It’s no secret that highly effective people and the world’s great leaders share similar traits, whether it’s years of experience, emotional intelligence, or unique leadership styles they trust.
Taking a page out of your books is a long-standing recommended practice for shaping your own management approach, as reading the words of others engages you with new ways of thinking and exposes you to alternative perspectives.
You are reading: Books on team management
With an ever-increasing number of business and management books appearing, seemingly every day, it’s hard to know where to start. To get you started, we’ve compiled a short list of our 20 must-read books for successful managers.
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training a manager: what to do when everyone is looking at you – by julie zhuo
julie zhuo, facebook’s first intern, became a manager at the age of 25. With no managerial experience to speak of and with the enormous weight of staff’s expectations of her, Ella Zhuo had no choice but to learn as she went.
many years and many teams later, zhuo has written about creating a coach specifically to help new coaches by providing clear instructions and practical advice for those newly promoted.
the silo effect: the danger of experience and the promise of breaking down barriers – by gillian tett
in the silo effect, tett asks the question “why do humans working in modern institutions collectively act in ways that sometimes seem stupid?” and goes on to discuss how the traditional corporate structure of departments can lead to decisions that might otherwise seem counterintuitive.
If you’re a newly appointed department manager, this is a must read. tett not only shares stories of disastrous decisions made due to this silo effect way of thinking, but also discusses examples of how managers and the institutions they work in have been able to overcome the silo effect.
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World With OKRs – By John Doerr
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World With OKRs – By John DoerrMeasure What Matters Legendary Venture Capitalist John Doerr Shares How The Objectives And Key Results (OKRS) System For Setting Goals Has Helped Some Of The World’s Most Successful Organizations Achieve Greatness—And How It Can help you, and your organization prosper.
Through a series of case studies, doerr walks you through the okr system and explains how goals define what you want to achieve, while key results are the steps that will get you there. To know if you’re achieving those key results, you’ll set specific, measurable actions that need to be accomplished within a specific time period.
developing an okr system not only gives you a way to manage your team and their work, it also makes your expectations clear to your team members, allowing them to see how their success will or will not be measured.
dare to lead: courageous work. difficult conversations. whole hearts – by brene brown
Defining a manager’s title can be tricky. Are people given the title of managers, automatically adept at motivating their teams, showing empathy to team members, recognizing the potential in others, and being brave enough to realize that potential?
in daring to lead, brown uses research, stories, case studies, and other examples to explain how the bravest and boldest managers who are willing to share their power rather than hoard it can build organizations that thrive.
now discover your strengths: how to develop your talents and those of the people you lead – by marcus buckingham, donald o. clifton
marcus buckingham writes about how we are taught to identify our weaknesses and focus on overcoming them. he argues that this “fail first” approach leads us to ignore our strengths, or at least underutilize them.
discover your strengths includes a unique access code that allows you to complete an online interview to “discover your five greatest strengths”.
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indistractable: how to control your attention and choose your life – by nir eyal
Much has been said and written about how we become increasingly distracted and the potential impact this has on the workplace for both managers and the people they lead.
nir eyal, stanford professor and behavioral design expert, discusses the psychology of electronic distraction and what we can do to overcome it with a research-backed four-step model of how you can live with technology without developing a response pavlovian to your notification ping.
talking to strangers: what we need to know about people we don’t know – by malcolm gladwell
While not explicitly written for managers or even business people, Talking to Strangers examines how predisposed most of us are to believe other people are honest and transparent. Gladwell moves on from this belief to the fact that when someone behaves in a way that is considered unusual, we usually automatically have a suspicious or negative response.
By examining high-profile interactions such as Sandra Brand’s trafficking arrest and subsequent death, Bernie Madoff’s financial fraud, Sylvia Plath’s suicide, and the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal, Gladwell challenges the tools and strategies we use to talk to others. Not only that, he looks at how the ways we interact can lead to misunderstandings, conflict, and potentially catastrophic consequences.
hbr’s 10 must-reads for 2020: harvard business review’s definitive management insights of the year (with bonus article “how CEOs manage time” by michael e. porter and nitin nohria)
See Also: Short But Meaty: Middle School Books for Less Prolific Readers | I Capture the Rowhouse
Each of the harvard business school required reading series is an anthology of articles written by leading experts and previously published in harvard business review.
While there are many required readings available, some designed specifically for a particular role or industry, this specific example is for all managers.
with articles as diverse as “collaborative intelligence: humans and artificial intelligence are joining forces”, from h. James Wilson and Paul R. Daugherty, “How CEOs Manage Time,” by Michael E. Porter and Nitin Nohria, and “Strategy for Start-ups” by Joshua Gans, Erin L. scott and scott stern, there are relevant business conversations we can all learn from.
As a bonus, this is also available as an audiobook, so listen to it on the go and arrive at work inspired.
the harvard business review manager’s handbook: the 17 skills leaders must highlight
The HBR Manager’s Manual is an excellent choice for those who prefer resources that offer specific step-by-step guidance for a task. This manual is divided into five parts that cover how to develop a leadership mindset; handle yourself; manage people; manage teams and manage the business.
It would be difficult to read from cover to cover, but you should take the time to read the first part, “the transition to leadership.” This section discusses the role of a manager, the differences between management and leadership, and a number of other critical points for the new manager, including debunking some common myths about managers.
