The Books I Recommend for the New Manager

(Also for those looking to make the leap to Management)

I talk about books frequently on my podcast Seeking Wisdom.

Because of my learning obsession I frequently am asked for book recommendations. 📚

This week a listener and fellow Entrepreneur emailed me to ask for book recommendations for a person on his team who had recently made the “Maker to Manager” shift.

Recommending just one book is impossible for me so I made a list of 5 books that I recommend for all new Managers or those seeking to make that jump in the future.

These are the books I recommend for the New Manager (or those looking to become a manager)

1. Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker — This is the book I recommend the most and frequently give as a gift. It’s a $5 book that will change your professional life. I recommend you re-read this book every 5 years. My favorite chapter is the entire book (it’s only 55 pages long so read the entire thing).
2. The One Thing by Gary Keller — I give this book to everyone who joins our team at Drift. It’s also the book I have gifted the most in 2016. What’s your “One Thing?” has become our daily mantra at Drift and a question I ask myself to start each morning. My favorite chapter is “10. The Focusing Question”.
3. Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke — This might be the second book I’ve gifted the most in 2016. The book takes the fable approach to teaching the importance of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results a framework made famous by Google but goes back to Andy Grove at Intel). Lucky to have gotten to know the author many years ago, I recommend you follow her work. My favorite chapter is “OKRs for Product Teams”.
4. The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni — Great book by the author of many famous business fables like “The Five Disfunctions of a Team”. Touches on Servant Leadership and the importance of focusing on organizational health. My favorite chapter is “Discipline 3: Overcommunicate Clarity”.
5. Leadership is an Art by Max DePree — I forgot how I found this book but it’s a hidden gem by the CEO of Herman Miller (Makers of the Aeron chair and other great furniture). My favorite chapter is “What is Leadership?”.

*Bonus points: Being a Better Leader by Ari Weinzweig

You don’t have to read all of these but I put them in order so you can start at the top and make your way down the list over time.

Those familiar with these books will notice a big theme across these books is Servant Leadership. This is a concept I deeply believe in and try hard to follow.

If you’re interested in learning more about Servant Leadership and/or my own approach to Management you might enjoy this presentation I gave back in March 2014.

If you enjoyed this post I would greatly appreciate it if you could hit the ❤ button so others can discover this article.

Also please leave a comment below if there are books you think should be on the list or if you’d like to share your thoughts on the books I recommended above.