The Hands-Off Manager

The number one reason cited in exit interviews for an employee quitting is “my manager.” Most managers and executives not only aren’t aware of this obvious problem, but probably wouldn’t know what to do about it if they did.

Today’s employees do not respond to the old hands-on, militaristic management styles. They are highly independent, individual professionals with their own fully developed ideas. Leaders and managers who try to micro-manage them will inevitably confront wide-spread disgruntlement, absenteeism, and turnover...and increase their own and their employees’ stress levels.

In The Hands-Off Manager, Chandler and Black offer a new vision for all managers. With stories, examples, and vibrant activities for the reader to practice, this book shows any manager—new or seasoned—how to coach and mentor employees rather than hover over their shoulders and goad them into action.

In this system, each employee’s strengths are honored and honed in a climate of partnership and mutual goal-setting. Chandler, whose 100 Ways to Motivate Others is a bestselling favorite with small and large businesses alike, has called The Hands-Off Manager “my most original work to date” because it finally solves the age-old problem of getting the best performance out of people without frustrating yourself and them.

The Hands-Off Manager and its breakthrough content will take its place beside In Search of Excellence, The One Minute Manager, and Who Moved My Cheese as an instant classic that will forever change the way we lead and manage.

Steve Chandler is one of America’s best-selling authors whose 14 books—including the best-sellers 100 Ways to Motivate Others, 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, and Reinventing Yourself—have been translated into more than 15 languages. Chandler was recently named to the faculty at the University of Santa Monica and also starred in an episode of NBC’s Starting Over, the Emmy-award-winning reality show about life-coaching. Chandler has been a trainer and consultant to more than 30 Fortune 500 companies worldwide.

Duane Black is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of SunCor Developments, where he oversees 150 employees and more than 150,000 acres of current and future housing developments