All guides · Starting out

First time manager books: the 15 worth reading, and in what order

If you only read one book as a first time manager, read The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo: it was written for exactly your situation. Add Radical Candor for feedback and The Coaching Habit for one-on-ones, and you've covered the three things new managers struggle with most. The other twelve below are for specific problems: a team you inherited, a conflict, a move from engineering, a hard conversation coming up.

Most "best books" lists give you eleven titles in no order. This one tells you what each book is best for, which to read first, what to take from it in a single sitting, and which famous ones you can skip for now. There's a reading plan for your first three months at the end.

The list at a glance

Start here: three books for your first month

1. The Making of a Manager, Julie Zhuo (2019)

Why it's first: Zhuo became a manager at Facebook in her mid-twenties with no training, and the book is about what she wished she'd known. It's short, plain and specific to a first-time manager rather than an executive.

What it covers: what a manager's job actually is (she frames it as purpose, people and process), the first months, one-on-ones, feedback, running meetings, hiring, and managing yourself when you feel out of your depth.

Take from it in one evening: the chapter on your first three months, and the one on feedback.

2. Radical Candor, Kim Scott (2017)

Why: the most common failure of new managers isn't being harsh; it's saying nothing because they like the person. Scott names that "ruinous empathy," and the book is about how to care about someone and still tell them the truth.

What it covers: a simple two-by-two (care personally, challenge directly), how to ask for criticism of yourself first, how to give praise and criticism that's specific, and how to run the team's rhythm around it.

Take from it: the four quadrants and the advice to ask for feedback before you give it. Then try it in your next one-on-one. Our guide on how to give difficult feedback to an employee turns the same idea into a six-step talk.

3. The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier (2016)

Why: new managers tend to answer every question themselves, because that's what made them good at their old job. This book is about asking instead. It's short enough to finish in a couple of hours.

What it covers: seven questions, starting with "What's on your mind?" and "And what else?", and how to stop yourself jumping in with advice.

Take from it: open your next three one-on-ones with "What's on your mind?" and follow every answer with "And what else?" before you say anything. More questions like these are in our list of one on one questions to ask employees.

For a system you can run every week

4. The Effective Manager, Mark Horstman (2016)

Written by one of the founders of the Manager Tools podcast. It's a practical, almost procedural book built on four habits: weekly one-on-ones, regular feedback, coaching, and delegation, introduced in that order over several months. If you like rules you can follow, this is the one. Some readers find it rigid; take the order of rollout and the one-on-one format even if you skip the rest.

5. The First 90 Days, Michael D. Watkins (2003, updated 2013)

Not written only for first-time managers (it's about any leader moving into a new role), but its core idea fits: learn before you act, agree expectations with your boss early, and get a few early wins. It also describes different situations you might be walking into, such as a team that needs a turnaround versus one that's doing well. Pair it with our 30-60-90 day plan for new managers, which turns it into a one-page plan.

6. The First-Time Manager, Belker, McCormick and Topchik (current edition 2021)

A broad, chapter-per-topic handbook that has been revised over several decades: hiring, motivating, delegation, discipline, meetings, managing your time. It's more of a reference than a read-through. Useful if your company gives you no training at all and you want one book on the shelf for "how do I handle…" questions.

For hard conversations

7. Crucial Conversations, Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler (2002)

About talks where the stakes are high, opinions differ and emotions run strong. Its most useful ideas for a new manager: decide what you really want from the talk before it starts, notice when the other person stops feeling safe, and get the facts on the table before your story about them. Later editions have been updated; any recent one is fine.

8. Difficult Conversations, Stone, Patton and Heen (1999)

From the Harvard Negotiation Project. It explains why hard talks go wrong: every one is really three conversations at once (what happened, how we feel, and what it says about who we are). Once you see the third one, a lot of defensive reactions make sense. Read it if your talks keep turning into arguments.

9. Thanks for the Feedback, Stone and Heen (2014)

About receiving feedback rather than giving it. That sounds backwards for a manager, but it's useful twice: you'll get feedback from your boss and team, and it explains why your own feedback lands badly with some people. If someone on your team gets defensive every time, read it alongside our guide on giving feedback to an employee who gets defensive.

For the team as a whole

10. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni (2002)

Told mostly as a story about a fictional leadership team, then summed up as a model: a lack of trust leads to fear of conflict, which leads to weak commitment, avoided accountability and, finally, poor results. A quick read. Most useful if your team is pleasant in meetings but nothing gets decided.

11. Turn the Ship Around!, L. David Marquet (2012)

A former US Navy submarine captain describes moving his crew from waiting for orders to stating what they intended to do. For a new manager whose team brings every decision to them, the takeaway is concrete: ask people to come to you with "I intend to…" rather than "What should I do?"

12. First, Break All the Rules, Buckingham and Coffman (1999)

Based on Gallup's interviews with a large number of managers. It argues that great managers focus on each person's strengths and that the direct manager matters more to whether people stay than the company does. Read it for the questions it gives you about what your team needs from you.

