Congratulations – they put you in charge!

Now what?

Odds are you have many questions about how to hit the ground running and put your best foot forward. No matter how good your boss has been, there may be lots of things you’ve never been told about managing people.  Wouldn’t it be great to have a Quick Start Guide so you can be effective from day one?

I’m delighted to announce that my latest book, What Your Boss Never Told You – The Quick Start Guide for New Managers, is now available as both a paperback ($12.95) and a Kindle ebook ($4.99). A quick read (140 pages), this book is packed with practical, proven ideas. You’ll be glad to have it at your side. 

What’s inside:

Part One: Your Transition

Making the transition from individual contributor to manager can be one of the most challenging periods of your career. Sadly, many organizations pay scant attention to this process. New managers are often put in a “sink or swim” situation. That should never happen! In Part One, you’ll gain insight into what skills will serve you best as a manager, learn the (often unspoken) questions that your staff will have about you (and how to answer them), five classic mistakes you’ll want to avoid, and five management habits you won’t want to form.

The chapters:

  • What Got You to The Party May Get You Shown to the Door
  • Keep Your Dial Tuned to WIIFM
  • Five Mistakes to Avoid When They Put You in Charge
  • Five Management Mistakes You Don’t Want to Develop

Part Two: Your New Role

Just what are the expectations of managers in today’s organizations? What’s the “job description” for a manager? In Part Two, we “compare and contrast” management work and leadership, explore why the best managers take 100% accountability for the work of their team (while giving away most of the credit), present some ideas about honor, humility and humor, and show you how to develop your own powerful “elevator speech” which can guide you – and your staff – through difficult times.

The chapters:

  • Can You Do Things Right When You’re Doing the Right Things?
  • What Part of 2+2=4 Belongs to You?
  • Take the Blame and Give Away the Credit
  • The “H” in Leadership
  • The Manager of Joy

Part Three: Your New Team

Becoming a manager isn’t all about you, except perhaps to you. It’s about your team. You’ll learn why managing people is a bit like operating a floor sander – there are real parallels between the two! Next, you’ll get two different (but complimentary) ways to think about the kinds of people you might be on your team, and how to manage each type.    You’ll learn what your team wants from you more than anything else, and a fantastic technique to get folks to meet your performance expectations without falling back on reviews or disciplinary action.

The chapters:

  • Managing People Is Like Operating a Floor Sander
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • All Stars and Lost Causes
  • What Does Your Team Want Most?
  • The Path of Least Resistance

Part Four: Your New Work

Next, we explore how and when effective managers involve their team to make decisions, how to make those tough, “it’s lonely at the top” decisions, how to help your team reach consensus when you need their full support and commitment, and some great tips on how to conduct staff meetings where actual work gets done.

The chapters:

  • How to Decide How to Decide
  • The Four Percent Decision
  • Burying Dead Horses
  • Please Go On Meeting This Way!

Part Five: Three More Things

The last three chapters just didn’t fit anywhere else. You’ll learn how to be a “fly on the wall” to discover what others are saying about your management practice (and how you can improve it), offer tips on how to manage your own boss, and summarize the best advice on how to respond to requests about advice.

The chapters:

  • How to Be a Fly on the Wall
  • Don’t Forget to Manage Your Boss
  • The Best Advice I Can Give You

You can read what others are saying about the book and download sample chapters here. 

Here’s what two folks said about What Your Boss Never Told You:

“While reading What Your Boss Never Told You, I saw myself on nearly every page. I was either nodding my head in agreement or letting out a low hum as I thought, “I wish had thought of that when I had to supervise people.” This book will undoubtedly help new supervisors and managers, who as is so rightly point out, are never told the full length, width, and depth of their new positions.

“Let me add this is a book all managers and supervisors should read, whether they are new on the job or not.”  

David Royall, Retired Air Traffic Control Manager

“Where was this book those many years ago at the start of my career?  It would surely have eased some of the hard knocks I have had to endure.  I am glad I found it and I especially loved the 2+2=4 example in Chapter Six.  Gary Winters + What Your Boss Never Told You = a successful manager!” 

Craig Bronzan, Director, Parks & Recreation, City of Brentwood

Comments are closed.