HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers: HBR's 10 Must Reads Series

by Harvard Business Review

If you read (or listen to) nothing else on becoming a new manager, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you transition from being an outstanding individual contributor to becoming a great manager of others.

This book will inspire you to develop your emotional intelligence; influence your colleagues through the science of persuasion; assess your team and enhance its performance; network effectively to achieve business goals and for personal advancement; navigate relationships with employees, bosses, and peers; get support from above; view the big picture in your decision making; and balance your team's work and personal life in a high-intensity workplace.

This collection of articles includes "Becoming the Boss," by Linda A. Hill; "Leading the Team You Inherit," by Michael D. Watkins; "Saving Your Rookie Managers from Themselves," by Carol A. Walker; "Managing the High-Intensity Workplace," by Erin Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan; "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," by Robert B. Cialdini; "What Makes a Leader?" by Daniel Goleman; "The Authenticity Paradox," by Herminia Ibarra; "Managing Your Boss," by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter; "How Leaders Create and Use Networks," by Herminia Ibarra and Mark Lee Hunter; and more.

Genres: Business, Management, Leadership, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Audiobook, Productivity

Audible Audio

Published February 27, 2024

Reviews

[Amy Neftzger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been reading different books on management, communication, and influence when I stumbled across this volume. There are a number of topics covered and each of these are nice reminders for both experienced as well as new managers, so I chose the book for a discussion group of business professionals. The diversity of the topics includes everything from work life balance to influence and communication. These articles are written by experts and provide a great framework for expanding an individual's knowledge on basic management topics.

[Liz Gabbitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

They weren't joking with the title "Must Reads." These articles span the recent history of management thought with some painfully outdated and some so current I pulled quotes from every paragraph.

This was a supportive and empathetic look at people in their first leadership roles, both those succeeding and those realizing they had serious weaknesses. The premise is that employees are brought into these roles because they have certain skills, but actual management requires completely different skills than the ones that brought a first success. It embraces the constant learning experience that is progress and encourages new managers to look at themselves with open eyes to find ways to improve. Here was one of my big takeaways:

"The skills that got you where you are may not be the requisite skills to get you to where you need to go. This doesn't discount the accomplishments of your past, but they will not be everything you need for the next leg of the journey" (p. 179).

I absolutely recommend this to anyone in any sort of management role. And to anyone wondering if management or leadership fits in your future, give this book a read.

[Tiago Giusti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recomendo pra quem está migrando de uma área funcional e técnica pra uma posição de liderança. Ele é básico, mas com diversos ensinamentos que vale até pra quem já ascendeu um pouco mais como gestor. O artigo que mais gostei foi o de Daniel Goleman: "O que define um líder."

[Eric Vander Heyden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this collection. I definitely gleamed great insights and am excited to recommend articles to the leaders around me. A few seemed way out of left field for new managers.

[Sarah McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish but this book really opened my eyes on leadership and how to be an effective manager. Would recommend

[Jess Twerdun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read with some great examples and stories to explain concepts.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am feeling largely undecided on how I should rate this book. The articles were all fairly well written, though a bit redundant at times within each article. The book definitely brought some overlooked concepts to my attention. So I feel there was at least some value in reading this book. However, I felt each article was a cursory glance at the respective topics. Given that the articles were independent, they never had a chance to build on each other as chapters in a book normally do. As a result, the book felt mildly disjointed.

I think I was expecting a bit more empirical data on how the various aspects of management affected each company. Also when authors only include information about anonymous managers from anonymous organizations, it de-legitimatizes some of the information shared. Each story then becomes less memorable.

This book falls somewhere between a 3 and 4 for me. I will let it soak for a few weeks to determine if I should upgrade the rating.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book on management I've read. I'd say it's probably sitting around 2nd place. It's less practical than the 1st placed book but provides value from page 1. It provides a bit more of an academic approach to management which I didn't mind. A few of my favorite chapters included Managing Your Boss, Saving Your Rookie Managers from Themselves, Managing Your Boss, and Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?