Want words like these ready every morning? Take the 2-minute quiz and get a 10-minute lesson and one script a day, built from the ideas in books like these.

For specific kinds of new managers

13. The Manager's Path, Camille Fournier (2017)

For software engineers moving into management. It walks through each step, from mentoring and tech lead to managing a team and managing managers, with the specific traps of each. If you were writing code last month, read this before anything else on the list except Zhuo.

14. High Output Management, Andrew S. Grove (1983)

By Intel's former chief executive. Older and denser, but its ideas still hold: a manager's output is the output of their team, one-on-ones are one of a manager's highest-leverage tools, and meetings should have a clear purpose. Best for managers in operations, manufacturing, engineering or anywhere output can be counted.

15. Drive, Daniel H. Pink (2009)

About motivation: why rewards work for simple tasks and often don't for complex ones, and how autonomy, mastery and purpose matter more. Useful background for when you can't give raises but still need people to care.

Famous books you can skip for now

• Big-picture leadership and strategy books written for executives. They're about setting a company's direction, which isn't your job yet.
• Books built around one leader's life story. Enjoyable, but hard to turn into anything you can do on Monday.
• General self-improvement and habit books. Fine on their own terms, but they won't tell you what to say to the person who missed a deadline.
• More than one book on the same thing. If you've read Crucial Conversations, you don't need three more on hard talks; you need to have one.

Which book for which problem

A reading plan for your first three months

Reading ten books in your first month doesn't help much; reading one and trying it does. A plan that fits around a full-time job:

• Weeks 1–3: The Making of a Manager. One chapter a night or two. Try one thing from it each week.
• Weeks 4–5: The Coaching Habit. Short. Use its questions in every one-on-one for two weeks.
• Weeks 6–9: Radical Candor. Ask your team for feedback on you, then give your first specific corrective feedback.
• Weeks 10–13: whichever book matches the problem you now have (use the table above).

Keep a single page of notes: for each book, the one idea you'll use and the date you first tried it. That page will be worth more than the books.

How to get more out of a management book

• Read with a real person in mind. "How would this go with Sam?" turns an idea into a plan.
• Try one thing within 48 hours. If you wait for the end of the book, you'll try nothing.
• Write the words you'll say. Books give principles; you still need the sentence. Draft it before the meeting.
• Use audiobooks for commutes, but read the chapter you'll act on in print or on screen, so you can mark it.
• Ask if your employer pays. Many companies have a learning budget or will reimburse work books; ask your manager or HR before you buy.
• Talk about it. Ask another manager which book helped them most. Their answer tells you what they struggled with too.

Questions about first time manager books

What is the best book for a first time manager?

The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo, because it was written for someone in their first management job and covers the first months, one-on-ones and feedback in plain language. If you manage engineers, The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier is a close second.

Is The First-Time Manager book worth reading?

It's a broad handbook rather than a book with one big idea, so it's most useful as a reference to dip into when a specific situation comes up (hiring, discipline, delegation). If you want something to read straight through, start with Zhuo.

What books should a new supervisor read?

The same core three: The Making of a Manager, Radical Candor and The Coaching Habit. For supervisors on shift-based teams (retail, healthcare, warehouses), add The First-Time Manager for its practical chapters on scheduling, discipline and hiring.

How many management books should I read?

Three in your first three months is plenty if you try what they say. Adding more without practising tends to make new managers more anxious, not more skilled.

Are older management books still useful?

Many are. High Output Management (1983) and Difficult Conversations (1999) are still widely recommended. Check that examples about pay, legal rules or remote work still apply where you are.

Can I learn to manage without reading books?

Yes. Most of it is learned by doing: holding one-on-ones, giving feedback, having the hard talk. Books help you do those faster. Short lessons with the words to say, used the day you need them, do the same job.

Want to know which of these problems you're most likely to have? The free leadership style quiz takes about 2 minutes, names your style and the conversations it tends to avoid. Our guides for new managers give the words for each of those talks.

Sources

• Julie Zhuo, The Making of a Manager, Portfolio, 2019.
• Loren B. Belker, Jim McCormick, Gary S. Topchik, The First-Time Manager, HarperCollins Leadership, 2021 edition.
• Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days, Harvard Business Review Press, 2003 (updated 2013).
• Kim Scott, Radical Candor, St. Martin's Press, 2017.
• Michael Bungay Stanier, The Coaching Habit, Box of Crayons Press, 2016.
• Mark Horstman, The Effective Manager, Wiley, 2016.
• Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Crucial Conversations, McGraw-Hill, 2002.
• Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations, Viking, 1999.
• Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen, Thanks for the Feedback, Viking, 2014.
• Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Jossey-Bass, 2002.
• Andrew S. Grove, High Output Management, Random House, 1983.
• Camille Fournier, The Manager's Path, O'Reilly, 2017.
• L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around!, Portfolio, 2012.
• Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules, Simon & Schuster, 1999.
• Daniel H. Pink, Drive, Riverhead, 2009.