The design makes it easy to grab and dive in when faced with a particular challenge. So, for example, if you are reviewing financial statements for the first time, there is a chapter that explains how to understand them.
helping people change: training with compassion for lifelong learning and growth – by richard boyatzis, melvin l. blacksmith, ellen van oosten
Many managers mistakenly believe that teaching your team is about pointing out things people have done wrong and telling them to do it right next time. Unfortunately, this approach is neither helpful nor constructive and, in the long run, can lead to strained personal and professional relationships and a haemorrhage of staff.
boyatzis, smith, and van oosten tell us to focus on identifying hopes, dreams, goals, or positive aspects of a person’s self-image. then once we know what drives a person, we can find ways to train them that lead to sustained positive results.
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creative calling: establish a daily practice, infuse your world with meaning, and succeed in work and life – by chase jarvis
It doesn’t matter if you’re a creative or not, because creative calls are said to unlock your potential through jarvis’ memorable “idea” system:
○ imagine your big dream, what you want to create, or become, in this world.
○ design a daily practice that supports that dream and a life of expression and transformation.
○ Execute your ambitious plans and make your vision a reality.
○ amplify your impact through a supportive community; you will learn to grow and nurture yourself.
permission to screw up: how i learned to lead by doing (almost) everything wrong – by kristen hadeed
Not every teachable moment has to come from a manual or how-to, and permission to make mistakes is the perfect example of how you can learn so much through the experiences of others.
In her first book, Hadeed recounts how she founded her company, Student Maid, by accident and how, before becoming an incredibly successful and sought-after CEO, if there was a wrong way to do something, she did it.
An excellent choice for those who find it difficult to navigate the more traditional and instructive type of management book,
permission to screw up is as entertaining as it is educational.
brave new work: are you ready to reinvent your organization? -by aaron deign
In this book, dignan shares his strategies for breaking through traditional corporate structures and operating systems to rediscover what’s important to your organization’s success.
dignan’s strategies are shared in radical and successful case studies of their clients.
See Also: Prologue: Definition and Examples | Literary Terms
If you’re ready to work outside of commonly accepted norms, grab a copy of brave new work.
Building an Effective Management System: Integrating Policy Deployment, Twi, and Kata – by Patrick Graupp, Skip Steward, Brad Parsons
if you ever find yourself in a position where you are a new manager, and some or all of your role involves management systems, then this book is an absolute must.
graupp, steward, and parsons not only describe how an organization can identify what an effective management system should look like for them, but the trio of experts describe how critical elements of a system should work together to achieve organizational success.
the first time manager – by jim mccormick
The First Time Manager is a combination of a motivational talk, explanatory text, how-tos, and checklists, written by an offbeat author. McCormick is the founder of the Risk Intelligence Research Institute, he has worked in both the public and private sectors.
As a consequence, the first-time manager does not focus on one industry, or even the business sector; instead, he provides candid advice to new managers in any type of organization.
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first, break all the rules: what the world’s best managers do differently – by gallup with foreword by james k. blacksmith
gallup set out to discover what the world’s best managers have in common, and he did so by interviewing 80,000 managers.
examines the performance of managers and employees, from fortune 500 companies to small entrepreneurial firms, from CEOs to supervisors, and how they’ve all helped drive their employees and, consequently, their organizations forward. to the next level.
Breaking All The Rules also comes with online access to Gallup’s q12 employee engagement survey and reports.
the ordinary leader: 10 key ideas for building and leading a successful organization – by randy grieser
In The Ordinary Leader, Randy Grieser shares his ten key insights for building and leading an organization that will thrive. Each of these insights translates into one of the 10 key principles that Grieser believes are essential to success as a leader.
The stories and perspectives used are those of 10 ordinary leaders, and this is a refreshing change from the many, many leadership and management books that use fortune 500 companies or ultra-successful entrepreneurs as their examples.
radical candor: fully revised & updated edition: be an awesome boss without losing your humanity hardcover – by kim scott
One of the hardest things for new managers to accomplish is finding the sweet spot between the doormat and the dictator. rookies usually want their team to like them and make the mistake of thinking they can’t be forceful, or they want to assert their authority and end up away from their team unhappy and dissatisfied.
With radical candor, Scott shares how you can care about your people without being afraid to speak your mind, as well as how not to become overbearing or a bully in the process. she also discusses how you can provide and solicit constructive criticism to ensure continuous cultural improvement.
That’s What She Said – By Joanne Lipman
That’s What She Said – By Joanne LipmanThat’s What She Said provides practical advice for managers who want to work toward greater gender parity in the workplace.
Through a combination of case studies and personal experience, Lipman asks how managers in a post #metoo world can ensure their workplace is an equitable and professionally satisfying environment for all.
The most useful thing for new managers may be the “positive action now” cheat sheet, useful for all managers who want to reduce the gender gap at work but are afraid of making mistakes.
start to finish: how to go from idea to realization- by charlie gilkey
we’ve all been there. A shiny, shiny new project that you can’t wait to start has suddenly become something you’d be happy to run away from. If you have “maybe a day” ideas for a lifetime or have left a series of projects, plans and unfinished tasks in your wake, Begin to Finish is the book for you.
gilkey will guide you through the essential steps that will help you complete the ideas without too much pain along the way.
so there you have it. our 20 must-read books for successful managers. Go ahead and get yourself a copy of one of these great books, but don’t blame us if you end up buying them all.
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