The Truth About Managing People, Second Edition

The Truth About Managing People, Second Edition

by Ph.D. Stephen P. Robbins
Released September 2007
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780132346030

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Book description

“The premiere writer of management textbooks has sifted through the research to extract the truths every manager should know. This book is an antidote for the unsupported opinions handed out in many popular management books.”

Kenneth W. Thomas, Professor of Management, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, author of Intrinsic Motivation at Work

“A prolific scholar and writer, Robbins cuts through the research and theory to deliver immediately useful and essential insights for the effective management of people.”

Eric G. Stephan, Professor Organizational Leadership & Strategy, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University

You can succeed brilliantly as a leader and overcome the “killer” problems faced by every manager!

• The truth about building winning teams and designing high-productivity jobs

•  The truth about why “happy” employees aren’t always more productive

•  The (surprising) truth about what behaviors you really want to reward

This book reveals 53 Proven Principles for handling virtually every management challenge

The Truth About Managing People offers real solutions for the make-or-break problems faced by every manager. You'll discover: how to overcome the true obstacles to teamwork; why too much communication can be as dangerous as too little; how to improve your hiring and employee evaluations; how to heal "layoff survivor sickness"; even how to learn charisma. This isn't someone's opinion; it's a definitive, evidence-based guide to effective management: a set of bedrock principles you can rely on throughout your entire management career.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Contents
  4. Preface
  5. Part I. The Truth About Hiring
    1. Truth 1. Forget traits; it's behavior that counts!
    2. Truth 2. Realistic job previews: what you see is what you get
    3. Truth 3. Tips for improving employee interviews
    4. Truth 4. Brains matter; or when in doubt, hire smart people
    5. Truth 5. Don't count too much on reference checks
    6. Truth 6. When in doubt, hire conscientious people!
    7. Truth 7. Hire people who fit your culture: my "good employee" is your stinker!
    8. Truth 8. Manage the socialization of new employees
  6. Part II. The Truth About Motivation
    1. Truth 9. Why many workers aren't motivated at work today
    2. Truth 10. Happy workers aren't necessarily productive workers!
    3. Truth 11. Telling employees to do their best isn't likely to achieve their best
    4. Truth 12. Not everyone wants to participate in setting their goals
    5. Truth 13. Professional workers go for the flow
    6. Truth 14. When giving feedback: criticize behaviors, not people
    7. Truth 15. You get what you reward
    8. Truth 16. It's all relative!
    9. Truth 17. Ways to motivate low-skill, low-pay employees
    10. Truth 18. There's more to high employee performance than just motivation
  7. Part III. The Truth About Leadership
    1. Truth 19. The essence of leadership is trust
    2. Truth 20. Experience counts! Wrong!
    3. Truth 21. Most people think they know what good leaders look like
    4. Truth 22. Effective leaders know how to frame issues
    5. Truth 23. You get what you expect
    6. Truth 24. Charisma can be learned
    7. Truth 25. Make others dependent on you
    8. Truth 26. Adjust your leadership style for cultural differences, or when in Rome...
    9. Truth 27. When leadership isn't important
  8. Part IV. The Truth About Communication
    1. Truth 28. Hearing isn't listening
    2. Truth 29. Choose the right communication channel
    3. Truth 30. Listen to the grapevine
    4. Truth 31. Men and women do communicate differently
    5. Truth 32. What you do overpowers what you say
  9. Part V. The Truth About Building Teams
    1. Truth 33. What we know that makes teams work
    2. Truth 34. 2 + 2 doesn't necessarily equal 4
    3. Truth 35. One bad apple spoils the barrel
    4. Truth 36. We're not all equal: status matters!
    5. Truth 37. Not everyone is team material
  10. Part VI. The Truth About Managing Conflicts
    1. Truth 38. The case for conflict
    2. Truth 39. Beware of groupthink
    3. Truth 40. How to reduce work-life conflicts
    4. Truth 41. Negotiating isn't about winning and losing
  11. Part VII. The Truth About Designing Jobs
    1. Truth 42. Not everyone wants a challenging job
    2. Truth 43. Four job-design actions that will make employees more productive
  12. Part VIII. The Truth About Performance Evaluation
    1. Truth 44. Annual reviews: the best surprise is no surprise!
    2. Truth 45. Don't blame me! The role of self-serving bias
    3. Truth 46. The case for 360-degree feedback appraisals: more is better!
  13. Part IX. The Truth About Coping with Change
    1. Truth 47. Most people resist any change that doesn't jingle in their pockets!
    2. Truth 48. You can teach an old dog new tricks
    3. Truth 49. Use participation to reduce resistance to change
  14. Part X. Some Final Thoughts About Managing Behavior
    1. Truth 50. First impressions do count!
    2. Truth 51. People aren't completely rational: don't ignore emotions!
    3. Truth 52. Employee turnover can be a good thing
    4. Truth 53. Beware of the quick fix
  15. References
  16. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: The Truth About Managing People, Second Edition
  • Author(s): Ph.D. Stephen P. Robbins
  • Release date: September 2007
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780132346030