Best Books on Team Skills for Project Managers

ByElizabeth Harrin Last updated: Books
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In today’s video I have 3 book recommendations for managing teams on projects, or more specifically, getting the right mindset to succeed in a team environment. I’ve detailed each of these books below the video, so you can scroll down to get more information.

A Practical Guide to Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders by David Bryde, Jake Holloway and Roger Joby

The three authors drew together their experiences of some very difficult situations to share best practice and give you tips on how to manage when everyone seems to be against you.

There’s not much theory in the book, although you can tell that they have experimented with a range of ‘classic’ solutions for dealing with difficult people.

It really is a practical guide to dealing with difficult stakeholders especially those in a position of power, like sponsors. Quite a quick read, and some of the stories will amaze you! Those organizations in the case studies had some dysfunctional leaders.

Conflict 101 by Susan H. Shearouse

This book gives you strategies for dealing with conflict at work. I hate dealing with conflict and I would rather not have to do it. But I read this book and I felt like I could actually face conflict head on and not worry too much about it. It changed how I think about conflict at work.

The book is relatively old now, but still feels quite timeless. After all, people argue at work for all kinds of reasons, and that hasn’t changed much in recent years.

There are examples about how teams have worked through difficult situations and come out the other side. This is not a book specifically about project management but if you work in a team the skills you will learn in here will definitely help you!

Results Without Authority by Tom Kendrick

Lots of things fell into place for me when I read this book. It’s a great read and gives you lots of guidance about how to get people to do what is required when you are leading a team in a matrix environment.

You have to get people working alongside you, even when you aren’t in charge, so this book will help you create a culture that works for you.

I think if I had to choose one book from this list, Results Without Authority would be it.

If you are looking for some other suggestions for project management books to read, you can check these out:

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best books on team skills for project managers
Elizabeth Harrin wearing a pink scarf

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years.
Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects.