15 Leadership Biographies You Need To Read (Lessons On Influence)

History’s most successful leaders weren’t just brilliant strategists.

They knew how to rally people around their vision—whether through speeches, writing, storytelling, or sheer force of personality.

As a founder, your ability to influence—customers, investors, partners, employees—will determine how far you go.

Here’s what 15 of the most powerful leadership biographies teach us about building real influence.

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1️⃣ Influence Through Vision & Strategy

The most influential leaders in history didn’t wait for opportunities to come to them. They had a clear vision of what the world should look like and the ability to rally others around that vision. 

That influence didn’t come from technical skill alone—it came from their ability to make people believe in something bigger than themselves.

📖 Steve Jobs – The Biography (by Walter Isaacson)

Steve Jobs made people feel something about the great products he made. From the launch of the first Mac to the iPhone keynote in 2007, Jobs turned every product release into an event, a movement, an invitation to a new way of thinking.

Lesson for founders: If people don’t understand or feel inspired by your vision, they won’t follow you. Your ability to tell a compelling story is just as important as your product.

📖 Robert Iger – The Ride of a Lifetime

When Iger took over as Disney’s CEO, the company was stagnant. Instead of playing it safe, he bet big on the future, acquiring Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. People doubted him—but he had the influence to sell the vision and make it happen.

Lesson for founders: Influence isn’t about being liked—it’s about making strategic, high-stakes decisions and bringing people along for the ride.

📖 Jeff Bezos – The Everything Store (by Brad Stone)

Bezos ignored Wall Street’s demand for short-term profits, instead focusing on long-term market dominance. His influence was about conviction, execution, and proving doubters wrong over time.

Lesson for founders: Influence means playing the long game, even when no one else sees it yet. The founders who shape industries aren’t just leaders, but visionaries who pull the future forward.

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2️⃣ Influence Through Storytelling & Personal Branding

Facts tell. Stories sell.

The most influential leaders make people feel something about their work. Storytelling is how you create belief, build trust, and make ideas stick. It’s not just marketing fluff.

📖 Phil Knight – Shoe Dog

Nike isn’t just a company—it’s an identity. That didn’t happen by accident. In Shoe Dog, Phil Knight tells the raw, unfiltered story of struggles, failures, and near-bankruptcy that shaped Nike’s rise. Today, the company’s famous “Just Do It” slogan is a rallying cry for determination, risk-taking, and pushing limits.

Lesson for founders: Your brand is more than a product—it’s the story you tell about why it matters.

📖 Benjamin Franklin – The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Before social media, before PR, Franklin built his influence through publishing. He didn’t wait for people to recognize his ideas—he wrote, printed, and distributed them himself. By controlling his own narrative, he positioned himself as a leader long before he held formal power.

Lesson for founders: The modern equivalent of Franklin’s printing press? LinkedIn, newsletters, and thought leadership content. If you’re not publishing, you’re invisible.

📖 Richard Branson – Losing My Virginity

Branson didn’t just launch companies—he made himself the face of them. Whether flying hot air balloons across oceans or signing The Sex Pistols to Virgin Records, he crafted a story that made Virgin feel bold, rebellious, and different.

Lesson for founders: People connect with people more than companies. The stronger your personal brand, the stronger your company’s positioning and storytelling.

Great storytelling doesn’t just make people listen—it makes them believe.

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3️⃣ Influence Through Resilience & Crisis Leadership

Influence is built in good times and tested in hard times.

Every great leader has faced moments where everything seemed like it would fall apart. What set them apart wasn’t luck or talent—it was their ability to push through, adapt, and lead when things looked impossible. Beyond survival, resilience is about inspiring belief when others are ready to quit.

📖 Elon Musk – Elon Musk (by Walter Isaacson)

In 2008, Tesla and SpaceX were both on the verge of collapse. Musk had burned through his own money, investors were skeptical, and failures kept stacking up. Instead of folding, he doubled down—securing last-minute funding that kept both companies alive. Today, Tesla dominates electric vehicles, and SpaceX has transformed space travel.

Lesson for founders: Influence is about vision—but it’s also about proving you won’t give up when others would.

📖 Various US Presidents – Leadership in Turbulent Times (by Doris Kearns Goodwin)

Abraham Lincoln led through the civil war. FDR led through the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt led through economic collapse. Each of them faced overwhelming odds, and yet, they stayed steady, communicated clearly, and made tough decisions when others hesitated.

Lesson for founders: When things go wrong, people look to you for confidence and direction. Your response in crisis defines your legacy.

📖 Winston Churchill – Walking with Destiny (by Andrew Roberts)

Churchill wasn’t always popular. In fact, many dismissed him—until war broke out. His speeches, conviction, and refusal to surrender rallied an entire nation when it needed leadership the most.

Lesson for founders: Resilience is (also) about making others believe surviving the storm is possible.

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4️⃣ Influence Through Systems & Business Acumen

The most impactful leaders create systems, processes, and structures that keep their influence alive long after they’re gone. They lead companies – and engineer tomorrow’s legacies.

📖 John D. Rockefeller – Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller (by Ron Chernow)

Rockefeller built systems that made Standard Oil dominant. He structured the business for efficiency, controlled distribution, and set pricing models that crushed competitors. Even after the company was broken up, its influence lived on through Exxon, Chevron, and Mobil.

Lesson for founders: Influence is both personal and operational. If your company can’t run without you, you haven’t built real influence.

📖 Henry Ford – My Life and Work

Ford wasn’t the first to build cars—but he revolutionized manufacturing through the assembly line. By systemizing production, he made automobiles affordable to the masses, shifting entire industries. His influence wasn’t just in the product, but also in the process that made it scalable.

