Work Happy, by Jill Geisler, is an excellent book with exercises to help you become a better manager. Since I need hands-on practice to remember books I read, I particularly like the tool kits and checklists that helps me retain the material. The book is divided into 3 sections: All About You, All About your Staff, and All About the Workplace. Here are the five gems that I gleaned from the book.
- The Twelve core management competencies are:
- Maintaining and raising quality
- Developing and improving systems
- Coaching employee performance
- Communicating across the organization
- Collaborating across the organization
- Resolving conflicts
- Building employee motivation
- Leading with Emotional Interlligence
- Building teams and team performance
- Managing change
- Managing your time and priorities
- Working with ethics and integrity
- Top 5 daily challenges for managers
- Managers disappoint people everyday.. Don't sidestep this challenge or write off complainers, Do build trust.
- Manager push people out of their comfort zone.. Don't bulldoze or bully... Do custom calibrate pressure.
- Managers are routinely caught in the middle.. Don't play coworkers against each other.. Do advocate for your staff.
- Managers can't always tell people what they want to know.. Don't hoard info.. Do commit to sharing info generously.
- Managers make mistakes.. Don't assume you must always be smarter. Do recognize that the way you respond to your employees' mistakes shapes how they respond to yours.
- The power grid of leadership
- Legitimate power.. Your stripes
- Expert power.. Your smarts
- Coercive power.. Your stick
- Reward power.. Your sweets
- Referent power.. Your Substance.. It's R-E-S-P-E-C-T on steroids
- Do not treat everyone the same. Remember there are different works styles and preferences.
- Introvert vs extrovert
- Detail vs big picture learners... This preference affects how this person responds to different communication, brainstorming formats, change management and new ideas.
- Thinkers vs feelers.. Hard liners vs soft touches.. This preference affects this person's view of praise, criticism, and social interactions.
- Planners vs plungers.. This preference affects the way this person views deadlines, work vs. play, and team tension.
- Motivation stems from Competence, Autonomy, Purpose and Growth. What's your motivation story? How much satisfaction do you derive from:
- Being right
- Being a pace setter
- Being an expert
- Change of pace assignments
- Getting additional training for new skills
- Working independently
- Feeling I have creative freedom
- Doing something that helps pitchers
- Working as a member of a high performing team
- Feeling my ideas are appreciated and implemented
- Knowing exactly where I stand with my boss
- Being groomed for bigger things
- Getting public recognition from boss
- Getting private recognition rather than public from boss
- Economic incentives
- Professional awards
- Being asked to coach or teach others
- Working with highly disciplined workers
- Being held in high regard
- Friendships and harmony in the workplace
- Leading the work group
- Being asked to coach or mentors
- Liking the workplace,
- Having input a out tools and tech
- Being in the loop
