Becoming a Manager of Managers - by Tom Sommer. Takeaway: Be a role model, lead through others, and ramp up responsibility over time.
Dealing with Team Rejection - by Ramez Hanna. Takeaway: “Team needs to establish healthy relationships between its members based on trust and communications.” Provides useful context points and insight for when you have to tell your report that they need to improve.
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon - by Brad Stone. Takeaway: Be willing to take risks; don’t get stuck on the small things; keep your eyes on the customer; and lead by example. This book takes you into the history of how Amazon went from a book store to an ‘everything store’ and provides great insight into the mentality and leadership style of Bezos.
How Do Managers Get Stuck? - by Camille Fournier. Takeaway: Tips on how to get promoted to the next level of management and prove you’re ready to manage managers.”
How Do You Know Someone Has True Leadership Skills? Look for These 5 Signs - by Marcel Schwantes. Takeaway: Leaders spread joy and drive fear away; provide employees with meaning, purpose and a sense of belonging; foster a learning spirit within the organization; build trust that leads to business outcomes; and are open and transparent in how they communicate.
How to Ensure a New Manager Succeeds - by Lighthouse. Takeaway: Provide more support through 1:1’s; give them good fundamentals to start; make some failure okay.
How to Lead a Team Like a Pro Your First Time - by George Dickson. Takeaway: Know yourself and your organization; share your assets; value and practice transparency; schedule regular one-on-one meetings; recognize great work; focus on team performance; learn to delegate.
How to Run a Tech Leadership Skill Share - by Charity Majors Github Repo of resources. Takeaway: a set of resources related to running a technology leadership peer skill-sharing group, covering logistics/planning, facilitation, homework, conduct/common ground rules, and who’s a good invitee. Includes a short set of recommended readings.
Managing More Experienced People - by Julie Zhuo. Takeaway: Don’t pretend to be perfect, welcome the opportunity to learn from senior reports, know that you can always ask questions or give impressions, and remember that you’re the sum of the people around you.
The PM Mind Meld - by Ken Norton. Takeaway: what to do when your CEO and product manager aren’t aligned, and tips on how to get them to align: 1:1’s between them, keeping the conversation going both ways, talking about the future, and finding “third rails.”
The Sad Truth About Developing Executives - by Ben Horowitz. Takeaway: Instead of developing executives (which you can’t, and they should already be at the top of their game), give them information, expectations, and context to do their jobs.
Transitioning to Meta-Management - by Lara Hogan. Covers measuring success, carving space to help others learn and grow, scratching the coding itch, and training your brain to focus on what’s important.
Who Do You Promote? 5 Qualities of a Good Leader - by Lighthouse. Takeaway: The qualities are 1) shows empathy for and consider motivations/needs of others; 2) is a good/active listener who builds rapport; 3) is consistent and accountable—you have to trust this person (sets a good example); 4) is interested in the life of a leader (show them what leadership really entails); 5) is committed to learning and growth mindset.