The Truth About Getting the Best From People

The Truth About Getting the Best From People

by Martha I. Finney
Released February 2008
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780768681895

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Book description

Praise for The Truth About Getting the Best from People

"Finally, a no-nonsense primer for leaders on how to build...and keep...extraordinary talent. This book should be in the briefcase of every exec in the world and should be pulled out every day for a refresher on how to be a real leader."

Dan Walker, Former Chief Talent Officer for Apple, Inc.

"A fun and easy-to-read blueprint on understanding and creating engagement within a team. No high falootin' business jargon here--Martha Finney tells it like it is. She helps supervisors and managers uncover the secrets of employee engagement through behavioral examples, successes at top companies, and her charming storytelling."

Kirsten Clark, Senior Director, Organizational Capability Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

"Martha succeeds in reducing one of the business world's most sought-after but amorphous concepts--employee engagement--into 49 digestible truths."

Christopher Rice, President and CEO, BlessingWhite

"A must-read for new supervisors and managers, with lots of essential lessons and tips."

Tom Mathews, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Time Warner Cable

"Easy-to-read stories and useful truths about leading. I wish I had this book when I first became a manager. I had to learn some of these truths the hard way!"

Scott Shute, Senior Director, Xilinx

"The book is outstanding! Very easy to read....great examples, great advice, and the corporate world would be a better place if just 50 percent of the managers would follow your advice!"

Peg Wynn, Former SVP/HR, Adobe

"I started reading and found myself grabbing for a highlighter. I got to the following line 'Getting the best is about building a culture of trust, connection, growth, and service.' I had to drop a box around that one."

Tiane Mitchell Gordon, Senior Vice President, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, AOL

"Finney has gifted us an important compendium of accessible and eminently actionable insights about employee engagement. Using 'The Truths' as a guide, generations of managers will find infinite opportunities to unleash, inspire, and leverage the inherent talent in their people. My advice? Seize it! It will enable you to dramatically affect the future of your team, your organization, and your own career."

Jane Creech, Founder and Principal, Strategic Business Systems (Organization Consulting & Leadership Coaching), Former Sr. Director, OD, eBay

"If you are looking for a great way to deliver Management 101, just distribute this book. It has everything that someone new to management needs to know. Savvy, and sassy, and smart, this is an easy but important read!"

Beverly Kaye, Coauthor,Love 'Em or Lose 'Em

"Just when I thought one truth was as good as it could get, the rest lived up to it! I loved the anecdotes and the final truth, 'You're still the Boss.'"

Ed Martin, Vice President, Global Human Resources, Atheros Communications

"The subject is important, pragmatic advice told in an entertaining way. Front line managers need this for perspective. This book has some great 'keys' to bringing out the best in people!"

Jim Wiggett, President & CEO, Jackson Hole Group

Build a culture of engagement...one person, one interaction at a time

You can build and lead teams full of self-motivated, innovative contributors: people who love their jobs, believe in their mission, and perform with focus, enthusiasm, and creativity! This book reveals 49 PROVEN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES for getting the best from every employee, every team, every organization! 

  • The truth about building a self-driven workforce that’s positive, committed, passionate

  • The truth about what really motivates people--and what doesn’t

  • The truth about leading with authenticity, clarity, consistency, and inspiration

    • You can build and lead teams full of self-motivated, innovative contributors: people who love their jobs, believe in their mission, and perform with focus, enthusiasm, and creativity! Top leadership consultant Martha Finney reveals 49 proven leadership principles for getting the best from every employee, every team, every organization. She shows how to build a workforce that’s positive, committed, passionate...how to really motivate people, even on a tight budget...how to lead with authenticity, clarity, consistency, and inspiration. These skills offer powerful, quantifiable business value. They are completely learnable--and this book is the fastest way to master them. It distills the world’s best thinking on getting the best from people: the truth, and nothing but the truth!

    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
      1. Dedication
    2. Praise for The Truth About Getting the Best from People
    3. Introduction
    4. I. The Truth About Employee Engagement
      1. 1. You don’t need the carrot or the stick
      2. 2. You get the best by giving the best
      3. 3. It’s not money that motivates
      4. 4. Employee engagement isn’t for sissies
    5. II. The Truth About Yourself
      1. 5. Your behaviors are your brand
      2. 6. You can’t give what you don’t have
      3. 7. “Best” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone
      4. 8. Think you’re a great leader? Think again.
      5. 9. You could be your own worst employee
      6. 10. Visionary or beat cop? Your choice.
      7. 11. You don’t have to be perfect
    6. III. The Truth About Engaged Cultures
      1. 12. Employee happiness is serious business
      2. 13. Authentic is better than clever
      3. 14. Retention begins with hello
      4. 15. The bad will do you good
      5. 16. You can sell an unpopular decision
      6. 17. Flex is best
      7. 18. Nobody cares if you don’t mean to be mean
    7. IV. The Truth About Motivation
      1. 19. Engagement happens one person at a time
      2. 20. If you’re a manager, you’re a career coach
      3. 21. Ask for cheese—you might get the moon
      4. 22. If they aren’t buying it, they aren’t doing it
      5. 23. Focusing on what’s right can help solve what’s wrong
    8. V. The Truth About Performance
      1. 24. Compassion promotes performance
      2. 25. B players are your A team
      3. 26. High performers have enough coffee mugs
      4. 27. Discipline deepens engagement
      5. 28. You don’t have to inherit the problem employees
      6. 29. Performance appraisals are really about you
      7. 30. New hires can inspire current employees
    9. VI. The Truth About Creativity
      1. 31. Innovation begins with y-e-s
      2. 32. Everyone can be creative
      3. 33. You stand between inspiration and implementation
      4. 34. Failures promote progress
      5. 35. Extreme pressure kills inspired performance
      6. 36. Creativity is a balancing act
    10. VII. The Truth About Communication
      1. 37. Open questions ignite inspiring answers
      2. 38. Serving your employees means managing your boss
      3. 39. Bad news is good news
      4. 40. Trivial conversations are essential
      5. 41. The way you listen speaks volumes
      6. 42. Crap happens
      7. 43. Engaged employees need to know more
    11. VIII. The Truth About Teams
      1. 44. Your team has untapped talent
      2. 45. People need to fight their own battles
      3. 46. Games don’t build teams
      4. 47. Answers build teams
      5. 48. Your team can lead you to greatness
      6. 49. You’re still the boss
    12. References
    13. About the Author

    Product information

    • Title: The Truth About Getting the Best From People
    • Author(s): Martha I. Finney
    • Release date: February 2008
    • Publisher(s): Pearson
    • ISBN: 9780768681895