There’s a lot to be said about work culture today.
More and more companies offer flex schedules, better parental leave, and value creative work. And perspectives have shifted, allowing us to switch jobs or industries to pursue the "just right" fit.
We also celebrate people who start their own companies—whether we call them “serial entrepreneurs,” “solopreneurs,” “mompreneurs,” or “bloggers”—and many of today’s leaders are self-made, often taking a great idea and bringing it to fruition through years of hard work. But more freedom also means that some of the formal elements of office work have virtually disappeared. Maybe the biggest concern? A lack of leadership training.
Work looked different for our parents' and grandparents' generations. You often stayed at the same company for decades and worked your way up, slowly, surely, patiently. And so, by the time you got promoted to manager, you’d been carefully vetted and prepared over the course of years. Often, that preparation included hours of formal management training.
Table of Contents
- The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
- Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
- Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams
- The Likeability Trap by Alicia Menendez
- Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin
- HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter
- Originals by Adam Grant
- The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
- My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek
- Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra
- Thrive by Arianna Huffington
- The No Assh*le Rule by Robert Sutton
- Brotopia by Emily Chang
- Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
- Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney
- More Leadership Books We Recommend
Today, many of us will find ourselves overseeing teams without any guidance or previous experience. Some of us will have spent years flying solo as freelancers or serving in creative roles where we only answered to a boss or client. And that means that too many of us will have never managed anyone else’s time, given critical feedback, or—worst of all—had to fire someone.
Thankfully, formal training isn't everything. Here are some books to help you help yourself.
*If you buy something through our links, Career Contessa may earn an affiliate commission.
1. The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
We suggest the most obvious one first because you should always start with the classics, right? The Making of a Manager covers all the essentials for anyone who’s never supervised before, from hiring to firing and managing time to managing people. It's a classic for a reason. We also had Zhou on our podcast, The Career Contessa Podcast, if you'd like to get introduced to her advice.
Who It’s Good For
If you’ve just received a surprise promotion and are starting, oh, immediately, this is the book for you. Think of it as a reference guide and keep it on hand to quickly skim anytime you’re feeling uncertain.
Bonus: We also have a management course for all of you new managers out there (huge congrats, by the way!).
2. Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Many of you have heard of Brené Brown and have probably also listened to her renowned TED Talk, but if you’ve been meaning to read her book, Dare to Lead, and just haven’t gotten to it? Big mistake. This book is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership. Brown's findings inform her practical and thoughtful guide to leadership that is equal parts courageous and mindful.
Who It’s Good For
The Type A personality who’s having a hard time ceding control. You’re about to learn how to d-e-l-e-g-a-t-e.
3. Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams
Leadership is hard. Convincing others—and yourself—that you are capable of taking charge and achieving more requires insight and courage. Lead from the Outside is basically the handbook for outsiders. It addresses the unique challenges that hinder women, people of color, the working class, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make a change.
Abrams uses her own insights to break down how ambition, fear, money, and failure function in leadership. The best part? Stacey Abrams is far from finished with her impressive work.
Who It’s Good For
For anyone who feels on the "outside" looking to get in—and wants to lend a hand back once they do.
4. The Likeability Trap by Alicia Menendez
What's a likeability trap? We're glad you asked!
The Likeability Trap describes the impossible bind women face at work. At work, strong women are criticized for being cold, and warm women are seen as pushovers. As an award-winning journalist, Menendez examines this fundamental paradox and empowers readers to let go of old rules and reimagine leadership rather than reinventing themselves.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone who is sick of obsessing over feeling liked at work. You can also hear our interview with Menendez on The Career Contessa Podcast.
5. Power Moves by Lauren McGoodwin
Drawing on the insights and lessons developed from Career Contessa (ahem, right here!), Power Moves is the essential handbook that helps professional women truly feel understood so they can bypass perfection and planning and head straight to evolving. McGoodwin addresses young professionals’ number-one concern: career transitions and growth. Power Moves engages readers with specific goals, including:
- Defining what Power Moves are—and how they work
- Cutting out harmful comparison traps, shame, and self-loathing
- Abandoning the elusive “dream job”
- Embracing your inner questioner, your inner quester, and your inner quitter
- Making money moves and taking control of your financial future
- Tuning out from the noise and tuning into your voice
Who It’s Good For
Every woman everywhere, but especially someone feeling a little stuck in her career without a navigable path forward. We've got you!
Trust The Harvard Business Review to distill a bunch of information down into a handy guidebook. This how-to on running meetings is from an ongoing HBR book series that we love, but we’ve chosen to include this option for one important reason: we’re so freaking tired of wasting time in conference rooms. If meetings bore you too, read this before you start running meetings of your own. Your team will thank you for it.
Who It’s Good For
If you have to lead a meeting anywhere ever, you just need to read it. Period.
Bonus: We also created this course, Building Efficient Meetings, to make sure your meetings are worth every second.
7. Originals by Adam Grant
Yep. If you’re reading this list, you’ve set yourself apart. You stand out. You innovate. Chances are you've gotten plenty of kudos and promotions and thank yous for all your great ideas. But leading requires a slightly different approach than just coming up with good concepts—you've got to keep them alive over time.
Grant’s Originals: How Nonconformists Move the World covers how to continue to innovate without losing your edge to groupthink. Embracing a nonconformist approach may sound counterintuitive in a collaborative work environment, but that sort of perspective will also shake things up. Oh, did we mention Sheryl Sandberg wrote the foreward? She’s everywhere.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone who believes—or wants to believe—that success comes from breaking a few rules.
