The Busy Leader's Handbook

The Busy Leader's Handbook

by Quint Studer
Released October 2019
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119576648

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Book description

A comprehensive book of “need-to-know” insights for busy leaders

Being a great leader means getting the fundamentals right. It also means consistently doing the “little things” that make a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and other stakeholders. The Busy Leader’s Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive is a practical, easy-to-use book filled with gentle reminders of what we should be doing every day—especially when work is at its most intense.

The Handbook is packed with proven best practices, tools, tips, and tactics for engaging employees, revitalizing cultures, delighting customers, and building high-performance companies. Short, succinct, and accessible, each chapter is “stand-alone,” offering helpful advice for meeting common business challenges. Plus, the strategies, approaches, and tactics are designed to be put into action immediately.

Best-selling author, businessman, visionary, and entrepreneur Quint Studer draws on his 30-plus years of experience in helping organizations of all sizes and leaders at every level reach peak performance. Comprehensive in scope, his book overflows with insights and practical advice to help you make smart leadership decisions. For example: 

  • Why putting the right foundational structures in place early on creates clarity and heads off problems that cause businesses to struggle and fail
  • The importance of followership: why being a good leader requires that you first be a good follower
  • Why we tend to run from self-disruption and a sense of being unsettled (and how to learn to embrace them instead)
  • Why leaders should seek consent, not consensus
  • How to engage employees and create a positive workplace culture
  • How to help employees find meaning and purpose in their work
  • How to conduct difficult conversations and resolve conflicts—and why having these skills (or not) can make or break you as a leader
  • Advice for attracting and hiring the best talent, retaining them over time, and dealing with the low performers who drive them away
  • Why mentoring is so powerful and how to encourage it inside your company
  • Tips and tactics for seeing the world through your customer’s eyes
  • How to reduce customer anxiety (and encourage them to buy) with the right words at the right times for the right reasons

The Busy Leader’s Handbook functions as a desk reference and pocket guide for anyone in a leadership position. It’s also a great training tool for onboarding new leaders. Whether you work for a start-up, a small or mid-size business, or a large corporation, this book will change how you think, inspire you to do your job better—and help your organization thrive.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. How to Approach This Book
  3. “Wait . . . Didn’t I Read This in Another Chapter?”
  4. Section I The Leader in You:
    1. 1 Strive to Be Self-Aware and Coachable
    2. 2 Invite Feedback from Others and Don’t Take It Personally; Instead, Take Ownership
      1. Taking Ownership: Eliminating Excuses
    3. 3 To Be a Good Leader, First Learn to Be a Good Follower
      1. The Best Leaders Actually See Themselves as Followers
      2. Note
    4. 4 Quiet the Ego and Lead with Humility
      1. First, Diagnose: Do You Have a Humility Problem?
    5. 5 Let Values Be Your Guide
    6. 6 Be a Good Communicator
    7. 7 Know How to Get Things Done:
      1. Note
    8. 8 Get Intentional About Time Management
      1. Some Thoughts on Delegation
    9. 9 Grace Under Fire:
    10. 10 Change the Way You Think About Change
      1. Don’t Let Change-Resistant People Block Progress
      2. Note
    11. 11 Embracing Discomfort:
    12. 12 Clarity Counts:
    13. 13 Face Conflict Head-on:
    14. 14 Reaching Resolution:
    15. 15 Drill Down on Generalizations
  5. Section II Optimizing Employee Performance
    1. 16 Creating a Positive Workplace Culture
    2. 17 The Secret to Strong Relationships:
      1. Get to Know Employees Through Rounding
    3. 18 Positive Recognition Changes Everything:
      1. Hardwiring a Thank-You Note System
    4. 19 Meaning, Purpose, and Engagement:
      1. What Kind of Leaders Drive a Sense of Purpose, Meaning, and Engagement?
      2. How to Be a “Best Odds” Boss for Engaging Employees
      3. Note
    5. 20 Help Employees Understand the Meaning of Their Work
      1. Note
    6. 21 Psychological Safety:
      1. Note
    7. 22 Know What the What Is for Others (and Communicate Your Own What)
    8. 23 Don’t Resort to We/Theyism; Don’t Let Others Practice It, Either
    9. 24 Create a Culture of Ownership Inside Your Company
    10. 25 Mentors Matter:
      1. How to Be a Great Mentee
    11. 26 Reducing Workplace Drama:
    12. 27 Make an Effort to Become a Millennial-Friendly Leader
      1. Note
    13. 28 Be a Positive Ambassador for Your Organization—and Teach Others to Do the Same
  6. Section III Strategic/Foundational Topics
    1. 29 The Case for Structure:
    2. 30 Define and Live Your Mission, Vision, and Values
      1. Note
    3. 31 Set Big, Bold, Clear Goals and Communicate Them to All Employees
    4. 32 Put “Official” (Written) Standards of Behavior in Place
    5. 33 The Power of Metrics:
    6. 34 The Middle Manager Impact:
      1. Tips for Developing Your Middle Management Team
      2. Note
    7. 35 Hiring the Right People:
      1. A Few Things Not to Do
      2. The Interview Process: Peer Interviewing and Behavioral-Based Questions
      3. What to Look for in the Candidates You Interview
    8. 36 Retention:
      1. Set the New Employee Up for Success by Showing What Success Looks Like
      2. Keeping Your Great New Hires
    9. 37 Create a Training and Development System That Motivates Employees to Learn
      1. Note
    10. 38 Performance Reviews That Make a Difference
    11. 39 Customer Satisfaction Starts with Employee Engagement:
    12. 40 Put a Well-Run Meeting System in Place:
      1. How to Get the Most Out of Small-Group Meetings
    13. 41 Focus on What Right Looks Like:
      1. Note
  7. A Final Thought:
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. About the Author
  10. Index
  11. How Quint Studer Can Help Your Organization. . . and Your Community
    1. For Organizations. . .
    2. For Communities. . .
  12. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Busy Leader's Handbook
  • Author(s): Quint Studer
  • Release date: October 2019
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119576648