I've listed out a few quotes I liked below.

"Organisations suffer considerable human and financial costs when a person who has been promoted because of strong individual performance and qualifications fails to adjust successfully to management responsibilities."

"The reason why managers do not delegate is due to three key reasons.
- ego - first is the fear of losing stature.
- control - secondly the fear of abdicating control.
- pride - thirdly the rookie manager can be afraid of overburdening his staff, maybe uncomfortable assigning work in case they resent him."

"The higher the rank of a person considered to be a star performer, the more emotional intelligence capabilities showed up as the reason for his or her effectiveness."

"At no time while I am helping you with this or any other problem will your problems become my problem. The instant your problem becomes mine, you no longer have a problem. I can’t help a person who hasn’t got a problem."

In 2023 I want to double down on..
- delegation
- providing development feedback
- managing my boss - his expectations, strengths, weaknesses, key objectives
- not letting other people's problems becoming my problem, but working with them on their problem

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read on management & leadership development. 5/5 stars.

Every article in this book has something to offer, whether you're new to management or have extensive experience. Lots of excellent insights on managing people in the high-intensity workplace, the science/art of persuasion, the importance of networking (operational, personal, strategic), developing and managing relationships vertically and horizontally (with your direct reports, your boss and cross-functional teams), the power of emotional intelligence and so much more. The articles are unrelated and can be read in any order at any time.

I especially enjoyed these four articles:

"Harnessing the Science of Persuasion." by Robert B. Cialdini
"What Makes a Leader?" by Daniel Goleman
"Managing Your Boss." by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter
"Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?" by William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass

Overall, the book covers many aspects of (new) skills and mental models required for new leaders to move ahead and to execute the manager role efficiently. Worth reading.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books on business tend to be theoretical, fluffy, and oftentimes not very practical. The HBR: New Manager book has a few fluffy chapters I skipped and skimmed over. I think "Saving Rookie Managers from Themselves" and "Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey" are excellent reads. The former has a few pointers on projecting confidence (something I KNOW I need to work on); the latter is the magnum opus of this collection - the monkey. The monkey is a synonym for tasks you assign to your subordinates. Through elusive, subtle measures subordinates (I think due to human nature) try to shift the responsibility from them to you (as you are the superior, clearly more intelligent manager whom can handle all). I think the advice in this chapter is particularly tangible and practical. 5 stars for those chapters.

[Ahmi Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title says, it's a must-read for new managers, especially if you're someone who's transitioning from an IC (Individual Contributor) track. That's because as an IC, the way to prove yourself worthy in the organization is by getting things done yourself. In other words: as an IC, everything is mostly about you (kinda like Main Character Syndrome).

Being a manager, however, is an entirely different story where you are no longer the main character and your main mission is to help those who are around you to grow and succeed in their career. That's how exactly you can achieve success as a manager.

That's, of course, not an easy thing to do and it requires a lot of effort on your end to know how to successfully do that. This book does lay those things to you so you're aware of them, then explains them in a clear way.

[Susan Wilson]

Some great articles. Favourite quote from Becoming the Boss is “Becoming a manager is not about becoming a boss. It’s about becoming a hostage. There are many terrorists in this organisation that want to kidnap me.” The message centres around leading through building character, competence (including asking questions) and influence rather than thinking you can lead through authority, power and control. I also liked the six principles covered in Harnessing the Science of Persuasion (liking, reciprocity, social proof, consistency, authority, and scarcity).
Goleman’s What Makes a Leader is an excellent refresher on EQ and I LOVE my new interview question to assess level of self awareness (Tell me about a time when you got carried away by your feelings and did something you later regretted.). Lastly, I will definitely use the checklist in Managing Your Boss.

