What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers
by Bob Selden
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bob SeldenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-15
ISBN: 1432714287
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Book Reviews of What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers
Book Review: Great General and Specific Advice
Summary: 5 Stars
What To Do when You Become the Boss by Bob Selden is a practical, step by step guide on how to survive the transition from employee to someone others report to. These types of books by their nature often have to make assumptions about your learning style and the situation you're in. Bob really does go above and beyond by trying to have his book meet all needs. To begin with, he has you determine if you are an activist, pragmatist, theorist or reflective learning style. He then gives you a step by step guide on how to "hop chapters" to find the information you most need.
I admit that I would find it very hard to jump around - I wanted to start from the beginning and read through chapter by chapter. But maybe that's just an indication of my personal style. Maybe someone else would really enjoy the chapter leaping :)
Bob says that you need to balance leading, managing and operating. Leaders don't just "happen" - they need to be *chosen*. I.e. if your followers are unwilling to follow you, then you really aren't a leader. A leader needs to help his followers understand their tasks, provide direction provide belief in what they're doing and help enable them. Bob also comments that leading is path finding, while managing is path minding.
Bob talks about these generalities - but he also gets down to specifics as well to help you in each area. He recommends you find concrete, specific things to praise your employees for - they appreciate this much more than one might imagine. Also, when discussing problems, avoid the word "but". Also avoid the word "you". Phrase things with "I" - such as "I was disappointed in the quarterly report, and I think together we can find a way to improve this." Always discuss the ACTION that needs to be fixed - not the person.
Other specific suggestions really do seem helpful. He suggests setting Outlook to open to the task view - not to email which might distract you from your tasks. He suggests turning off the pop-up reminders of new mail and the associated sounds. That being said, he talks about only checking on mail for a brief time in the afternoon. I would never survive managing my web businesses if I ignored my mail all morning long :)
Finally I did find it a little annoying when he constantly recommends you buy copies of the book for friends and family and discuss the book with them. Talk about viral marketing! If you have the book you've probably already bought one copy. Now he's telling you to go out and triple his sales by yourself? That just seemed wrong to me.
Still, there's a lot of great information in here, and rather than buying a copy for a friend, I'm going to give them MY copy :)
Summary of What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers
Do you know all the "ins" and "outs" of managing?
Make a success of your career as a manager. This is your complete "How to" for managing your boss, your people, yourself. You will refer to this book again and again as you progress through your career.
You will discover how to:
- Become an effective leader, recognized throughout the organization
- Distribute your time appropriately between the three essential managerial role elements of leading, managing and operating
- Manage your boss - one of the most important of your work relationships
- Select your new boss - if you happen to be changing roles or organizations
- Manage the performance of your team including setting and maintaining standards, coaching, motivating and appraising performance
- Select the best person for the job with a process that is 4 times more effective than traditional selection processes
- Delegate, make more effective decisions, run motivating team meetings - there are even chapters on "How to manage your emails" and "How to build your image"
"Nothing is more practical than a good theory." Kurt Lewin's quote sums up this book and Bob's ability to address the realities of managing people in changing environments. In each chapter he demonstrates a rare gift of being able to translate conceptual frameworks into practical processes and actions which managers can build into their daily work routines. The rich array of case studies, many drawn from Bob's own experience as a line manager, add colour and weight to this comprehensive "must read" user's guide for new and not so new managers.
- Humphrey Armstrong, Organizational Psychologist, Lifelong Learning Systems, Sydney, Australia The messages in this best selling book have shown thousands of managers, particularly new managers, a better way of managing. Find out for yourself.
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