The following are some resources that have helped me as I try to figure out what it means to be a manager and a leader. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, merely a jumping off point. A few items here may catch your eye right away, start with those ones, and follow them wherever they lead you.
Some of the resources below may not be obviously linked to management, in which case I probably included them because they helped me understand myself better. Being a manager or a leader requires an ability to understand others, but a precondition for understanding others is definitely understanding yourself.
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Punished by Rewards
Really challenged my assumptions about rewards and recognition, I wish this book was required reading for educators and managers everywhere. -
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
A powerful intro to systems thinking and organizational dynamics. It's an older book, but still distressingly relevant. Anybody who has worked for a startup can't help but cringe when reading through the "Archetypes" and seeing that all the ways their company has failed have been understood since the 90s. -
Design Like You Give a Damn
This book introduced me to a real world example of non-hierarchical organizational dynamics. I had previously thought construction to be one of the quintessential command and control businesses and seeing it turned on its head with many of the iterative approaches to projects here helped me challenge other assumptions I had about the building of virtual things. It also underscored the importance of putting work in a design context, the perfect example being that if you all you build are houses you are building a future slum. A building is not just a building, it exists in a larger context and should add value there as well. -
A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley
You, like me, may already have a mind for numbers (I double majored in math and physics) but I'm always on the lookout for learning tips. Barbara Oakley runs Learning How to Learn, one of the most successful MOOCs in existence. This book has tons of specific advice for people who want to do mentally taxing work. -
The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier
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You can see more of what I'm reading on Goodreads.
One of the biggest parts of managing and leading people is knowing how to really hear them, these speakers outline the whys and hows better than I can:
- 10 ways to have a better conversation by Celeste Headlee
- https://www.ted.com/talks/ernesto_sirolli_want_to_help_someone_shut_up_and_listen
- https://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal
- Write down all of your assumptions and beliefs about what you think a manager should do.
After 6+ months of trying to learn more from links here or elsewhere revisit your earlier thoughts and compare your expectations with what you know now. - Keep a journal
- Learn to set process oriented goals
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Derailing For Dummies
A satirical site that aims to help people understand destructive communication patterns. -
The Barbara Oakley cheery friday emails
These are usually interesting book recommendations and random news about learning and neuroscience. -
Brain Pickings
This site is hard to describe, it deals in so many things, but above all it's about how different disciplines illuminate one another. There is a growing tendency toward reductionism in the world and this site is one of the few that wholeheartedly embraces the importance of understanding the world through an interdisciplinary lense.