The Ugly Truth about Managing People: 50 (Must-Get-Right) Management Challenges...And How to Really Handle Them

by Ruth King

Overview

The Honest Truth about Managing

Managing people is one of the toughest jobs in business. Make the right choices, and there is no limit to how you and your business can grow. Make the wrong choices, and there is sure to be trouble ahead. The problem is, no one ever tells you this up front and helps you avoid the pitfalls.

Learn from the experiences of real managers just like you, who have faced the same problems and devised smart solutions. Through stories and lessons from managers who have been there, you'll discover how to handle such situations as:

--My Direct Reports Were Fighting
--I Inherited an Employee Who Hated Me
--The President Tried to Bully Me
--I Fired a Friend
--I Didn't Know What My Bosses Wanted
--Retaining My Workers Was Tough

Know the solutions to tackle any problem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402235191
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	07/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Ruth King is a national speaker, seasoned entrepreneur and author of The Ugly Truth about Small Business (Sourcebooks, 2005) . She holds an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University, was named one of "10 Women to Watch" by Atlanta Business Chronicle and one of "40 Under 40" Atlanta business people by Business Atlanta magazine. Ruth lives outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One
Why We Are Managers

Manager. Management. Boss. These words conjure up lots of mental images, not all of them positive. Many of you have learned how to be a manager from bosses who treated you poorly. The sentence "I learned how to be a good manager because I had a rotten one" have been repeated to me very many times. In fact, poor managers can teach you how to be a good manager. I have personally experienced poor managers who have helped me define the type of manager I want to be and hope I am.
I like to watch people succeed. Often I groom young, idealistic college graduates-I give them the freedom to do their job, and sometimes they learn about accountability the hard way. Coaching young managers through their first review and disciplinary action letter they write for a nonperforming employee or their first firing is a management lesson they will use forever.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 1: Why We Are Managers
Part One: Fifty Stories of The Ugly Truth about Managing People
1. I Was Thrown into Management-Lea Strickland
2. A Woman Sexually Harassed Me-Anonymous
3. I Cursed at My Boss-Anonymous
4. We Needed a Clear Standard of Behavior-Richard Woo -
5. I Managed Childish People-Mark Miller
6. I Instituted an Anti-Nepotism Policy-Anonymous -
7. What the Army Taught Me About Management-Fred Tauc
8. My Boss Didn't Operate in the Real World-Illysa Izenberg
9. We Changed Our Compensation Plan-Patti Galloway -
10. Keeping My Head in a Crisis-Matt Iudice
11. Serving on Nonprofit Boards was Hurting Me-Deborah Stallings
12. Finding My "A" Employees Fast-Joe Humphries -
13. I Didn't Know What My Bosses Wanted-Anonymous -
14. I Was Afraid of My Employees-Anonymous
15. Retaining My Workers Was Tough-Anonymous -
16. My Client Was Sexually Harassed by His Female Boss-Anonymous
17. My Employee Was in the Wrong Job-Steve Jordan -
18. We Had to Find a Compromise-Robin Cowie
19. I Caught the Problem at "Point Easy"-Susan Weems -
20. How I Managed a Global Operation-George D. Wells -
21. I Taught Customer Service to Grunting Teenagers-Joanie Winberg
22. My Direct Reports were Fighting-Charlie Bitzis
23. I Fired a Drunk-Anonymous
24. I Manage Strong-Willed Entrepreneurs...and Listen to Them-Rick Ritter
25. His Sales Masked the People Problem-Anonymous -
26. Ask Them the Right Questions-Kathryn Whitecotton -
27. Encouraging Competition Got Me Results-Susan Harlan
28. I Fired My Star Employee-Anonymous
29. Mediating Family Issues Made Me Sick-Norma Owen -
30. We Bought a Company and Left Former Owners in Place-Anonymous
31. I Inherited an Employee Who Hated Me-Anonymous -
32. I Put My Family Ahead of My Job-Ralph Quinn -
33. The President Tried to Bully Me-Anonymous
34. "We Need to Part Ways" Was Music to My Ears-Anonymous
35. Managing the Start Up of Our Family Brand-Paul, Hermine, Juliette, and Olivia Brindak
36. Getting the Owner of a Family Business to Plan for Succession-Anonymous
37. I Made the Tough, Ethical Decision-Anonymous -
38. I Hired the Wrong Person-Clay Nelson
39. I Fired a Friend-Marissa Levin
40. My Boss Took Care of Me in a Personal Crisis-Nancy Slater
41. I Went from Corporate to Cleaner-Kermit Engh -
42. From "Us" to "Them"-Ellen Rohr
43. Establishing Our Diverse Relationships crisis-Joe Schneider
44. Mentors Helped Me Succeed-Carnela Renee Hill -
45. I Had a Rotten Boss-Anonymous
46. Sexual Harassment Was Accepted-Anonymous -
47. I Didn't Want to Believe-Rod Toner
48. We Turn Teenagers Around-Ellen Frederick, Manager -
49. Our Franchisees Didn't Believe I Could be an Effective CEO-Dina Dwyer-Owens
50. Employees Living Their Dream-Mike Nelson -
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Part Two: What You Can Do About It
Chapter 2: Seventeen Critical Survival Strategies
1. Know the Outcome You Want from the Resolution of a Conflict with an Employee
2. Create a Team of Mentors
3. Communicate
4. Confront the Bad Issues Immediately
5. You Do Not Have to be Nice. You Have to be Fair -
6. Be Clear about Evaluation Criteria
7. Have a Sexual Harassment Policy and Follow It
8. Hire People Who Are Smarter than You Are
9. Encourage Disagreements, Discussions, and Debates -
10. Praise in Public. Punish in Private
11. Know How to Manage Different Personality Styles -
12. Take a Calculated Risk
13. Keep Family and Business Separate
14. Follow the Employee Policy Manual
15. Never Fire Anyone When You Are Mad
16. Fire with "Ruthless Compassion"
17. Say Thank You

Chapter 3: Six Steps to Successfully Groom Your Next Manager
Step 1: Decide How Much Information He Needs
Step 2: Introduce the New Manager to His Team
Step 3: Responsibility, Authority, and Accountability -
Step 4: Hard Lessons to Learn
Step 5: Hiring
Step 6: Firing
-
Chapter 4: The Seven Greatest Management Myths -
Myth 1: Your Employees Can Read Your Mind
Myth 2: You Can Be Friends With Your Employees
Myth 3: Your Employees Have the Same Agenda as You Do
Myth 4: Your Employees Have the Same Work Ethic as You Do
Myth 5: You Can Change People
Myth 6: You Can Do It Alone
Myth 7: Your Employees Are Irreplaceable -
-
Chapter 5: Words of Wisdom

About the Author
Index