Becoming A Manager

Making the leap to management and leadership In your career, or anyone's, there is one transition that stands out as the most crucial--going from individual contributor to competent manager. New managers have to learn how to lead others rather than do the work themselves, to win trust and respect, to motivate, and to strike the right balance between delegation and control. Many fail to make the transition successfully. In this timeless, indispensable book, Harvard Business School professor and leadership guru Linda Hill traces the experiences of nineteen new managers over the course of their first year in the role. She reveals the complexity of the transition, highlighting the expectations of these managers, their subordinates, and their superiors. We hear the new managers describe how they reframed their understanding of their roles and responsibilities, how they learned to build effective cross-functional work relationships, how and when they used individual and organizational resources, and how they learned to cope with the inevitable stresses of leadership. Hill vividly shows that becoming a manager is a profound psychological adjustment--a true transformation--as well as a continuous process of learning from experience. Becoming a Manager, a veritable treasury of essential leadership wisdom, is a book you will turn to again and again no matter where you are on your career journey.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

No idea what you're doing? No problem. Good managers are made, not born. Top tech executive Julie Zhuo remembers the moment when she was asked to lead a team. She felt like she’d won the golden ticket, until reality came crashing in. She was just 25 and had barely any experience being managed, let alone managing others. Her co-workers became her employees overnight, and she faced a series of anxiety-inducing firsts, including agonising over whether to hire an interviewee; seeking the respect of reports who were cleverer than her; and having to fire someone she liked. Like most first-time managers, she wasn’t given any formal training, and had no resources to turn to for help. It took her years to find her way, but now she’s offering you the short-cut to success. This is the book she wishes she had on day one. Here, she offers practical, accessible advice like: · Don’t hide thorny problems from your own manager; you’re better off seeking help quickly and honestly · Before you fire someone for failure to collaborate, figure out if the problem is temperamental or just a lack of training or coaching · Don’t offer critical feedback in a ‘compliment sandwich’ – there’s a better way! Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you've always wanted.

You never dreamed being the boss would be so hard. You're caught in a web of conflicting expectations from subordinates, your supervisor, peers, and customers. You're not alone. As Linda Hill and Kent Lineback reveal in Being the Boss, becoming an effective manager is a painful, difficult journey. It's trial and error, endless effort, and slowly acquired personal insight. Many managers never complete the journey. At best, they just learn to get by. At worst, they become terrible bosses. This new book explains how to avoid that fate, by mastering three imperatives: · Manage yourself: Learn that management isn't about getting things done yourself. It's about accomplishing things through others. · Manage a network: Understand how power and influence work in your organization and build a network of mutually beneficial relationships to navigate your company's complex political environment. · Manage a team: Forge a high-performing "we" out of all the "I"s who report to you. Packed with compelling stories and practical guidance, Being the Boss is an indispensable guide for not only first-time managers but all managers seeking to master the most daunting challenges of leadership.

Make the move up to senior management with lessons from world-renowned business school experts Based on themes from INSEAD's popular Transition to General Management programme, authors Kevin Kaiser, Michael Pich, and I.J. Schecter offer sound advice and practical insights for those looking to move to senior general management roles. By following the stories of three managers making the transition to general management, Becoming A Top Manager highlights not only the most crucial aspects of becoming a successful general manager, but also the necessary mindset changes required—both on a personal and professional level—that will ultimately translate into ongoing success. Provides practical insights, clarity and confidence for those looking to move into senior general management roles Written by a well-known and experienced international author team Outlines key skills and executive tools needed for the transition Online resources also available at www.wiley.com/go/topmanager

The how-to guide for exceptional management from the bottom up The Effective Manager is a hands-on practical guide to great management at every level. Written by the man behind Manager Tools, the world's number-one business podcast, this book distills the author's 25 years of management training expertise into clear, actionable steps to start taking today. First, you'll identify what "effective management" actually looks like: can you get the job done at a high level? Do you attract and retain top talent without burning them out? Then you'll dig into the four critical behaviors that make a manager great, and learn how to adjust your own behavior to be the leader your team needs. You'll learn the four major tools that should be a part of every manager's repertoire, how to use them, and even how to introduce them to the team in a productive, non-disruptive way. Most management books are written for CEOs and geared toward improving corporate management, but this book is expressly aimed at managers of any level—with a behavioral framework designed to be tailored to your team's specific needs. Understand your team's strengths, weaknesses, and goals in a meaningful way Stop limiting feedback to when something goes wrong Motivate your people to continuous improvement Spread the work around and let people stretch their skills Effective managers are good at the job and "good at people." The key is combining those skills to foster your team's development, get better and better results, and maintain a culture of positive productivity. The Effective Manager shows you how to turn good into great with clear, actionable, expert guidance.

Manage without giving up the work you love and discover the leader within. Conventional management thinking says that to manage effectively you must delegate. It implies that managers fall into a dangerous trap when they continue to perform tasks they love from a previous role. And it says that to not “let go” is to give in to a controlling tendency that robs staff of development opportunities. But not everyone agrees. Today’s increasingly knowledge-driven, cost-competitive work world is changing the way management gets done. More and more, people in management roles are becoming can-do leaders who must continue to practice their specialty while managing and developing the skills of others. But this group has had few guidelines to follow—until now. In Becoming a Can-Do Leader, executive coaches Frank Satterthwaite and Jamie Millard say it’s time that management thinking catches up with reality. Their extensive experience training and coaching player-managers at all levels has shown that successful managers both delegate and do. Whether you’re trying to survive your first promotion or coaching executives who yearn to keep up with their field, essential guidelines for can-do leadership are inside this book. You’ll find workplace examples that ring true, as well as unique strategies and tools that both help you identify your values and provide insight into your natural leadership style. Don’t let your knowledge and skills decline by stepping completely out of the professional picture. It’s time to get productively and selectively involved in the work, enabling you to manage more effectively and keep up with important advances in your field—all while developing and leading your team to success. Discover how to work strategically with staff while continuing to grow expertise in your profession. That’s can-do leadership.

NEW 2ND EDITION WILL BE PUBLISHED JUNE 5TH, 2018 Over the past decade, the call for evidence-based management has been on the rise. Managers have become increasingly skeptical of advice that is based soley on anecdotes, otherwise known as the "art of management"; they demand, instead, proof that the management practices espoused by the authors in the field are truly effective. Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager delivers the goods, covering a wide range of critical management skills, such as hiring, inspiring, training, developing, motivating and coaching. Readers are rewarded with a thorough understanding of how to put the science of management to work for themselves and their organizations. An organizational psychologist by training and experience, author Gary Latham brings a unique perspective to the art-versus-science debate as he underscores the critical role that empirical research plays in successfully hiring and managing employees. Latham advocates using the "situational" interview style in the hiring process over the "free-flowing" one, for example, as it's proven more effective in assessing a candidate's skills and aptitude. Written in an accessible, conversational style, Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager draws upon 50 years of management research, and provides front-line managers with key lessons and tips to help them put research to everyday use on the job. From hiring and training to supervising and appraising, managers and leaders will learn proven techniques for achieving high performance from their employees.