The how-to guide for exceptional management from the bottom upThe 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 attractand 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 ofany levelwith a behavioral framework designed to be tailored to your team's specific needs.
Understand your team's strengths, weaknesses, and goals in a meaningful wayStop limiting feedback to when something goes wrongMotivate your people to continuous improvementSpread the work around and let people stretch their skills
Effective managers are good at the joband "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.
Introduction Who This Book Is for, What Its about, and Why ix
About Manager Tools xii
A Note about Data xiii
A Note about Gender xiv
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 4
The Definition of an Effective Manager Is One Who Gets Results and Keeps Her People 4
2 The Four Critical Behaviors 7
The First Critical Behavior: Get to Know Your People 8
The Second Critical Behavior: Communicate about Performance 17
The Third Critical Behavior: Ask for More 20
The Fourth Critical Behavior: Push Work Down 22
3 Teachable and Sustainable Tools 25
4 Know Your PeopleOne On Ones 37
Scheduled 37
Weekly 42
30-Minute Meeting 46
With Each of Your Directs 48
The Manager Takes Notes 50
Where to Conduct One On Ones 54
5 Common Questions and Resistance to One On Ones 57
The Most Common Forms of One-On-One Pushback 57
Talking Too Much and Talking Too Little 68
Pushback on Note Taking 77
Can I Do One On Ones over the Phone? 79
Can I Be Friends with My Directs? 84
Can I Do One On Ones as a Project Manager? 92
6 How to Start Doing One On Ones 99
Choose Times from Your Calendar 99
Send Out a One-On-One E-mail Invitation 100
Allow for Possible Changes in the Near Future 101
Review Intent, Ground Rules, and O3 Agenda in Your Staff Meeting 101
Answer Questions 101
Conduct One On Ones Only for 12 Weeks 101
Dont Rush to Get to Feedback! 102
Dont Rush to Get to Negative Feedback 102
7 Talk about PerformanceFeedback 103
Encourage Effective Future Behavior 108
When Should I Give Feedback? 121
8 Common Questions and Resistance to Feedback 127
How Does It Sound? 127
The Capstone: Systemic Feedback 133
9 How to Start Delivering Feedback 141
Announce Your Intention in Your Weekly Staff Meeting 141
Schedule 30 Minutes for Your Briefing 142
Use Our Materials 142
Cover the Purpose of Feedback 142
Walk Them through Each Step of the Feedback Model 142
Give Only Positive Feedback for Eight Weeks 143
Add in Negative Feedback after Eight Weeks 144
Stay as Positive as You Can 144
10 Ask For MoreCoaching 147
Step 1: Collaborate to Set a Goal 149
Step 2: Collaborate to Brainstorm Resources 152
Step 3: Collaborate to Create a Plan 154
Step 4: The Direct Acts and Reports on the Plan 159
11 How to Start Coaching 163
12 Push Work DownDelegation 165
Why Delegation Is the SolutionThe Delegation Cascade 167
How to DelegateThe Manager Tools Delegation Model 173
13 Common Questions and Resistance to Delegation 179
What Should You Delegate? 179
What If a Direct Repeatedly Says No to Delegation Requests? 180
14 How to Start Delegating 183
Afterword 185
Index 189
