Strong leadership is a non-negotiable for managers at every level. According to a Gallup study, managers are responsible for at least 70% of the impact on their team’s overall engagement in work.
Whether you’re stepping into a leadership role for the first time or are already a seasoned manager, leadership skills require consistent sharpening. If you’re serious about honing your leadership skills, reading the right books can shift the way you think, the way you lead, and ultimately, the results you generate from your team.
Best leadership books 2025
1. Radical Candor
In Radical Candor, Kim Scott’s challenges managers to care personally about teams instead of exercising performative empathy. When dealing with employees, most managers lean towards extreme ends of the spectrum — either being overly agreeable or brutally honest. Scott’s approach to leaders teaches managers how to avoid both extremes and build trust through honest, respectful feedback.
This book is especially useful for managers who struggle to confront underperformance or give feedback that sticks. Strategies provided by the book show managers how to be honest without burning bridges.
2. Crucial Conversations
Conversations within a team range from surface-level exchanges to critical discussions that are felt by all members of the team. The book teaches managers how to stay calm and think clearly when it counts — whether during conflict, negotiation, or when breaking bad news.
The book’s practical structure empowers managers to encourage purposeful team dialogue, transforming tense meetings into productive ones. This framework is non-negotiable for managers who often engage in political, high-stakes discussions.
3. Turn the Ship Around
Written based on the true story of turning around a failing nuclear submarine, Turn the Ship Around offers an unconventional leadership approach that flips traditional command structures on its head. The core of the book features a leader-leader model that replaces top-down decision-making, distributing ownership of the goal throughout the team.
Managers stuck in micromanagement cycles often complain that team members don’t step up. This book reveals insights into why that happens and how to change it. Instead of giving instructions, managers can build systems that allow others to take the lead within clear parameters. The result? More initiative, more thinking, and better outcomes.
4. The Culture Code
Team culture is not about team-bonding activities or casual Fridays — according to author Daniel Coyle, there are three recurring behaviours that set high-performing teams apart in terms of culture: building safety, sharing vulnerability, and establishing purpose.
The Culture Code is a book that breaks down culture into observable actions rather than vague concepts. Tiny changes in operations or mundane workplace actions —like the way a meeting is run — change the entire dynamic of the team. For managers, these insights into how culture can shape a cohesive team are invaluable for setting the right foundation for success.
5. The First 90 Days
Endorsed by Harvard Business Review as a proven guide for leaders in transition to a new role, The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins outlines a roadmap for managers during the critical early period of 90 days. The book highlights that most leaders fail not due to a lack of skill, but because they underestimate the environment.
This book is helpful for managers seeking to understand how to gain traction in a new role, align expectations with stakeholders, and secure early wins. With the right start, managers can avoid losing momentum during the first few months and gain the confidence to lead teams.
6. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
First published in 2002, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni has become a beacon of guidance for new and seasoned managers to identify predictable team problems: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.
This book is handy for managers overseeing fractured or underperforming teams. By identifying leadership blind spots and applying practical exercises outlined in the book, managers can catch and address cracks in the team before the problems start to spread.
7. Extreme Ownership
Written by Former Navy SEALs Willink and Babin, Extreme Ownership features battlefield stories that hone in on one core principle: leaders own everything. A project’s outcome, mistakes, and deadlines all fall back on team leaders, who are ultimately responsible for failure or success. While the book encourages leaders to take responsibility and avoid a culture of blame, it also highlights the importance of working with the team.
This book is a valuable tool for managers who want to build credibility and lead by example, instead of making excuses or dodging responsibility.
8. Leaders Eat Last
In his book, Simon Sinek argues that leaders who create environments of safety, belonging, and shared sacrifice build teams that outperform the rest. The book draws on biology and case studies to show how trust is a better driver of performance than fear.
The book’s title comes from a Marine Corps practice where officers eat after the troops. Applied to managers, this principle simply means that managers are responsible for looking after the team, ensuring that the right resources are provided for people to do their best work. Managers are challenged to examine whether they serve their team or just supervise them.
Reading these books alone will not make you a better manager overnight — application and insight go hand in hand to enact real change in your leadership. At Entry Education, our online Management Training course provides practical strategies to improve your leadership skills, whether you are aspiring to a management role in future, or looking to be a better team leader. The Management Training course can be completed at your own pace in around 100 hours — register today to learn how to lead for success.
