HBR's 10 Must Reads for Mid-Level Managers

Balance being a leader with being an individual contributor.

Collaborator. Communicator. Creator. Coach. Conduit. The pandemic, and the resultant ever-evolving landscape of hybrid work, highlighted that we're asking more of our mid-level managers than ever. You balance leading your team with maintaining your high-level individual performance. You provide feedback and coaching, support your people through tough times, field requests large and small, and communicate in every direction. Mid-level managers are the key to managing a hybrid workforce, leading innovation, managing talent, and helping your organization—and its people—adapt to our changing world.

If you read nothing else on being an effective mid-level manager, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the best ones to help you manage up and down, interpret and distill important messages, lobby for time and resources for key projects and players, and lead change—all while getting things done.

This book will inspire you to:



Build teams and develop talent
Transform your role from intermediary to innovator
Encourage critical thinking
Foster a culture of psychological safety
Lead change by leveraging internal networks
Understand the cognitive and emotional drain of having both high and low power
Form partnerships at every level of the organization



HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment.