Read All About It: Book Club Selections for Women Builders

For women builders, book clubs can be a great way to develop leadership skills, network, hear from different perspectives, and build connection. NAWIC’s Professional Development and Education Committee hosts a Leadership Book Club, as do many NAWIC chapters. Here are five of books they have read recently:

We’ll Call You If We Need You
Author Susan Eisenberg knows construction. She began work in the industry as an apprentice electrical worker back during the Carter administration. Her book, We’ll Call You If We Need You, was written in 1998 after twenty years in the industry and updated again in 2018. That deep perspective of how things have changed, and stayed the same, adds to the stories she shares of women builders in the trades – carpenters, electricians, ironworkers, painters, and plumbers.

Fail Until You Don’t: Fight. Grind. Repeat.
Learning how to handle failure is an important leadership quality for women builders to master. In Fail Until You Don’t, New York Times bestselling author, radio and television personality Bobby Bones shares how he learned from his biggest mistakes, turning them into wins.

Atomic Habits
Success comes from a system that lets you reach your goals, according to author James Clear. With strategies drawn from biology, psychology, and neuroscience, Atomic Habits can help create good habits and break bad ones. Using Clear’s framework, women builders can learn how to implement repeatable behaviors for remarkable results.

The One Thing
Often women are told that multitasking is the key to successfully having it all. In this book, authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan explore how intensely focusing on one thing, the most important thing every day, can lead to success, while multitasking, not having a life goal or purpose, and not prioritizing tasks can be counterproductive.

VOLAR: How to Turn Roadblocks into Runways to Success
VOLAR is the Spanish word for “to fly or soar.” It is also an acronym for author Mitch Savoie Hill’s formula to overcome roadblocks and pave runways to success. Hill knows how women builders can become industry leaders. She serves on the DE&I Committee for NAWIC.

More book recommendations for women builders
Want to read more? Check out these recommendations for women builders:
10 Books All Women in Construction Should Read
Best Books for Women in Project Management
Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology

NAWIC
With more than 115 chapters in the United States and affiliate organizations worldwide, the National Association of Women in Construction is the leading organization for women builders. NAWIC provides community, mentorship, networking, leadership opportunities, and education for its members. Career resources for women in construction include the latest construction job openings and professional development events.