Best Books for New Managers (and the Podcast Episodes to Hear First)
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Nobody trains you to be a manager. One Friday you’re the best person on the team, and the next Monday you’re in charge of the team, wondering why your calendar is suddenly all meetings and nobody tells you anything real anymore.
The good news is that a few people have written down what they wish they’d known. These six books cover the stuff that bites new managers hardest: giving feedback, running one-on-ones, the first three months, and the strange shift from doing the work to getting it done through other people. Each comes with a podcast episode, which is handy, because you don’t have time to read right now. I know.
Quick Glance
| Book | Best for | Podcast pairing |
|---|---|---|
| The Making of a Manager (Julie Zhuo) | Your first year as a manager | Lenny’s Podcast with Julie Zhuo |
| Radical Candor (Kim Scott) | Giving honest feedback without being a jerk | Coaching for Leaders #302 |
| The Coaching Habit (Michael Bungay Stanier) | Asking better questions in one-on-ones | Blanchard LeaderChat |
| The First 90 Days (Michael Watkins) | Starting a new leadership role | Elevate Podcast #360 |
| High Output Management (Andy Grove) | Thinking about output and leverage | The Tim Ferriss Show with Ben Horowitz |
| The Manager’s Path (Camille Fournier) | Managers in tech and engineering | Hanselminutes #677 |
1. The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
Pair it with: Lenny’s Podcast, Episode 2 with Julie Zhuo. Listen to the episode
Zhuo became a manager at Facebook at 25, with no idea what she was doing, and this book is basically her notes from that time. It’s warm, honest and very specific: how to run a one-on-one, how to handle the person who used to be your peer, what to do when someone on your team is struggling.
It’s the book I’d hand a brand-new manager on day one. Nothing here is complicated. That’s the point. It’s the stuff nobody bothers to tell you.
Read it if: you just got promoted, or you’re about to be.
Skip it if: you’ve managed people for years. You’ll know most of it already.
Why this episode: Zhuo’s candid about her own mistakes, and hearing them out loud makes it feel less like a lecture and more like advice from a friend a few years ahead of you.
2. Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Pair it with: Coaching for Leaders #302 with Kim Scott. Listen to the episode
Most new managers fall into what Scott calls “ruinous empathy.” You’re nice, you avoid hard conversations, and your team never finds out what they need to fix. Radical Candor is the alternative: care personally and challenge directly, at the same time.
The two-by-two grid is simple enough to remember in a tense moment, which is when you need it. The revised edition adds some useful guardrails, because plenty of people read the first one as permission to be brutal.
Read it if: you avoid giving critical feedback, or you give it and it lands badly.
Skip it if: you’re already known for being blunt. Read the “care personally” half twice.
Why this episode: Scott’s stories from Google and Apple make the framework concrete, and Dave Stachowiak keeps the focus on what you can do differently next week.
3. The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
Pair it with: Blanchard LeaderChat with Michael Bungay Stanier. Listen to the episode
Seven questions. That’s the whole book, more or less, and it’s enough. “What’s on your mind?” “And what else?” “What’s the real challenge here for you?” Bungay Stanier’s argument is that new managers give advice far too fast, and a few good questions do more.
It’s short enough to read on one flight. The question “And what else?” alone will change your one-on-ones.
Read it if: your one-on-ones feel like status updates, or people keep coming to you for every answer.
Skip it if: you want broad management theory. This is a single, very practical skill.
Why this episode: Bungay Stanier is funny and quick, and he demonstrates the questions as he goes, which shows you how they sound in a real conversation.
4. The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins
Pair it with: Elevate Podcast #360 with Michael Watkins. Listen to the episode
The standard book on starting a new leadership role, and it’s been the standard for a reason. Watkins breaks transitions into types (turnaround, start-up, realignment, sustaining success) and shows why the right moves in one are wrong in another.
His idea of securing “early wins” is the most useful thing here for a new manager. Pick something small and visible, fix it, and earn some credibility before you try to change anything big.
Read it if: you’re starting a new role, especially at a new company.
Skip it if: you’ve been in your role for a year already. It’s built for the start.
Why this episode: Watkins talks about how transitions have changed with remote and hybrid work, which updates the book in a useful way.
5. High Output Management by Andy Grove
Pair it with: The Tim Ferriss Show with Ben Horowitz. Listen to the episode
Grove ran Intel, and he approached management like an engineer. A manager’s output is the output of their team plus the teams they influence. Everything follows from that: why one-on-ones matter, why meetings can be high leverage, why training is the best use of your time.
It was written in the 80s and it shows in places. It’s also the book that half of Silicon Valley’s best managers credit. Read it second or third, once you’ve got some scar tissue.
Read it if: you’re a few months in and want a sharper way to think about your job.
Skip it if: you need a gentle intro. Start with Zhuo.
Why this episode: There’s no Grove interview to point you to, so this one’s the next best thing: Ben Horowitz, who wrote the foreword to the reissue and calls Grove a huge influence, talks management with Ferriss.
6. The Manager’s Path by Camille Fournier
Pair it with: Hanselminutes #677, The Manager’s Path with Camille Fournier. Listen to the episode
If you manage engineers, this is the one. Fournier walks through every rung of the technical ladder, from mentoring an intern to running an engineering org, and she’s specific about what changes at each step.
It’s the best book I know on the awkward tech-lead-to-manager jump, and on how much code you should still write once you’re managing. (Less than you want to.)
Read it if: you’re in software or another technical field.
Skip it if: you’re outside tech. Zhuo covers similar ground more broadly.
Why this episode: Scott Hanselman is an engineer’s engineer, and the conversation stays grounded in real situations a new tech manager will run into.
The Reading Order I’d Actually Use
Week one: The Making of a Manager. Month one: Radical Candor and The Coaching Habit, since feedback and one-on-ones are where new managers struggle first.
Starting at a new company? Swap in The First 90 Days right away. Then read Grove once you’ve got a few months behind you. It makes much more sense when you’ve lived some of what he describes. Engineers, put Fournier right after Zhuo.
FAQ
What is the best book for a first-time manager?
The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo. It’s written for exactly that moment and it’s easy to read.
Is High Output Management good for new managers?
It’s great, but it’s denser and more abstract than the others. Most new managers get more out of it after a few months on the job.
How do I give feedback as a new manager?
Start with Radical Candor. Be specific, be quick, do it in private for criticism, and make sure the person knows you’re on their side.
Should I read The First 90 Days if I was promoted internally?
Yes. Watkins covers internal promotions too, and the advice on early wins and resetting relationships with former peers is useful.