[E B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should probably be titled "welcome to the middle" and is less about how to be a manager/leader and more of how to deal with no longer being the star player which got you to where you are and understanding that you are still just a cog in the wheel (albeit slightly higher). There are plenty of nice stories to help you imagine both bosses that you have had and some that you havent and their potential shortcomings and strengths. It will help you better understand where you may have strengths or weaknesses, but nothing about how exactly to overcome them.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection of articles on how to be a better manager. What sticked with me:

- When inheriting a team: 1) assess the dynamics, 2) reshape the team to meet goals by looking at the sense of purpose, direction, operating models and behavior patterns according to the business problems you face 3) plan for early wins and plan to secure them
- how to work on the 6 pillars of persuasion
- the importance of emotional intelligence
- how to build networks to get results
- how to manage your time and your boss

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a few good management concepts mentioned in some of the articles, but overall as a book it is too disjointed and shallow. None of the articles build on the concepts of each other, the examples are too vague to be useful and to sound credible. It only focuses on the what but rarely mentions the why and the how, at least to the level of detail that would allow you to put things into practice. The book is also structured weirdly at times - some of the tables and other figures interrupt the articles, forcing you to flip back and forth.

[Brie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally wouldn’t recommend this book. While a few of the articles touched on interesting topics, since these are essays, it never goes into any depth.

The articles on persuasion and what makes a leader were the best.

The one about monkeys, cited as one of their best-selling reprints was dreadful. The monkey analogy made the topic confusing, and the talk of using “mail” to communicate with your boss is clearly dated.

[KayJay · Rating 5 out of 5]

HBR had done a good job combining past articles on the subject. I think many parts of the book resonated well with me, perhaps because I went through many of the described scenarios as a newly promoted manager. This book needs to be re read again to allow the concepts to sink well. Whether you are a newly promoted manager or a curios onlooker, this is a good a material to read.

[Rini Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

It covers the challenges faced by new managers and provides principles which can be practically followed.
Initially it would appear too academic and boring however as and when you move forward you would actually be able to relate with the real world problems. Some of the articles are very old however still seems relevant.

[Olivier Nadolskis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book after 4 years of being a manager. I highly encourage all new managers, or managers to be, to read this.

It would have saved me from several mistakes, and I just wish I could go back in time to give this to my (not so) younger self.

Excellent book and approach. Easy to read and understand.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good crash course on all the aspects of management. Good primer to debunk the most common myths of management for complete first-timers. Management is more of a science than an art, and this book was a decent "Sparknotes" before stepping into the laboratory.

[Heng · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us without an MBA and find themselves wearing a manager's hat, these fundamentals are very handy and helpful. Being fundamentals, I guess those are also good reminders for experienced managers.
HBR book piles their articles together. The chapters are all standing alone, not connected at all. So there is no obligation to start and finish them in sequence.
I also found the books by each of the authors interesting for future readings.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful advice, but, as someone who is not in corporate America, it's way too focused on corporate America.

Along with that, the tenth article about the monkeys was just awful. Definitely the worst article in the book.

[Franziska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read to reflect on my learnings roughly 1 year after transitioning into my first leadership role. Some ideas I wish I had thought of before, some I could relate to very much… and some yet to explore. Will revisited some of the essays during the years to come.

[Alexander Teibrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of 11 insightful essays about leadership. I really like the concise HBR writing style with tables, numbered lists and summaries that makes it easy to consume information. Definitely a book I would recommend to new managers.

[Achim ('akim) Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several mediocre, but also some very inspiring texts about how to become a real leader after having done a great job as an expert on only one area.

One absolutely great section is about management time and caring for monkeys sitting on one’s shoulders.

[Rama Bhandare · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book found me at a right time when I am transitioning into a manager role. The most breakthrough article for me at this point in fact two of them where whose back is the monkey on and how leaders create and use networks.

[Santiago Olmos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that really helped me while transitioning to my first manager position. I found it light to read and written using terms and examples that were easy to understand. Really liked the fact that each chapter is really an article written by a different person and regarding a different topic.

[Doug Bradbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio format is not great for this kind of content.

[Yanal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with plenty of insights on management so you can't go wrong with having it on your shelf.

[LynnDee (LynnDee's Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this was a little redundant, but still valuable advice.