Books in the The Manager as ... series

One of the most valuable roles a manager can perform in today's rapidly changing environment is to mentor and inspire the people around them to learn. By nurturing talent, motivating individual development, and encouraging excellence, a manager's mentoring can enhance individual performance and the organization's prospects for success. Mentoring is not an easy skill to develop, and many managers, who may excel at leading or coaching, may be disasters as mentors when it comes to creating a bond and bringing out untapped qualities in others. The Manager as Mentor goes beyond traditional approaches to explore the newest techniques in mentoring and collaboration. Featuring personal development tools, worksheets, and references, The Manager as Mentor will enable managers to bring out the best in themselves, the people they guide, and their organizations.Mentoring is an age-old practice, tracing its roots in ancient Greek folklore to Odysseus' friend, Mentor, whom the Homeric hero entrusted as guide to his son's development. Today, with the ascendance of the knowledge age and the transformation of the workplace into an environment of continual learning, mentoring has emerged as one of the most important and valuable roles a manager can perform. By serving as a role model, providing feedback, nurturing talent, inspiring individual development, and facilitating excellence, a manager's mentoring strengthens relationships within the organization, and ultimately contributes to such critical factors as improved job performance, low turnover, and greater profitability. Mentoring is not an easy skill to attain, however, and many managers who may excel at leading teams or coordinating projects may be disasters as mentors. The Manager as Mentor explores emerging trends and approaches to help managers master the skills of effective mentoring-and enhance themselves, their proteges, and their organizations in the process.Drawing from extensive research, dozens of examples, and their own practical application in training managers around the world, the authors argue that exceptional mentoring skills can be developed. They guide the reader toward understanding the key roles that mentors play and the activities and techniques they can employ for maximum impact. Diagnostic exercises will help readers assess their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for development, and create a step-by-step action plan for achieving goals-either individually or in groups. The authors also offer an extensive listing of resources for more in-depth information on various aspects of mentoring, such as problem solving, active listening, and employee advocacy. Ultimately, The Manager as Mentor offers the tools by which managers can promote learning, empowerment, and insight to create vibrant organizational cultures.

Politics is a way of life in every organization. Like it or not, managers must develop political savvy in order to succeed as leaders; every interaction has political undertones that affect their performance in the workplace. As politicians, managers are called upon to bring together parties with different (and often competing) agendas, and to demonstrate the experience, capabilities, and qualities necessary to solve problems and make decisions in a timely fashion. As politicians, managers must be keenly aware of the human and organizational aspects of conflict-along with techniques to resolve it-while successfully balancing individual, group, and organization-wide goals and priorities.The Manager as Politician examines the dynamics of organizational power plays and interpersonal communication, and shows managers how to step over landmines, overcome challenges, and develop the skills and instincts necessary for political survival. Jerry W. Gilley outlines the key roles and responsibilities of the political navigator, who is adept at identifying allies and foes, building trust, and delivering results. Featuring personal assessment and development tools and an extensive listing of related books, journals, organizations and web sites, The Manager as Politician is an essential resource for managers looking to establish effective relationships with employees, colleagues, and organizational leaders, while enhancing their authority and influence.

In The Manager as Change Leader, Ann Gilley examines the complexities of change from the manager's perspective, providing readers with the tools to help themselves, their employees, and their colleagues successfully engage in the change efforts that will propel their organizations into the future. In a challenge to traditional approaches-which presume that organizational change will occur once an initiative has been launched-Gilley focuses on the challenges that managers face when others resist change, before, during, and even after the process has been implemented. She explains that resistance to change is natural and inevitable, and offers practical approaches to overcoming organizational inertia, focusing on the specific skills in leadership, management, problem solving, communication, and personal relationships that contribute to successful change. Featuring a wide array of diagnostic and development tools, worksheets, and references, The Manager as Change Leader will become an indispensable resource for any manager faced with leading or navigating a change program, whether large scale or small.To say that businesses today must contend with constant change is an understatement. New technologies, new competitors, new markets, new products, new employees-if your company is not already anticipating their impact you've fallen behind the curve. And yet, as managers acknowledge, and even embrace, change as a reality of organizational life, the success rate of change efforts is perilously low. In The Manager as Change Leader, Ann Gilley examines the complexities of change from the manager's perspective, providing readers with the tools to help themselves, their employees, and their colleagues successfully engage in the change efforts that will propel their organizations into the future.