Build Your Expertise: A Prioritized Book List for Engineering, Career, and ADHD Coaches

Wearing multiple hats as an engineering leader, career coach, ADHD coach, and advisor is incredibly rewarding, but let's be honest – it requires a diverse and constantly evolving skillset! With so many potential areas for growth, figuring out where to focus your professional development reading can feel overwhelming. Where do you even start? To help cut through the noise, I've curated a list of 15 essential books that have been invaluable in my own journey across these domains. More importantly, I've ranked them in a suggested reading order, starting with core foundations and building towards more specialized knowledge. Think of this as your roadmap to strategically developing the expertise needed to excel in these interconnected roles.

• The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier

  • Why first: Extremely practical, easy to digest, and provides immediately applicable coaching questions. It’s highly recommended and offers quick wins for improving interactions across all your roles (leadership, coaching, advising).

• The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, & Robert M. Galford

  • Why second: Establishes the absolute foundation of trust necessary for effective coaching, advising, and leadership. Understanding how to build and maintain trust is critical before diving deeper into specific techniques.

• The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo

  • Why third: Directly addresses your Engineering Leadership role with practical advice for new managers, particularly relevant in tech environments. Grounding in management fundamentals is key.

• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

  • Why fourth: Focuses on the human side of leadership – vulnerability, courage, empathy. These are crucial not only for leading engineering teams but also for building strong coaching relationships. Complements the practical advice in The Making of a Manager.

• Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell & John R. Ratey OR Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell A. Barkley

  • Why fifth: Essential foundational knowledge for your ADHD coaching role. Choose one (or both eventually). Hallowell/Ratey offer empathetic, broad insights, while Barkley provides a deep dive into executive functions and clinical understanding. Understanding the condition is paramount before coaching it.

• Co-Active Coaching: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations (4th ed.) by Henry Kimsey-House et al.

  • Why sixth: Provides a comprehensive and widely respected coaching framework. After grasping basic questioning (The Coaching Habit) and trust (Trusted Advisor), this offers a structured model for deeper coaching engagements. Often called the "bible" of coaching.

• Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

  • Why seventh: A highly recommended, actionable framework specifically for career exploration and design. Excellent for your Career Coaching role and offers a non-linear approach that can also resonate with ADHD clients.

• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

  • Why eighth: Understanding the growth vs. fixed mindset is foundational for coaching individuals through challenges, career changes, and managing ADHD. It underpins much of personal and professional development.

• Coach the Person, Not the Problem: A Guide to Using Reflective Inquiry by Marcia Reynolds

  • Why ninth: Moves beyond surface-level coaching to deeper, reflective practice. Helps develop skills to facilitate client breakthroughs, building on the foundations of Co-Active Coaching and The Coaching Habit.

• Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD by Tamara Rosier PhD

  • Why tenth: Focuses specifically on the coaching aspect for adults with ADHD from a strengths-based perspective, building on the general ADHD knowledge gained earlier.

• What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

  • Why eleventh: Excellent for both engineering leadership (helping direct reports grow) and career coaching (addressing behavioral blocks to advancement). Relevant once core leadership/coaching skills are established.

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

  • Why twelfth: Highly practical advice on habit formation. Invaluable for career coaching (skill development, productivity) and especially relevant for ADHD coaching (implementing strategies, building routines).

• The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self by Martha Beck

  • Why thirteenth: Focuses on achieving alignment between your inner truth and your outward actions/life. Explores how living with integrity (wholeness) reduces suffering and leads to purpose. Foundational for helping clients (and yourself) build authentic careers and lives.

• The Neurodiverse Workplace: An Employer's Guide to Managing and Supporting Neurodivergent Employees by Victoria Honeybourne

  • Why fourteenth: Connects your Engineering Leadership and ADHD coaching roles by providing practical strategies for creating inclusive and supportive work environments for neurodivergent individuals.

• Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

  • Why fifteenth: Focuses on purpose and motivation. Useful for inspiring engineering teams, helping career coaching clients find direction, and framing advice effectively. Good for adding a layer of inspirational leadership and coaching.

There you have it, a strategic reading journey designed to build a strong foundation across engineering leadership, career coaching, ADHD coaching, and advising. This list represents a path from core skills like effective questioning and trust-building, through essential domain knowledge in leadership and neurodiversity, to deeper concepts like authenticity and habit formation. Of course, the 'perfect' order is personal, but I hope this roadmap provides a valuable starting point or helps fill gaps in your own development. Remember, continuous learning is key in these dynamic roles. Dive in, explore these ideas, and keep growing! What essential books would you add to this list?