Inspirational Manager: How to Build Relationships that Deliver Results

Book description

Some bosses are better than good — they’re inspirational. Their teams deliver exceptional performance because they can’t imagine letting their manager down. These inspirational managers earn more respect, suffer less stress and produce better results than other managers. Want to be one? This book tells you how.

Inspirational Manager goes to the very ‘heart’ of management, it shows you how to be a great manager and remain true to yourself. It shows you to how to uncover the best in your people, and how to have the tough conversations when they are needed.

Drawing on the experiences of real inspirational managers, facing real challenges and managing real people, Inspirational Manager gives you the tools and techniques to ensure that people notice you and say — “now there’s a great manager!”

Like the managers in the book, you’ll find at times that it is hard work — but immensely satisfying. You’ll love what you do, deliver great results and make a difference. Who knows, you and your team might start enjoying Mondays as much as Fridays!

'Inspirational Manager is thought provoking and pragmatic. It provides useful tactics and action plans for achieving success across various management disciplines with rules to guide you through each stage. A useful companion throughout your managerial career, this book can help guide you and your people to success.’

Mark Horsfield, Professional Development Manager, Microsoft

‘This is not just another book on management: it is an important book about YOU. It is full of better ways for you to engage with your staff, deal with difficult situations and recognise success. I guarantee that this book will enhance your performance as a manager.’

