CRAFT YOUR CONFIDENCE

The Bookshelf

The shelf behind the work.

The books that shaped how senior leaders get seen, get heard, and get the next seat. Grouped by the three pillars the work is built on.

A note from Maddy

These are the books on my shelf. The ones that changed how I read a room, a profile, and a career. Pick one from the pillar you are working on right now. Borrow freely.

01

Pillar One

Digital Presence

How the room reads you before you speak. Being known for the work you already do.

Reinventing You

Reinventing You

Dorie Clark · 2013

Maps the move from doing the work to being known for it, with a method senior leaders can run.

Executive Presence

Executive Presence

Sylvia Ann Hewlett · 2014

Names the three signals, gravitas, communication, and appearance, that decide whether competence reads as leadership.

Mark W. Schaefer · 2017

A research-backed, step-by-step path to becoming the recognized go-to voice in your field.

Dorie Clark · 2015

Shows how to claim a defensible point of view and gather an audience that treats you as the expert.

Sally Helgesen & Marshall Goldsmith · 2018

Targets the self-limiting patterns that keep accomplished women under-recognized at the director and VP line.

Show Your Work!

Show Your Work!

Austin Kleon · 2014

Turns daily work into shareable proof so visibility compounds without feeling like self-promotion.

Amy Cuddy · 2015

Grounds executive presence in behavior and body language you can adjust before high-stakes rooms.

Build Your Reputation

Build Your Reputation

Rob Brown · 2016

Treats reputation as an asset to engineer deliberately, with tactics for becoming the obvious referral.

Entrepreneurial You

Entrepreneurial You

Dorie Clark · 2017

Connects an established online reputation to real revenue and opportunity beyond the day job.

Peggy Klaus · 2003

Hands women the language to claim credit out loud without crossing into bluster.

Carla A. Harris · 2009

A Wall Street operator's playbook for managing perception, sponsorship, and visibility inside power structures.

Dorie Clark · 2021

Frames recognition as a multi-year compounding asset and protects the patience visibility takes.

02

Pillar Two

Communication Playbook

How you get heard. Saying the thing so it lands and moves the people in front of you.

Crucial Conversations

Crucial Conversations

Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler · 2002

A repeatable method for staying composed and effective when high-stakes talks turn emotional.

Difficult Conversations

Difficult Conversations

Stone, Patton & Heen · 1999

Handle confrontation, disagreement, and bad news without damaging the working relationship.

Chip & Dan Heath · 2007

Shows exactly why some messages land and stick, so your point survives the room.

Robert Cialdini · 1984

Maps the six drivers behind every yes, the science under real persuasion.

Never Split the Difference

Never Split the Difference

Chris Voss & Tahl Raz · 2016

Tactical empathy and calibrated questions for the negotiations that decide budgets, roles, and deals.

Chris Anderson · 2016

The definitive playbook for building and delivering a talk that moves a serious audience.

Carmine Gallo · 2014

Reverse-engineers the most-watched talks into nine habits you can apply to any keynote or pitch.

VandeHei, Allen & Schwartz · 2022

Teaches you to write so busy executives actually read and act on the message.

On Writing Well

On Writing Well

William Zinsser · 1976

Cut clutter and write with the clarity that signals clear thinking.

Thanks for the Feedback

Thanks for the Feedback

Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen · 2014

Take hard input without defensiveness and put it to work.

The Charisma Myth

The Charisma Myth

Olivia Fox Cabane · 2012

Breaks presence into learnable behaviors of power, warmth, and full attention.

Storytelling with Data

Storytelling with Data

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic · 2015

Turns slides and numbers into a clear narrative so your data persuades instead of overwhelming.

03

Pillar Three

Activating Network

How you get championed. Relationships that move your name when you are not in the room.

Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor

Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor

Sylvia Ann Hewlett · 2013

Names the sponsorship gap that stalls senior women and shows how to earn an advocate in rooms you cannot enter.

Adam Grant · 2013

Reframes reciprocity with data, showing how strategic generosity builds social capital that compounds.

Never Eat Alone

Never Eat Alone

Keith Ferrazzi & Tahl Raz · 2005

The foundational relationship playbook, generosity-first connection and staying in touch before you need anything.

The Sponsor Effect

The Sponsor Effect

Sylvia Ann Hewlett · 2019

Flips the lens to sponsoring others, multiplying your own influence, loyalty, and standing.

Friend of a Friend

Friend of a Friend

David Burkus · 2018

Maps the second-degree network already around you, where the introductions that matter come from.

The Startup of You

The Startup of You

Reid Hoffman & Ben Casnocha · 2012

A network-as-career-asset model from LinkedIn's founder, relationships as deliberate infrastructure.

The Connector's Advantage

The Connector's Advantage

Michelle Tillis Lederman · 2019

Seven mindsets of high-output connectors, with practical moves to grow influence while staying authentic.

The Likeability Trap

The Likeability Trap

Alicia Menendez · 2019

Dissects the double bind senior women face, building strategic relationships without performing warmth.

Scott Gerber & Ryan Paugh · 2018

Replaces transactional networking with curated, high-trust community you become the hub of.

Vanessa Van Edwards · 2017

Turns first impressions and rapport into a repeatable system new relationships start stronger on.

Taking the Work Out of Networking

Taking the Work Out of Networking

Karen Wickre · 2018

A quieter, sustainable approach for busy leaders, built on loose-touch contact and generosity.

The Art of Gathering

The Art of Gathering

Priya Parker · 2018

Design meetings and gatherings with real purpose, turning convenings into moments that deepen relationships.

The shelf is a start

Every leader on these shelves started by getting seen for the work.

That is where the system begins. A free, candid read of your signal, built on Maddy's method.

Run your free Signal Alert →