Summer Reading Recommendations

This spring, we had the pleasure of convening our Wicker Park Group Law Firm Leaders Roundtable. The gathering allows law firm leaders to step back and talk candidly about the shifting realities of leading professional services firms. A particular highlight was a session with Mark McGinnis, co-author of Joint Force Leadership, on Leading in Challenging Times: What Law Firm Leaders Can Learn from Elite Operations and Professional Coaches.

As always, one of my favorite traditions is sharing a few books—the kind that spark reflection, challenge assumptions, or simply offer a perspective for the current moment.

For me, the best books don’t just inform—they steady us. They help quiet the noise when leadership feels demanding or uncertain, and they remind us of what really matters. Each of these titles offers something a little different: permission to pause, practical leadership insight, perspective in turbulent times, and thoughtful reflections on purpose, empathy, and reinvention.

Aflame

This book feels especially timely for leaders navigating constant acceleration. Aflame, written by Pico Iyer, explores the idea that stepping away is not retreat but renewal. There is wisdom in creating space and in allowing silence and reflection to sharpen clarity. For many high-performing leaders, rest can feel indulgent or even irresponsible. This book reframes pause as necessary leadership discipline. One of its quiet gifts is permission to slow down without guilt and return more generous, more grounded, and more present.

Joint Force Leadership

Written by former Navy SEAL and Air Force leaders Mark McGinnis and Jim Demarest, this book resonated deeply following Mark’s remarks during our roundtable discussion. Joint Force Leadership offers practical tools forged in high-stakes environments, but its lessons translate remarkably well to law firm leadership and complex professional services organizations. The emphasis on trust, accountability, adaptability, communication, and mission clarity feels especially relevant in today’s environment, where leaders are being asked to guide teams through constant change while maintaining culture and performance.

Joyful, Anyway

In turbulent times, joy can begin to feel conditional, like something postponed until circumstances improve. Kate Bowler’s Joyful, Anyway challenges that thinking with a timely reminder that joy is not dependent on everything getting better first. For leaders carrying significant responsibility, the book offers a meaningful reframing of resilience. Joy is not denial; it’s endurance with hope intact. I found it to be both comforting and quietly energizing.

A Different Kind of Power

Jacinda Ardern’s memoir is a compelling reflection on modern leadership and the power of empathy. As Prime Minister of New Zealand, Ardern demonstrated that decisiveness and compassion can coexist and that leaders do not need to harden themselves to be effective. Her story is thoughtful, human, and deeply relevant at a time when many organizations are reexamining what authentic leadership looks like. This memoir is an important reminder that strength can be calm, caring, and deeply principled.

From Strength to Strength

I included From Strength to Strength in a previous recommended reading list, but it continues to earn its place. Arthur Brooks offers a thoughtful roadmap for finding meaning, purpose, and success as we age, particularly as professional identity evolves. What makes this book especially relevant for law firm leaders is its honest exploration of transition and succession, including some of the unspoken emotional challenges that accompany both. It’s a wise and deeply human book about reinvention, contribution, and what it means to continue growing in the second half of a career.

The conversations at our roundtable reinforced something I continue to believe: Leadership today requires not only strategy and execution but also reflection, emotional intelligence, and humanity. If you pick up any of these titles for your summer reading, we’d love to hear what resonates with you most. Happy reading!