Detective Superintendent Peter Rigby - Cheshire Constabulary

Inspirational management thrives when HR is inspirational too. Learn how to achieve this by downloading fascinating new findings by Judith Leary-Joyce - see inside for more information.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Books that make you better
  3. About the author
  4. Foreword
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. 1. It’s got to be better than this!
    1. The benefits of being an inspirational manager
    2. The Field of Dreams
    3. Now over to you
  7. 2. What it takes to be an inspirational manager
    1. So you want to be an inspirational manager
      1. How do you manage now?
        1. A word of warning
        2. Inspirational manager 360-degree feedback questionnaire
        3. Results
    2. What sort of manager are you?
      1. The tactical manager
      2. The split manager
      3. The effective manager
        1. Moving from effective to inspirational
      4. The reluctant manager
    3. Summary
    4. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  8. 3. The beliefs of an inspirational manager
    1. What inspirational managers believe in
      1. Everyone has strengths
      2. Strong relationships support excellence
      3. Tell the truth at all times
      4. Be consistent
    2. The benefits of being an inspirational manager
    3. Managing upwards in an inspirational way
      1. Organisational values
      2. Managing your manager
    4. Summary
    5. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  9. 4. Keep on learning
    1. Developing your emotional muscle
      1. Understanding yourself
      2. Understanding others
    2. Where will I find this learning?
      1. Learning from family and friends
      2. Learning from colleagues
      3. Learning from chosen role models
    3. Yourself as a role model
    4. Summary
    5. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  10. 5. Focusing your attention
    1. Why focus matters
      1. Getting the balance right
      2. Focusing attention on yourself
      3. Focusing on other people
      4. What about my own work?
    2. Identifying your natural focus
    3. Crisis of focus
      1. Excessive focus on others
      2. Stress
      3. Burnout
      4. Excessive focus on yourself
      5. The question of bullying
        1. Managing your own behaviour
      6. Extreme upward management
    4. Can I have balanced focus and still be ambitious?
    5. Summary
    6. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  11. 6. The inspirational manager as coach
    1. The difference between coaching and mentoring
    2. Using a coaching style
    3. The purpose of coaching
      1. The range of conversations
        1. Having a social chat
        2. A management conversation
        3. A coaching conversation
        4. What this tells us
    4. Coaching interventions
      1. Active listening
      2. Offering supportive comments
      3. Providing creative ideas
    5. Stages in a coaching session
      1. 1. Prepare for the coaching conversation
      2. 2. Set the agenda
      3. 3. Explore the subject
      4. 4. Discuss the options
      5. 5. Come to a conclusion and set an action plan
    6. Giving advice
      1. When the coachee asks for your advice
      2. When you are concerned about the ideas the coachee is coming up with
    7. Summary
    8. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  12. 7. Building inspirational teams
    1. The team’s framework
      1. 1. Dream the ideal team for your work
      2. 2. Set the team charter
      3. 3. Build the team
        1. Agendas for teambuilding
          1. Team development via business goals
          2. Team development via personal learning
      4. 4. Agree communication styles
        1. Your communication to the team
        2. The team’s communication to you
    2. Developing your own team style
      1. Can I have people in the team who are better than me?
      2. Can a manager be friends with direct reports?
      3. Is open plan or a separate office best?
      4. Is my place inside or outside of the team?
    3. Summary
    4. Action plan
      1. Problem teams
      2. Today
      3. Next week
      4. Next month
      5. By the end of three months
      6. Functioning teams
      7. Today
      8. Next week
      9. Next month
  13. 8. The performance management process
    1. Performance management feels very demanding
      1. Valuing performance management
    2. The essence of inspirational performance management
      1. Performance management as a relationship
    3. Setting up inspirational performance management
      1. Building relationships in virtual teams
    4. Examples of inspirational performance management
      1. Data Connection
      2. Freedom Finance
      3. Boehringer Ingelheim (BI)
    5. The inspirational performance management process
      1. Annual appraisal meeting
        1. Content of the appraisal meeting
          1. Your direct reports’ perceptions of the year
          2. Your own perceptions of the year
        2. Style of the appraisal meeting
      2. Monthly one-to-one meetings
        1. Content of one-to-one meetings
        2. Style of one-to-one meetings
      3. Ad hoc meetings
        1. Content of ad hoc meetings
        2. Style of ad hoc meetings
    6. Limit the number of direct reports
    7. Summary
    8. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  14. 9. Making the most of delegation
    1. What is delegation?
    2. Assess your workload
    3. The process of delegation
      1. Make time
      2. Give clear instructions and guidelines
      3. Arrange follow-up meetings at the outset
      4. Tell the truth
    4. Making the best use of mistakes
      1. Mistakes you make
      2. Mistakes other people make
      3. Handling a mistake
    5. Summary
    6. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  15. 10. Managing your talent
    1. Stages of talent management
      1. Develop your talent-spotting muscle
      2. Know your people’s aspirations
      3. Build your manager network
      4. Expect the best
      5. Celebrate success
    2. How will I fit it all in?
    3. Lack of opportunity in the organisation
    4. Summary
    5. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  16. 11. Holding the tough conversations
    1. Addressing performance issues
      1. It’s all in the relationship
    2. Delivering a tough message
      1. Preparing the ground
      2. Planning the meeting
      3. Telling the truth
      4. Follow-up meetings and planning
    3. The final call
      1. Be clear about your decision
      2. Find out about the legalities
      3. Plan the process
      4. Tell the truth
    4. Summary
    5. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  17. 12. Recruiting the best
    1. How to recruit the best
      1. Understand your needs
      2. Prepare the ground
      3. The interview process
    2. How inspirational managers interview
      1. Helena Moore, at Bromford Housing Group
      2. Fran Rodgers, at Northampton Borough Council
      3. Paul Dunmore, at Thomson Directories
        1. Step 1
        2. Step 2
        3. Step 3
        4. Step 4
        5. Step 5
      4. Nic Larkin, at Data Connection
        1. Step 1
        2. Step 2
        3. Step 3
      5. The themes of inspirational recruitment
      6. Giving feedback on the interview
    3. So you find the right person, then what?
      1. Introduction to the team
        1. Ian Martin, at DTC
        2. Helena Moore, at Bromford Housing Group
      2. The themes of introduction to the team
      3. Introduction to the work
        1. Paul Dunmore, at Thomson Directories
        2. Tesh Kataria, at Tower Homes
        3. Fran Rodgers, at Northampton Borough Council
      4. The themes of introduction to the work
    4. Summary
    5. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Two weeks before the interview
      3. One month prior to new recruits’ arrival
      4. One week prior to new recruits’ arrival
      5. If you have recently taken on new people
  18. 13. Building recognition into your day
    1. Find your own limits
    2. Do fun and work mix?
    3. Getting to grips with validation
      1. What you need to validate
      2. What will happen if you don’t validate?
      3. Who you need to validate
      4. How to help people through the tough times
    4. How to celebrate success
    5. Making recognition part of the working day
      1. Work-based recognition
      2. Recognition outside work
    6. Involving family and friends
    7. A final word
    8. Summary
    9. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  19. 14. The leader in every manager
    1. What is the difference between leading and managing?
      1. The management task is:
      2. The leadership task is
    2. The inspirational manager as leader
      1. Building the team’s vision for the future
      2. Holding the daily task in their wider context
      3. Understanding the strategy business
      4. Building trust
      5. Identifying market opportunities
    3. Summary
    4. Action plan
      1. Today
      2. Next week
      3. Next month
  20. 1. Who are these inspirational managers?
    1. Charlotte Butterfield
      1. Badenoch & Clark
    2. Paul Dunmore
      1. Thomson Directories
    3. Della Garmory
      1. Nationwide Building Society
    4. Oliver Hickson
      1. Central Office of Information (COI)
    5. Tesh Kataria
      1. Tower Homes
    6. Nic Larkin
      1. Data Connection
    7. Ian Martin
      1. Diamond Trading Company
    8. Helena Moore
      1. Bromford Housing Group
    9. Allison Nicoll
      1. Freedom Finance
    10. Fran Rodgers
      1. Northampton Borough Council
    11. Andrew Rothesay
      1. Boehringer Ingelheim (BI)
    12. Ben Wood
      1. Mace
  21. 2. Inspiration
    1. Inspirational managers share their sources of inspiration
      1. Nic Larkin, Data Connection
      2. Fran Rodgers, Northampton Borough Council
      3. Oliver Hickson, COI
      4. Paul Dunmore, Thomson Directories
      5. Andrew Rothesay, Boehringer Ingelheim
      6. Charlotte Butterfield, Badenoch & Clark
      7. Tesh Kataria, Tower Homes
    2. Useful addresses
      1. Great Companies Consulting (GCC)
      2. 360-degree feedback
      3. Academy of Executive Coaching
      4. The Greenleaf Centre for Servant-Leadership UK
    3. Books to read

Product information

  • Title: Inspirational Manager: How to Build Relationships that Deliver Results
  • Author(s): Judith Leary-Joyce
  • Release date: January 2009
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780131370074