From Individual Contributor to Leadership

My Must-Read Book Recommendations for Aspiring Engineering Leaders

Transitioning from a purely individual contributor role to a managerial or leadership position can feel both exciting and overwhelming. The skills that made you a great engineer—technical expertise, problem-solving, and deep focus—aren’t always the same skills required to lead a team.

I’ve found that reading the right books can make a huge difference—not just in practical strategies, but in the mindset shifts necessary to succeed in leadership.

To help you navigate this transition, I’ve curated a list of must-read books across five key areas:

Each category tackles a different aspect of leadership, from building high-performing teams to maintaining technical excellence.

Where to Start?

If you’re just beginning your leadership journey, I recommend starting with The Manager’s Path or The Making of a Manager—both provide a great foundation for new managers.

For those transitioning into technical leadership, An Elegant Puzzle is a must-read.

If you’re looking for books on team culture and motivation, The Culture Code and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team are excellent starting points.

Leadership

Why These Books Matter True leadership isn’t just about hitting KPIs and deadlines—it’s about vision, empathy, and building a culture of trust. The books in this section will help you develop the skills to inspire, empower, and cultivate teams that are motivated to grow and collaborate.

Recommended Reads

📖 The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek Encourages a long-term vision, focusing on building sustainable teams and cultures rather than chasing short-term wins.

📖 Leaders Eat Last / Start with Why / Find Your WHY by Simon Sinek This powerful trio emphasizes servant leadership, the importance of a shared purpose, and how to communicate a compelling vision.

📖 Give and Take / Originals / Think Again / Hidden Potential by Adam Grant Explores how generosity, creative thinking, and challenging assumptions can lead to more innovative, high-performing teams. Hidden Potential focuses on spotting and nurturing underutilized talents.

📖 Leadership Strategy and Tactics / Extreme Ownership / The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink Former U.S. Navy SEAL Jocko Willink translates combat lessons into business leadership, highlighting personal responsibility, clarity, and balance in decision-making.

📖 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni A fable-based exploration of common team pitfalls that undermine performance—and how to fix them.

📖 The Art of Leadership: Small Things, Done Well by Michael Lopp Shows how small, consistent actions can shape and improve team culture over time.

📖 The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo Straightforward advice on everything from feedback to running effective meetings—an invaluable guide for new managers.

📖 It’s Your Ship by D. Michael Abrashoff A classic on how empowering your team and applying disciplined management techniques can yield transformative results

Key Takeaways

Outstanding leadership is about intentional communication, a clear vision, and a servant-leader mindset. Each of these books will equip you with the skills to foster trust and engagement within your teams.

Leading Software Engineering Teams

Why These Books Matter

Shifting from writing code to leading people who write code requires new perspectives on team organization, engineering processes, and company strategy. These books focus on the practical challenges of managing engineering teams effectively.

Recommended Reads

📖 An Elegant Puzzle by Will Larson Explores how to create scalable structures and processes in engineering organizations, with real-world examples.

📖 The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle A must-read for engineering leaders looking to foster a strong, trust-based team culture. Personally, I found this book especially useful when refining our team culture at Catalyst. The insights on vulnerability and psychological safety helped create an environment where engineers feel comfortable sharing ideas and concerns.

📖 The Manager’s Path by Camille Fournier A must-read for understanding the transition from an engineer to a manager, covering challenges at every leadership level.

📖 Software Engineering at Google by Titus Winters, Tom Manshreck, Hyrum Wright Provides valuable insights into software development at scale, including collaboration, maintainability, and long-term sustainability.

📖 Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais Introduces frameworks for organizing teams to enhance communication, autonomy, and flow.

📖 Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager by James Stanier Covers the gamut of managerial responsibilities—people, processes, technology—from an engineer-turned-leader’s perspective.

📖 The Software Engineer’s Guidebook by Gergely Orosz A pragmatic guide focusing on senior, tech lead, and staff engineer roles, helping you bridge technical depth and leadership responsibility.

