The Effective Manager

Book description

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.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Introduction Who This Book Is for, What It's about, and Why
    1. About Manager Tools
    2. A Note about Data
    3. A Note about Gender
  6. Chapter 1: What Is an Effective Manager?
    1. Your First Responsibility as a Manager Is to Achieve Results
    2. Your Second Responsibility as a Manager Is to Retain Your People
    3. The Definition of an Effective Manager Is One Who Gets Results and Keeps Her People
  7. Chapter 2: The Four Critical Behaviors
    1. The First Critical Behavior: Get to Know Your People
    2. The Second Critical Behavior: Communicate about Performance
    3. The Third Critical Behavior: Ask for More
    4. The Fourth Critical Behavior: Push Work Down
  8. Chapter 3: Teachable and Sustainable Tools
  9. Chapter 4: Know Your People—One On Ones
    1. Scheduled
    2. Weekly
    3. 30-Minute Meeting
    4. With Each of Your Directs
    5. The Manager Takes Notes
    6. Where to Conduct One On Ones
  10. Chapter 5: Common Questions and Resistance to One On Ones
    1. The Most Common Forms of One-On-One Pushback
    2. Talking Too Much and Talking Too Little
    3. Pushback on Note Taking
    4. Can I Do One On Ones over the Phone?
    5. Can I Be Friends with My Directs?
    6. Can I Do One On Ones as a Project Manager?
  11. Chapter 6: How to Start Doing One On Ones
    1. Choose Times from Your Calendar
    2. Send Out a One-On-One E-mail Invitation
    3. Allow for Possible Changes in the Near Future
    4. Review Intent, Ground Rules, and O3 Agenda in Your Staff Meeting
    5. Answer Questions
    6. Conduct One On Ones Only for 12 Weeks
    7. Don't Rush to Get to Feedback!
    8. Don't Rush to Get to Negative Feedback
  12. Chapter 7: Talk about Performance—Feedback
    1. Encourage Effective Future Behavior
    2. When Should I Give Feedback?
  13. Chapter 8: Common Questions and Resistance to Feedback
    1. How Does It Sound?
    2. The Capstone: Systemic Feedback
  14. Chapter 9: How to Start Delivering Feedback
    1. Announce Your Intention in Your Weekly Staff Meeting
    2. Schedule 30 Minutes for Your Briefing
    3. Use Our Materials
    4. Cover the Purpose of Feedback
    5. Walk Them through Each Step of the Feedback Model
    6. Give Only Positive Feedback for Eight Weeks
    7. Add in Negative Feedback after Eight Weeks
    8. Stay as Positive as You Can
  15. Chapter 10: Ask for More—Coaching
    1. Step 1: Collaborate to Set a Goal
    2. Step 2: Collaborate to Brainstorm Resources
    3. Step 3: Collaborate to Create a Plan
    4. Step 4: The Direct Acts and Reports on the Plan
  16. Chapter 11: How to Start Coaching
  17. Chapter 12: Push Work Down—Delegation
    1. Why Delegation Is the Solution—The Delegation Cascade
    2. How to Delegate—The Manager Tools Delegation Model
  18. Chapter 13: Common Questions and Resistance to Delegation
    1. What Should You Delegate?
    2. What If a Direct Repeatedly Says No to Delegation Requests?
  19. Chapter 14: How to Start Delegating
  20. Afterword
  21. Index
  22. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Effective Manager
  • Author(s): Mark Horstman
  • Release date: July 2016
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119244608