I manage 20 people at my job- very high pressure, intense deadlines, very fast-paced. I have two people who are my equals who manage groups of 20 as well, and there is one boss who is over the three of us.
I have no formal training in management, so I wing it as best I can. I was promoted internally because I was simply good at what I do, which gets you far, but in management, there's so much more.
My boss is frustrating, to say the least. She is what I refer to as a "figurehead". She manages a department she knows NOTHING about. My equals and I do what we think is best for the people we manage and the company we represent, but she sometimes takes us two steps backwards simply due to her lack of knowledge in our area. Sometimes I find it very difficult to be diplomatic with her, and at the end of the day I occasionally end up feeling like a negative jerk because I am constantly arguing with her (with good reason, but still...).
I want to grow professionally, and this means learning new management techniques, and better ways of dealing with all different types of people. I don't have time to take a class, so have any of you read any helpful books on this subject that you could recommend?
Thanks for your help!
Highly recommend Crucial Conversations. (Kerry Patterson and Joseph Grenny). Great information for managing up and down.
7 Habits of Highly Successful People
Sun Tzu's Art of War
there is a book called "the one minute manager" can't remember the authors name but he has written several easy to read books on management. Also I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey who is a financial guru, but he has several books on business and management that he recommends, you can check out his website www.daveramsey.com
good luck!
"who moved my cheese" by spencer johnson and "be nice or else" by winn claybaugh.....both books are easy quick reads. the "be nice.." book was a must read for every staff member and student at my previous job.
Immunity to Change. Great, great, great book.
http://www.amazon.com/Immunity-Change-Potential-Organizat...
There are a couple of older books that are easy and quick to read and very helpful; The One Minute Manager, The Lightning of Empowerment by Zig Ziglar. I have been in Management for more than 20 years and have had bosses like this. Get some knowledge, run things your way, treat your people with respect and watch the boss follow. Good luck and God Bless
Hi N.!
This is a great question, and you sound like a great employee just by the fact that you care to learn and grow in your ability to do your job with excellence. That is awesome! John Maxwell writes excellent books on leadership and teamwork. 21 Laws of Leadership and 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork. You can go to Amazon and see all of his titles. He is a great example for developing leadership and teamwork skills. Another book that I personally LOVED is Patrick Lencioni's Death By Meeting. If problem meetings are an issue for your workplace, this book is a fun and fascinating read that when implemented can totally transform meetings and increase communication and productivity.
I am interested to know what you end up reading!
God's Grace to you,
Lisa :)
"Mary Kay on People Management"
It totally changed how I treated everyone and how they responded to me.
I recommend this book to everyone! It should be mandatory reading in school.
~A.
Don has several that you can borrow N.. I'll bring them over when I clean for you on Friday. :)
I think this book is excellent for customer service. I buy all my books at amazon.com. They have a used copy of this book for 1 cent.
http://www.amazon.com/Complaint-Gift-Janelle-Barlow/dp/18...
P.
All great suggestions. The Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations were very helpful to me as a first time manager dealing with people above, below and equal to me. there are also some communication coaches in the area that can be pricy, but very effective in helping you convey your information in a way that is understandable to others.
One thing I would like to warn you against is the traveling class hyped for "First Time Managers" I went to the full day "seminar" hoping to get some great info and it was a gigantic sales pitch for books:)
Another great book to read is the Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
I recommend "When Teams Work Best" by Carl Larson.
I also suggest "Getting to Yes". It's old but it's good.
A lot of other books will give you ideas that *might* work, but these two rely on actual data, and provide tools that work wirth anyone, including technically skilled workers.
Good luck to you!
