3 Books to Assign During New Manager Training

You’ve hired a new manager. Fantastic! But, where do you go from here?

New manager training is one of the most crucial development programs a company can provide for its employees. Not only does new manager training introduce the new hire to their employer, but it also sets the tone for the type of management skills that will be emphasized by upper management in performance reviews.

This type of training has the potential to save a company millions in turnover costs and secure top spots on those Best Places to Work lists that the best employees look at before accepting a position anywhere.

From management training eCourses to in-person seminars, there are a variety of resources out there to prepare new managers for an unfamiliar role.

Unfortunately, the information inside of eCourses and in-person events isn't always designed to stick isn’t as readily available as managers need it to be when they're putting out fires on the fly. These types of trainings are also usually too expensive for companies to offer to every new hire.

Books, however, are a perfect source of supplementary material to assign as a part of your company’s version of new manager training! And they’re much more affordable, especially with our competitive bulk pricing.

Check out our top books for new manager training: 

First-Time Manager

A sure sign that a book is a classic is when the authors can boast about how many copies they’ve sold on the front cover…

The First-Time Manager is no exception to the classic canon of management literature with 300,000 readers spanning four decades.

In the revised and updated seventh edition, new managers will find solutions to the most modern management challenges from managing across generations to utilizing online performance reviews.

Intended to be a quick reference guide, new managers could open the book to any chapter that addresses a specific issue they’re dealing with at the moment and find timeless management wisdom to get them through the challenge.

One of our customers, Gabriela G., said:

“This is a helpful read to anyone transitioning into a new role or those trying to re-envision their long-held roles. It's written in a clear, direct and honest way. Glad I picked it up.”

The New Manager’s Toolkit

Becoming a manager is like adding another layer to your identity. When your success is no longer measured by the work you do and is instead entirely dependent on the work of others, it’s easy to see why a new manager might slip into an identity crisis.

Most new manager training doesn’t cover the highly personal aspects of navigating this particular role in the workplace and few management books include more than a paragraph on the topic.

The New Manager’s Toolkit is unique in that it shares 6 tools for new managers to increase their personal and interpersonal effectiveness.

With strategies designed to help new managers avoid burnout, reduce stress, and assert themselves without resorting to anger, this book should be mandatory reading for all managers regardless of experience.  

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Good managers are just that... managers. Great managers, on the other hand, are leaders.

Any new manager training would be remiss to ignore John Maxwell’s contributions to the leadership and business space. That’s why we would put his perennial bestseller, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, on our list of the top 3 books to assign during new manager training.

Through this book, new managers will discover how to take their management skills and grow them into a professional asset that will benefit them throughout their career. Plus, companies will reap the advantages of having a manager on their team that people don’t have to follow, but choose to follow because it makes them feel good about the business.  

Fueled by Maxwell’s signature storytelling method, this book makes learning the ins and outs of leadership as easy as it makes it fun. This means you’ll get the absolute most out of your new manager training program!

When new managers are excited about what they’re learning, the chances they’ll apply it to their day-to-day activities is significantly higher.