8. The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
There’s a reason why Career Contessa founder, Lauren McGoodwin, recommends this book to any woman looking to make a major career change. Study after study shows that women often lack confidence in their own work, particularly in comparison to their male counterparts. This book will help you isolate those feelings, understand them better, and learn how to counteract them.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone who needs some help shaking off self-doubt and truly harnessing confidence.
Speaking of confidence...
9. My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
RIP RBG.
What can we say about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that hasn't already been said? Witty, engaging, serious, and playful, My Own Words is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America’s most influential women.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone looking to be dazzled, inspired, and grateful to have lived (even if briefly) alongside RBG and all that she did for us—right up until her very last moment.
10. Start With Why by Simon Sinek
We really, really love Simon Sinek and his landmark concept of “The Why” in business. Actually, who doesn’t? It’s the third most popular TED talk of all time.
But what sets Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action apart from his past talks is that it brings that idea down to the individual level. In it, he outlines exactly how you personally can take a disparate team and inspire them to act and innovate. Sign us up.
Who It’s Good For
Leaders who want to do more than just get it done—the ones who want to change the world. (Don’t roll your eyes.)
11. Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra
As a new manager, your day-to-day will get consistently busier, and you might find yourself obsessing over current issues and concerns more than planning forward-thinking strategies. According to Ibarra’s book, that’s a fatal mistake.
The best leaders make a conscious effort to step up, actively plan time to improve their leadership skills, and embrace the opportunity both to take responsibility and personally evolve as needed. In other words, it’s about action, not reaction.
Who It’s Good For
The busiest among us who may need a little reminder about what matters.
12. Thrive by Arianna Huffington
Look, any book by Arianna Huffington is probably going to make a list on leadership and women. She’s Arianna Huffington. The premise of this book goes something like this: At the peak of exhaustion, Huffington took a nasty fall and promptly realized that her health and life were at stake if she kept working the way she was. This book is the result of that lightbulb moment—a guide to caring about yourself as much as your work.
If you haven’t gotten around to Thrive yet, set aside some time this weekend. At the very least, you’ll finally understand what everyone’s talking about when they reference it.
Who It’s Good For
The woman who can’t seem to strike a work-life balance no matter how much she knows it matters.
13. The No Asshole Rule by Robert Sutton
Most of us have survived a toxic social environment. Bullies. Mean girls. Cliques. The truth is that they don’t go away after high school. But, according to this book (subtitled "Building a Civilized Workplace (And Surviving One That Isn't") we can change that as leaders by instilling a culture of zero tolerance. Apparently, similar concepts have been used at JetBlue and Google with great success—so why shouldn’t your office be next?
Who It’s Good For
Anyone walking into a toxic work environment or facing some tension between members of her team.
14. Brotopia by Emily Chang
In this powerful exposé, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don’t Be Evil! Connect the World!)—and how women are starting to speak out and fight back.
Who It’s Good For
Someone who is slogging through their own Brotopian hellscape.
If you’ve ever felt self-conscious in a boardroom, speaking in front of a crowd, or just voicing an opinion at an informal lunch meeting, pick it up ASAP.
15. Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock
There’s really only one company that comes up every time people talk about places that prioritize their employees: Google. So if you want a managerial blueprint to follow that has a proven track record, Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead is probably for you. Learn how to hire the right people and retain them based Google's real experiences.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone facing the possibility of hiring for the first time or plans on working directly with creatives.
Bonus: Read this interview with a rad woman working at Google to see what it's really like.
16. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Chris Voss is an author, speaker, and a former hostage negotiator, so his advice on getting what you want is pretty valuable. And it's not machismo B.S. either. Voss employs a mixture of negotiation, empathy, and steadfastness that is seriously inspirational. Trust us, you'll want to take this kind of energy into your next salary negotiation process.
Our CEO, Lauren McGoodwin, saw him speak a few years ago and he was so impressive, he became our first (!) male guest on The Career Contessa Podcast.
Who It’s Good For
Any employee ready to amp up their confidence to say "yes" when they mean it and "no" when they don't.
17. Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Women and Leadership explores the unique challenges women face while holding positions of power and influence.
The book analyzes the lack of gender representation in modern leadership from real women like Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Christine Lagarde. Speaking from their own experience, these women share stories about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, being called names in the media, and what they wish they had done differently.
Who It's Good For
Leaders looking for real stories from real leaders who have learned in some of the toughest (and most public) ways.
18. In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney
In this book, over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global entrepreneurship movement.
Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians, architects, and Lizzo—taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.
Who It's Good For
This is a great book for someone looking for inspiration to pursue (or continue to pursue) their dreams.
More Leadership Books We Recommend
That's not all! Lucky for us, new and inspirational leadership books are released every week. Here are more books on management, leadership, confidence, and strength that we recommend for anyone who aspires to make the next big step—whatever it may be!
- How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith
- Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P. Frankel PhD
- How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston, and Geoffrey Lewis
- That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together by Joanne Lipman
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World by Stephanie Schriock and Christina Reynolds
- The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood
*We want to let you know that some of these links are affiliate links. That means when you purchase some of the items we listed, Career Contessa could earn a small commission at no cost to you. We only recommend items we know and love. Thank you for supporting the brands that help support Career Contessa.
