reading list
Reading List: Power, Systems, and Change
A starting set of widely cited works for learners who want to go deeper into the ideas behind the programme. Bibliographic details are pending editorial verification.
By ISDL Editorial Team · · 1 min read · reading list
How to use this list
These works are frequently cited in discussions of leadership, power, and systems change. Including a work here does not mean ISDL endorses every argument in it; many of them disagree with each other, which is part of their value. Bibliographic details are being verified by our editorial team before this list is finalised.
Leadership and adaptive work - Ronald A. Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers (1994) - Keith Grint, Leadership: Limits and Possibilities (2005)
Power and voice - Steven Lukes, Power: A Radical View (1974; 2nd ed. 2005) - Albert O. Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (1970)
Systems and institutions - Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems: A Primer (2008) - Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline (1990) - Edgar H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership
Experimentation and measurement - Jerry Z. Muller, The Tyranny of Metrics (2018)
A note on breadth
Most widely cited leadership literature originates in a small number of countries. We encourage learners to read alongside it work from their own regions and traditions, and to bring that work into cohort discussion.