In The Manager's Path, CTO Camille Fournier efficiently lays out how the scope and demands of her role and the expectations of her domain knowledge changed as her career evolved from Individual Contributor to People Manager, to Manager-of-Managers, and finally to CTO.
Though her examples are R&D-oriented, the journey and challenges she describes are relevant (to varying degrees) for almost any organizational leadership career path, even if you are entirely outside the tech sector.
This is the first book I read that made organizational leadership feel like an achievable personal goal. I recommend it for:
any professional who is considering executive aspirations
any professional who has recently become a people manager, manager-of-managers, or senior leader
Important Caveat: This book does not focus on how social influences (e.g. relationship building and politics) can often influence career trajectories in the real world. It is a critical mistake to not incorporate this reality into your long-term career planning.
