Bookshelf.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Leadership-themed books

Leadership is one of the great perennial topics for business publishers. The writers can be individuals (frequently current or former chief executives), consultants or even psychologists looking to frame their experience or their views into a coherent model of how to become and succeed as leaders. Or the subjects may be leaders in other fields, often historical figures like generals or politicians, whose successes the authors try to fashion into lessons for today's executives.

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Among the leadership-themed books that have appeared lately, I've chosen three--all different in approach and theory, yet sharing certain similarities. Each investigates some of the emotional or psychological threads of leadership.

The first, Resonant Leadership by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee (Harvard Business School Press, $25.95), seeks to build on the authors' prior hit, Primal Leadership, written with Daniel Goleman. This is truly a book about "soft skills," among them mindfulness, hope and compassion; it's the antithesis of a popular book from the 1980s, Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It's not about take-no-prisoners aggressiveness, but about how to invoke psychological and physiological changes that help overcome the toxicity of chronic stress.

Using examples of real leaders--but not household names--Boyatzis and McKee examine how readers can understand the impact of stress on feelings, health and behavior; recognize "wake-up" calls that alert them they are going down the wrong path; uncover their values and dreams for the future, and prevent their strengths from becoming blind spots that can lead to failure. To their credit, the authors find some very fine, detailed examples of leaders who aren't well known; several are from European-based companies.

Each chapter ends with a series of "exercises" designed to help readers use the material to better understand what drives him or her, and how to better connect with internal monitors to help avoid burnout and renew themselves. There are also tables and an extensive appendix aimed at breaking down old habits and looking at work and personal issues in a new light.

A second book, The DNA of Leadership, by Judith E. Glaser (Platinum Press, $24.95), is much more focused on in making organizations work more productively through leadership. "The ability of organizations to reach their next level of greatness is determined by the atmosphere. The atmosphere is determined by the quality of the...