Skip to Content
Leading the Unleadable
book

Leading the Unleadable

by Alan Willlett
November 2016
Beginner to intermediate
240 pages
4h 40m
English
AMACOM

Overview

The control-freak, the narcissist, the slacker, the cynic... Difficult people are the worst part of a manager’s job.

Whether it comes from direct reports or people above, outbursts, irrational demands, griping, and other disruptions need to be dealt with—and it’s your responsibility to do it. Leading the Unleadable turns this dreaded chore into a straight forward process that gently, yet effectively, improves behaviors. Written by an insider in the tech industry, where personality issues routinely wreck projects, the book reveals a core truth: most people actually want to contribute results, not cause headaches.

Once you realize the potential for change, the book’s simple steps, examples, and scripts explain how to right even the most hopeless situations. You’ll learn how to:

    • Master the necessary mindset
    • Explain the problem calmly in a short feedback session
    • Get a commitment to change, and follow up
    • Coach others to replicate the process
    • Develop the situational awareness required to spot trouble even earlier in the future

    Every manager has “problem people.” What sets great managers apart is how they turn them into productive team players. Prepare to transform the troublesome into the tremendous.

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

The High-Potential Leader

The High-Potential Leader

Ram Charan, Geri Willigan
The Human Factor in AI-Based Decision-Making

The Human Factor in AI-Based Decision-Making

Philip Meissner, Christoph Keding
Bad Boss

Bad Boss

Michelle Gibbings
Perfecting Your Thinking Skills

Perfecting Your Thinking Skills

MIT Sloan Management Review

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780814437612