose footprints are everywhere but is nowhere to be seen.”

From Danielle Kost: 6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

“What do the best leaders do differently? Harvard Business School faculty members highlight the leadership skills and qualities that separate good from great.”

From the Economist: Meet the new boss – What it takes to be a CEO in the 2020s

“The rules of management are being ripped up. Bosses need to adapt”

From Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries: Why Leaders Should Embrace Their Dark Side

“Not acknowledging your shadow is a barrier to being an authentic leader.”

From Julian Birkinshaw: How to conduct a management experiment

“Leaders who test new ideas robustly using scientific methods can then draw firm, valuable conclusions from them.”

From Natalia Karelaia: When in Doubt, Leaders Should Ask Questions

“Inquisitive leaders receive something even better than a good answer: a bump in credibility.”

From Ed Batista: How Leaders Overcome Adversity

“A crucible is a vessel used in chemistry and metallurgy in which substances are transformed through the application of extreme heat and pressure. We can think of the current global crisis as a ‘crucible experience’–a chapter in our lives that will undoubtedly transform us, for better or for worse. In ‘Crucibles of Leadership’ Warren Bennis and his co-author Robert Thomas employ this metaphor as they explore the lives of leaders who went through such an experience, ‘a trial and a test, a point of deep self-reflection that forced them to question who they were and what mattered to them.’ [2] Studying a number of leaders who overcame adversity in such circumstances allowed Bennis and Thomas to identify the four (five, really) characteristics identified above that these leaders shared.”

Book Suggestions

Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to be a Better Boss by James Manktelow and Julian Birkinshaw

Lead Yourself First by Raymond M. Kethledge and Michael S. Erwin

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis and Bing West

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger

The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell by Paul Smith

Every Monday, I do a blog post about business reading and business books. Follow this link to my review of a business book classic, The Fifth Discipline.