Lesson for founders: The right systems don’t just make your company bigger—they change how industries work. Companies with strong corporate governance—clear decision-making structures, accountability, and long-term vision—don’t collapse when the founder exits.

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5️⃣ Influence Through Social & Cultural Change

The most impactful leaders don’t just drive revenue or market share; they change norms, shift mindsets, and redefine what’s possible. They influence industries, workplaces, and even society itself.

📖 Sheryl Sandberg – Lean In

Before Lean In, leadership was often framed as a skill men naturally gravitated toward. Sandberg challenged that idea, using her influence at Facebook to redefine leadership as something inclusive and accessible. She started a global movement that changed workplace conversations about gender, ambition, and career growth.

Lesson for founders: Influence is about what you make people question, not just what you say.

📖 Indra Nooyi – My Life in Full

As CEO of PepsiCo, Nooyi didn’t just grow the company—she made sustainability, diversity, and long-term responsibility core business priorities. She redefined what leadership could look like, proving that profit and purpose aren’t mutually exclusive.

Lesson for founders: The most influential companies stand for something bigger than their products—they infuse meaning into them.

📖 Nelson Mandela — Long Walk to Freedom

📖 Mahatma Gandhi — The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Neither Mandela nor Gandhi held power in the traditional sense. Yet, through persistence, communication, and moral clarity, they reshaped entire nations. Their leadership proved that influence doesn’t require a title—only conviction and consistency.

Lesson for founders: You don’t need permission to lead. If you have a strong enough vision and share it consistently, people will follow.

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6️⃣ The Ultimate Founder Lesson: Influence Is Everything

If there’s one thing these leaders prove, it’s that your ability to influence others will determine how far your vision goes.

You can have the best product, the smartest team, and the most funding—but if you can’t make people believe in your idea, it won’t get off the ground. 

Influence is the force that turns ideas into action, skeptics into believers, and businesses into movements.

Influence Isn’t Just for Extroverts

You don’t have to be a showman like Steve Jobs or a bold risk-taker like Richard Branson to build influence. Influence comes in different forms beyond personality.

Jeff Bezos built his through relentless execution, Sheryl Sandberg through shifting workplace culture, and Nelson Mandela through moral conviction.

Influence Is an Active Process

The most influential leaders didn’t wait for people to notice them. Benjamin Franklin published. Phil Knight shared his brand’s struggles. Elon Musk put his ideas out there—long before they were proven.

Don’t wait to be ‘discovered’—show up and shape the conversation.

Influence Is the Key to Scaling

At a certain point, your company’s growth isn’t just about execution, but about how well you rally people behind your vision. Whether it’s customers, investors, or employees, people follow leaders who make them believe in a better future.

Influence isn’t a side effect of success—it’s a prerequisite for it.

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Why LinkedIn Is the Best Platform for Building Influence

If influence is the key to leadership, then LinkedIn is the stage where modern leaders build it.

It’s not just a job board or a networking site anymore—it’s a content and influence engine where founders, executives, and industry leaders shape conversations, build authority, and attract opportunities at scale.

1️⃣ Influence Starts with Visibility

You can’t influence people if they don’t know who you are. The biggest advantage LinkedIn gives you is instant access to your target audience.

✅ 1 billion+ members—including decision-makers, investors, and industry leaders.

✅ Unlike Twitter or Instagram, LinkedIn is built for professional credibility, not entertainment.

✅ Leverage organic reach or amplify your presence with Thought Leadership Ads.

If you’re not visible, you’re forgettable. LinkedIn makes sure you’re neither.

2️⃣ Publishing = Authority

Benjamin Franklin built influence through publishing. So did Rockefeller. The modern equivalent? Posting consistently on LinkedIn.

✅ Decision-makers trust insights from thought leaders.

✅ Well-crafted posts, articles, and comments position you as an expert in your field.

✅ LinkedIn’s Thought Leader Ads allow you to amplify content directly to the people you want to influence.

Influence compounds. The more valuable content you share, the more credibility you gain. See our related post on LinkedIn post ideas for leaders.

3️⃣ Relationships Scale Faster Here

Being influential goes beyond just broadcasting—you must engage, too. On LinkedIn, every post, DM, and comment expands your circle of influence.

If you’re serious about influence, LinkedIn isn’t optional—it’s essential.

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Start Building Your Influence Today

Reading biographies on world leaders yields valuable lessons on leadership skills and visibility.

But all the best books yield a clear insight: None of these leaders waited to be noticed. They actively shaped the conversation around their ideas.

As a founder, your ability to influence isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s the foundation of your business growth. 

The best product doesn’t always win. The best storyteller does.

How to Apply This Today:

✅ Share your insights publicly – Whether it’s LinkedIn, a newsletter, or interviews, your ideas can’t influence people if they stay in your head.

✅ Communicate your vision often – If your team, customers, and investors don’t know where you’re going, they won’t follow.

✅ Stand for something – The strongest leaders don’t try to appeal to everyone. They take a stance, and their audience follows.

Your influence is your greatest competitive advantage. The leaders who change industries, build category-defining companies, and attract world-class talent aren’t just great at execution. 

They make people believe.

Ready to Scale Your Influence?

At Column, we help founders and leaders turn their insights into authority. We work with leaders in the following roles:

• Chief executive officer
• Chief marketing officer
• Chief financial officer
• Chief operating officer
• Senior Vice President
• Executive vice president
• Managing director
• Managing partner
• General counsel
• Vice chairman
• Chairman
• Founder

See our work at columncontent.com/work.

And reach out to us today to start a conversation.