All managers aim to increase the productivity of their team. They need and want, their team members to be as effective and efficient as possible. While going on courses can be of great assistance, sometimes there simply just isn’t time to do one. These are five books managers should read. They provide a range of good advice on how to become a great manager by improving your skillset and output.
What Skills Do Great Managers Have?
Managing skills don’t just happen by accident. Good managers are the ones who understand their limitations and talents. Then they invest in their skill set by strategically picking key areas to increase their knowledge.
5 Skills Managers Need to Have:
- Good self-awareness and well-developed emotional skills.
- Be able to encourage, nurture and boost talent through soft skills.
- Understand someone’s true self and their motivations.
- Successfully deal with difficult people.
- Create a work environment that attracts people.
5 Books to Help You Build Your Management Skill-Set
These 5 books that managers should read, have been chosen specifically to assist with developing the five skills a manager needs.
1. Improve Your Self-Awareness
- Title: Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence (selected writings)
- Author: Daniel Goleman
This book is written by a psychologist and science writer. It presents his key research findings on leadership and organisational excellence through a collection of writings incorporated into one book. The premise of Dr Goleman’s findings is that those who have well-developed emotional skills are more likely to be effective across all areas of their lives. This book aims to assist individuals in developing their self-awareness and emotional intelligence. It also provides a toolkit that enables the reader to implement effective ways of inspiring and motivating others. In doing this, it assists someone in improving their self-awareness and emotional intelligence and thereby be a better manager.
2. Develop Your Soft Skills
- Title: How to Win Friends and Influence People
- Author: Dale Carnegie
A book that has truly stood the test of time, remaining as helpful and relevant as it was when first published in 1936. It has inspired and shaped leaders like Warren Buffett. This is because it contextualises the importance of soft skills and how to use them. It also provides practical advice that can easily be implemented. And in so doing, it can assist you in developing the soft skills needed to grow an effective management style.
3. Correctly Figure People Out
- Title: How to Read People Like a Book: A Guide to Speed-Reading People, Understand Body Language and Emotions, Decode Intentions, and Connect Effortlessly (Communication Skills Training Book 3)
- Author: James W. Williams
Being able to correctly interpret someone else’s body language is an invaluable skill. Especially when you’re a manager and need to know what someone’s motivations and true intentions are. While this book will help you to read people better, it also will assist in boosting your communication skills. It delves into body language, how to understand what someone is actually saying, foster good relationships and connect with others. As well as how to personalise your own body language, understand your true self and showcase yourself authentically.
4. Successfully Deal with Difficult People
- Title: How to Deal with Difficult People
- Author: Gill Hasson
Dealing with challenging people is an inevitable part of leadership. It could be a fellow manager, someone in your team or even your own boss. The reality is that you’re not going to change the person you’re battling with. But you can learn to cope better with the situation as well as learn to manage it; thus, enabling you to successfully work alongside them. This book helps the reader to understand why and how difficult people operate. Then it unpacks ways to interact with them successfully. It also assists in helping you know when and how to confidently stand up to someone. Or alternatively, when to choose to walk away from a charged situation.
5. Learn how to Create an Attractive Working Environment
- Title: The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life
- Author: Shawn Achor
Happier people are often more positive people. Being positive has been shown to lead to improved health outcomes and better problem-solving abilities. People who are positive also tend to be proactive and less overwhelmed by stress. Therefore, creating an environment that enables people to be happier is one of the best ways to increase productivity. This book will show you how to rewire your brain to be happier and more positive and thereby boost success around you. It’s practical and its strategies are based on original research that’s yielded great results.
Develop Your Management Potential
In addition to boosting management skills through reading, doing a recognised course can help improve them even further. SACAP’s Management and Leadership Faculty offers courses designed to assist people in developing their leadership potential. Course choices include full-time and part-time study options and range from higher certificates to degrees in business management. SACAP also offers coaching qualifications that are accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and approved by COMENSA. Enquire today to find out how you can boost your career by doing a course at SACAP.
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