How Reading Makes You a Better Leader | Leadership Books That Changed Everything with Kacy Maxwell

In this episode of Books4Guys, Chris sits down with marketing executive, leadership coach, and Drawn to Lead founder Kacy Maxwell to explore why reading remains one of the most powerful tools for becoming a better leader. Together, they discuss leadership development, continuous learning, book studies, creativity, and why slowing down with a great book often creates more lasting growth than short form content. Kacy shares his leadership journey from marketing into executive leadership and explains how books transformed the way he leads teams. The conversation explores why discussing books with others creates deeper understanding, how shared reading builds stronger teams, and why leadership is less about having all the answers and more about remaining curious and committed to lifelong learning. Chris and Kacy also discuss the inspiration behind Drawn to Lead, a platform that combines leadership books, visual learning, sketchnotes, journaling, and discussion to help readers retain and apply what they learn. They highlight leadership classics including Start With Why by Simon Sinek, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Originals by Adam Grant, and other books that have shaped their careers while encouraging more men to read, learn together, and build meaningful relationships through books. Whether you're an executive, manager, entrepreneur, or someone simply looking to grow personally and professionally, this conversation offers practical insights into leadership, reading, creativity, and building a lifelong learning mindset.In this episode you'll learn: Why books create better leaders than short form content  How leadership book studies strengthen teams  The importance of curiosity and continuous learning  How reading improves communication and decision making  Why journaling and sketchnotes increase knowledge retention  Leadership lessons from Start With Why, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Originals How to build a stronger leadership mindset through reading  Why men should read together and have deeper conversations If you enjoy conversations about leadership, books, business, personal growth, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning, be sure to subscribe to Books4Guys for weekly conversations with authors, executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who are helping readers become better thinkers, leaders, and lifelong learners.