Key Takeaways

Technical leadership isn’t just about managing projects—it’s about empowering people, creating efficient workflows, and ensuring engineering excellence at scale.

Mastering Software Engineering Craftsmanship

Why These Books Matter

Even as you move into leadership, maintaining technical expertise is crucial. These books will help you stay conversant with best practices and ensure that you set a high standard for your team.

Recommended Reads

📖 The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt, David Thomas A timeless classic that reinforces good software engineering habits and problem-solving approaches.

📖 Clean Code / Clean Architecture / Clean Agile by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) Essential reads for writing maintainable, high-quality code and structuring agile teams effectively.

📖 The Phoenix Project / The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim, et al. Engaging narratives illustrating the DevOps approach and the power of cross-functional collaboration.

📖 Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim Presents data-driven insights into what high-performing tech teams do differently, focusing on speed, quality, and DevOps principles.

Key Takeaways

As a leader, you may not write code daily, but maintaining technical depth ensures you can mentor your team and evaluate solutions effectively.

Understanding Product Management

Why These Books Matter

Engineering leaders often collaborate closely with product teams. Understanding product strategy, user needs, and iterative development will help ensure that your team’s work delivers real value.

Recommended Reads

📖 Empowered / Inspired / Transformed by Marty Cagan Explore how to build successful products, motivate product teams, and transform organizations into product-centric innovators.

📖 Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell Behind-the-scenes insights into product creation from the co-creator of the iPod and Nest Thermostat.

📖 Hooked by Nir Eyal Examines how to design habit-forming products—a crucial read for anyone working on user engagement.

📖 Zero to One by Peter Thiel Encourages contrarian thinking and innovation, a valuable mindset in fast-moving markets.

📖 Sprint by Jake Knapp A practical guide to tackling big challenges with focused, time-boxed design sprints.

📖 The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Popularizes iterative experimentation and the “build-measure-learn” loop, aligning engineering output with genuine market needs.

📖 Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Teaches how to communicate ideas in a way that resonates—crucial for rallying teams around product visions.

📖 The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman Reinforces the importance of usability and user-centered design in creating intuitive software.

📖 Loonshots by Safi Bahcall Explores balancing innovative “loonshot” ideas with organizational structure for sustained growth.

Key Takeaways

Strong product knowledge helps engineering leaders align technical decisions with customer impact, ensuring that engineering work isn’t just technically sound but also valuable.

Personal Growth & Inspiration

Why These Books Matter

Leadership is a continuous journey of self-improvement. These books will help you refine your decision-making, communication skills, and overall leadership mindset.

Recommended Reads

📖 Thinking In Systems by Donella H. Meadows Introduces systems thinking, invaluable for understanding how organizational elements interconnect and influence one another.

📖 The Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tony Dicola Chronicles the rise of Nvidia, highlighting leadership lessons, risk-taking, and innovation.

📖 Good to Great by Jim Collins Investigates how good companies become exceptional, focusing on leadership qualities and long-term vision.

📖 Radical Candor by Kim Scott Provides a framework for delivering candid yet empathetic feedback, crucial for building trust and accountability.

📖 Range by David Epstein Explains why generalists can thrive in a specialized world—valuable insight for tech leaders balancing various skill sets on their teams.

📖 Working in Public by Nadia Eghbal Must-read for understanding the complexities and motivations in open-source communities.

📖 How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lowndes Improves communication skills—vital for relationship-building in leadership roles.

📖 Atomic Habits by James Clear Offers effective methods for habit formation and breaking bad habits, helping you lead both yourself and your team.

📖 Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Reveals how biases influence decision-making, critical for any leader aiming for sound, data-driven judgments.

Key Takeaways

Nurturing your personal growth is just as important as honing your leadership toolkit. These books will shape your thinking, communication, and decision-making for the better.

Final Thoughts

Stepping into leadership from an individual contributor role is both exciting and challenging. While no single book can make you an exceptional leader overnight, these recommendations will provide the knowledge and insights you need to grow.

What are your must-read leadership books? Let’s discuss—connect with me on x.com and share your thoughts! 🚀