HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strengthening Your Soft Skills

Strengthen your soft skills and reach your leadership potential. If you read (or listen to) nothing else on developing your interpersonal skills, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you identify your social and emotional strengths and weaknesses, approach them with a learning mindset, and become a more effective leader today.

This book will inspire you to focus your attention inward and outward; connect with others to give more effective feedback; influence with and without authority; navigate differences while maintaining relationships; build trust through active listening; and communicate the right message and deliver it with empathy.

This collection of articles includes "The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most," by Raffaella Sadun, Joseph Fuller, Stephen Hansen, and PJ Neal, "The Focused Leader," by Daniel Goleman, "Making Empathy Central to Your Company Culture," by Jamil Zaki, "Learning to Learn," by Erika Andersen, "How to Get the Help You Need," by Heidi Grant, "How to Sell Your Ideas up the Chain of Command," by Ethan Burris, "When Diversity Meets Feedback," by Erin Meyer, "Want Stronger Relationships at Work? Change the Way You Listen," by Manbir Kaur, "How to Navigate Conflict with a Coworker," by Amy Gallo, and more.


  1. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (featuring "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Amy Gallo, Amy Jen Sue, Clayton M. Christensen

    audiobook
  2. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (featuring "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" by Michael E. Porter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  3. HBR's 10 Must Reads 2026 : The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (featuring "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift" by Kevin Evers)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  4. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Leading Change" by John P. Kotter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, John P. Kotter, Frances Frei, Vijay Govindarajan, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

    audiobook
  5. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Data Strategy

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  6. Having Difficult Conversations

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  7. HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  8. Negotiation : Harvard Business Essentials

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Richard Luecke

    audiobook
  9. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Projects and Initiatives

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook
  10. HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Linda A. Hill, Herminia Ibarra, Robert B. Cialdini, Daniel Goleman

    audiobook
  11. HBR's 10 Must Reads on AI (with bonus article "How to Win with Machine Learning" by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

    audiobook