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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: midwesterner1982 on March 24, 2019, 12:22:44 AM
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Hi, I have an engineering background managing projects and designs but I have an upcoming promotion where I'll need to manage people as well. Can anyone recommend a book to help me prepare?
I like books that are easy to read (about an 8th grade level). I'm currently reading "The One Minute Manager" by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson which is great for me. I really struggled with Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Successful People". To me it was wordy and repetitive.
Thanks, for the recommendations!
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Not a book recommendation, but Axecleaver has some excellent posts on managing in his journal (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/cleaving-to-fi/). There's an index on the first page so you can just jump straight to the relevant posts.
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Thanks, Moonwaves for the link and Axecleaver for writing and organizing your journal!
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Johanna Rothman " Behind Closed Doors". While her topics are generally applicable, she is in software development and I find her writing style resonated with me. She's very practical and not "fluffy".
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Johanna Rothman " Behind Closed Doors". While her topics are generally applicable, she is in software development and I find her writing style resonated with me. She's very practical and not "fluffy".
I don't intend to manage people again, but might check this out if I do!
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https://www.askamanager.org/ (https://www.askamanager.org/) She has amazingly good advice. She also wrote a book. I have learned sooooooo much about workplace professionalism from her blog. (I also learned that management at my job sucks even more than I realized, so there's that.)
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Anything by Tom Peters I've found to be quite insightful and motivating.
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Posting to follow and say thanks for the Axe Cleaver journal!
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I found "Manager 3.0" to be helpful. It is about being a manager as a millennial, but I found it most helpful in it's discussion about where people are coming from, their motivation, and tailoring your message to them.
I listened to it as a downloaded audio book from my library.
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I have found John Maxwell's leadership books very interesting. John leads a church, so there are inevitable spiritual aspects to his work; this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but you also don't need to follow his spirituality to find value in his work.
Most of the suggestions here are about leadership and leading people. There is also an element to management of strategic thinking--planning to exercise a number of people, whom you have to work through. (rather than control or micromanage, which is the Hyde version of uninformed leadership) to that end, I recommend Jim Womack's books on lean, or any book from the Lean Enterprise Institute: Lean Thinking, Lean Solutions, Getting the Right Things Done.
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The "Corner Office" in the NYT is good general reading for a variety of management perspectives (some are not so good, YMMV).
I took a year-long management training course as I moved into a position with more management roles. For me, it boiled down to 3 points:
1. Remember that people process information differently than you do. Your ability to recognize this in others will help your communication. This is why management consultants spend so much time on Meyers-Briggs tests.
2. Leaders are the people who step up and make sure things happen.
3. The role of managers is to facilitate getting things done. ie, staff does the doing, and the manager does what is needed to help that happen. I think this is useful because it subverts the top-down heirarchy that makes some people into bad managers that just believe in "telling people what to do."
There are many books above that are good.
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I read some books on management after becoming a manager a few years ago, but I can't remember them now. Haha! I subscribe to a daily email/blog called "leadership freak" that I really like and recommend. Short and easy to read on the bus each day.
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Also a noob, HBR has a collection titled"10 best reads".
It was difficult for me to find at the library, but I got a good deal on Amazon and frequently refer back to them lend one to my coworkers or employees so I'm glad I bought them.
You can just get the "essentials" standalone book which is worth its weight in gold and get the other books on the collection later on.
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I liked "The First 90 Days". Read the preface (HERE) (https://epdf.tips/the-first-90-days-critical-success-strategies-for-new-leaders-at-all-levels56d01e4f40921b6b9f2a4218f7135c1b92985.html) and see if it's a book that 'speaks' to you.
Some say the timetable is sped up today - that a person only has 30 days - but I like this tried and true thinking.
All the best!
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I found Crucial Conversations to be invaluable in teaching me to be a better manager. Amazon's taxonomy has it listed under 'self help' and 'relationship', but I think that's a bit of a misnomer. For me the CC techniques bridged the gap between my lofty desires to help people and teams be happy and successful, and the daily trenches of getting ideas across and being sincere.
A lot of management is traditionally manipulation, and all workers know that. Being as non-manipulative as possible, and being honest when you are being manipulative, has vastly improved both my 360º review feedback, and my daily life. I attribute the techniques to many of the books others have listed, but I attribute actually being able to apply those techniques to what I learned in Crucial Conversations.
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Having been where you are in a past life, a few on my shelf helped me:
Leading from the Heart
The Rules of Management
Career Warfare
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High output management by Andy grove is a Silicon Valley management bible
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I’ll second Crucial Conversations. Best book I’ve read to teach the soft skills needed to be a better manager and person. Principles by Ray Dalio has some things that may be hard to translate into some corporate cultures but is still a good read.
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Jocko Willink: Extreme Ownership and Dichotomy of Leadership are both great.
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I was in a some sort of training class a long time ago. The presenter had a list of books he has read on various topics including leadership. I figured I would share.
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I’m thirding Crucial Conversations, and also recommending it’s follow up, Crucial Accountability.
Even if you have a natural knack for those kind of conversations, not being afraid or hesitant about tough conversations will be key to successfully managing people and also “managing up” (which becomes more important as you advance). Those two books gave me the confidence and tools to handle them when needed.
Other favorites:
- The Energy Bus- it might feel a bit fluffy for you (it did to me), but it’s a short read and I have thought about it often in the years since I read it
- Ask a Manager blog/podcast
- Jhana website (Franklin Covey Service) also has some great content and ideas about the nuts and bolts of managing. (How to structure your 1:1s, what to do when your direct report does X, how to delegate effectively) It’s paid, but your company might provide accesss. Like the AAM blog, it’s great for short snippets to keep up on good management best practices.
Loving all the other recommendations, need to add some to my list.
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Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the awesome recommendations! "The First 90 Days..." is on point and fits my situation perfectly. I never would have found it myself. I'll also pick up "Crucial Conversations" next time I go to the Library and continue down the list. Thanks everyone!