MANAGER BOOK SPECIAL ...............10 books every new manager should read

10 books every new manager should read





Stepping into a new management role for can be scary. It doesn't help that there's a ton of conflicting management advice out there, and sifting through it could take years. That's why we recommend starting with these 10 books, which offer practical insights on leading a team. Each of these books will help prepare you to tackle the myriad challenges of managing people.

1 Drive by Daniel H Pink

Now that you're in charge of a team of people, how will you inspire them to perform at their best?
In this bestselling business book, Pink explains why, contrary to popular belief, extrinsic incentives like money aren't the best way to motivate high performance. Instead, employers should focus on cultivating in their workers a sense of autonomy, mastery and purpose in order to help them succeed.

2 The One Thing You Need to Know by Marcus Buckingham

According to Buckingham, great managers are able to identify their employees' individual strengths and capitalise on them. This approach, he argues, is considerably more effective than trying to im prove people's weak points. It's a compel li ng read that wi l l make the transi tion from man aging yourself to managing oth ers that much easier.

3 Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Kahneman , a psychologist who won the Nobel Prize in economics, breaks down all of human thought into two systems : the fast and intuitive `System 1' and the slow and deliberate `System 2'. Using this framework, he lays out a number of cognitive biases that affect our everyday behaviour, from the halo effect to the planning fallacy.

4 Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra

The book is full of unconventional advice for both current and aspiring managers. For example, Ibarra, a professor at business school INSEAD, suggests leaders act first and then think, so that they learn from experimentation and direct experience.

5 How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Eight years after its initial publication, this book is still a bestseller. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has even named it one of his favourite books, noting that it helped get him through rough times in high school.

Carnegie's advice focuses on maximising your interactions with other people -some thing that will be crucial to your success as a leader (and in life generally). For example: Encourage people to talk about themselves, instead of dominating the conversation.

6 Mindset by Carol Dweck

Carol S Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, made waves among parents and educators when she first published Mindset in 2006.

More recently, she has shown that her ideas apply just as well to the business world, and Joe Folkman, president of Zenger Folkman says it's one of his favourite reads.

7 Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and G Hays

The English translation of Meditations is a collection of personal writings -never meant to be published -by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor who ruled from 161 to 180 AD. In Book 11, Aurelius focuses on the quali ties and behaviours that make a great leader, like remembering your fallibility and keeping control over your emotions.

Aurelius's advice is still relevant, even if you're manag ing a few people and not leading an empire.

8 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

This classic novel, about the spread of British colonialism in a fictional Nigerian village, raises some important questions about what makes a successful leader. For example: What do you do when your ambitions conflict with the group's interests?

9 Now, Discover Your Strengths by Buckingham and Clifton

Facebook's HR chief Lori Goler says she came across this book early on in her career and it influenced her personal management philosophy. The idea is that companies can achieve better performance by helping their employees pinpoint their unique talents. The book is centered around an online assessment that will help you do just that.

10 Good to Great by Jim Collins

This book is based on a five year research by the author that involved identifying companies that leapt from good  to great results and comparing them to average companies to figure out their differences. Collins distills these results into solid advice on .what he calls `Level 5 Leadership' and management strategy

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