My favorite leadership books | Daniel Bachhuber

Soccer is a big part of my life. When I play soccer, I know I can’t win the game myself; I need to pass, defend, and play effectively with the entire team. When I coach soccer, I certainly can’t win the game myself; I need to encourage, provide feedback, and play people to their strengths.

My leadership style emulates how I think about soccer. A soccer match has a team, a ball, and one goal. Every person has a position to play, but they must also pass and be aware of the entire field. They will only win if they play together as a team. So, when leading, my mind is always asking: how can I improve the performance of the team?

Ted Lasso is the greatest show I’ve ever seen. Aside from it, here are some books that have influenced how I lead (and when I read them):

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders (January 2022). I can’t do everything and can’t know everything. In order to have a high-performing team, I need them to come to me with “I intend to”, not “what should I do?”
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (January 2022). They are: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. If you’re on a team, reading parts of this will be like looking in the mirror.
The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You (November 2022). Chock-full of practical tips drawing from a number of classics. Here are my 43 highlights.
High Output Management (September 2022). One of the classics indicated above. Two key ideas: 1) performance is a function of training and motivation, 2) a manager’s output = the output of his organization + the output of the neighboring organizations under his influence. Everything is a production line, whether you like it or not.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (August 2017). I always enjoy war stories. As someone who has the tendency to micromanage, “extreme ownership” was my first “aha” moment about the importance of delegation.
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High (December 2016). Start with heart!

I’ll close with this distinction between leadership and management from my current read, Scaling People:

Great leaders put forth a vision and set lofty goals that inspire others to forge ahead, even when the path isn’t always clear. The clarity of their vision keeps everyone focused on the big picture and sustains participation and motivation. Leaders don’t have to be managers, but if they aren’t, they need to know how to work with and hire managers to build the right teams to execute that vision. It often feels like leaders are asking for just a bit too much, but in the end, that’s what provides motivation.

Great managers run teams that do the actual building. Management is all about human-centric execution. Great managers know how to define goals and set operational cadences, all while helping each report have a clear view of their current performance and future career aspirations. Teams with great managers have a high level of trust, experience the challenge and reward of hard work, and feel like they’re making progress both as individuals and as a team.

Hope you find some of these as impactful as I have!