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Written in short chapters, each book covers an entire field of knowledge that applies practical experience to business theory, cuts to the gist of each subject in an entertaining way, and deconstructs commonly held assumptions to reveal the real truth behind challenges and their appropriate solutions.
In the second edition of the successful book, The Truth About Getting the Best From People, Martha Finney shares over 60 proven principles for achieving employee engagement one-hundred percent of the time. This new edition features more than 15 new truths, including managing virtual teams, building persuasive skills, tuning into your own unconscious biases, managing multiple generations, and identifying and cultivating individual high performers.
In the third edition of the bestselling book, The Truth About Managing People, bestselling author Stephen Robbins shares even more proven principles for handling virtually every management challenge. Robbins delivers 61 real solutions for the make-or-break problems faced by every manager. Readers will learn how to overcome the true obstacles to teamwork, why too much communication can be as dangerous as too little, how to improve your hiring and employee evaluations, how to heal "layoff survivor sickness," how to manage a diverse culture, and ways to lead effectively in a digital world. New truths include first impressions do count, you get what you expect, not everyone is team material, and employee turnover can be a good thing.
The Truth About Getting the Best from People
Introduction¿¿¿¿ xi
PART I The Truth About Employee Engagement
Truth 1 You don’t need the carrot or the stick¿¿¿¿ 1
Truth 2 You have direct infl uence over your employees’ passion quotient¿¿¿¿ 4
Truth 3 You get the best by giving the best¿¿¿¿ 8
Truth 4 It’s not money that motivates¿¿¿¿ 11
Truth 5 Employment engagement isn’t for sissies¿¿¿¿ 15
Truth 6 Real engagement gains happen after survey scores come in¿¿¿¿ 19
PART II The Truth About Yourself
Truth 7 Your behaviors are your brand¿¿¿¿ 23
Truth 8 You can’t give what you don’t have¿¿¿¿ 26
Truth 9 “Best” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone¿¿¿¿ 30
Truth 10 Think you’re a great leader? Think again¿¿¿¿ 34
Truth 11 You could be your own worst employee¿¿¿¿ 38
Truth 12 Visionary or beat cop? Your choice¿¿¿¿ 41
Truth 13 Your health may be compromising your leadership eff ectiveness¿¿¿¿ 44
Truth 14 You don’t have to be perfect¿¿¿¿ 48
Truth 15 Your career can recover from an engagement hit¿¿¿¿ 52
PART III The Truth About Engaged Cultures
Truth 16 Employee happiness is serious business¿¿¿¿ 55
Truth 17 Great leaders make their people cry¿¿¿¿ 58
Truth 18 Better questions lead to better answers¿¿¿¿ 61
Truth 19 Individual passion builds a passion-fueled customer service culture¿¿¿¿ 65
Truth 20 Authentic is better than clever¿¿¿¿ 69
Truth 21 Retention begins with hello¿¿¿¿ 72
Truth 22 The bad will do you good¿¿¿¿ 75
Truth 23 Your biggest complainer may be your best supporter¿¿¿¿ 78
Truth 24 You can sell an unpopular decision¿¿¿¿ 82
Truth 25 Flex is best¿¿¿¿ 85
Truth 26 Nobody cares if you don’t mean to be mean¿¿¿¿ 89
Truth 27 Controlling your temper is a labor-saving device¿¿¿¿ 93
Truth 28 There is no “but” in “I’m sorry”¿¿¿¿ 97
PART IV The Truth About Motivation
Truth 29 Engagement happens one person at a time¿¿¿ ¿101
Truth 30 If you’re a manager, you’re a career coach¿¿¿¿ 104
Truth 31 The candidates you’re seeking may not be the ones you need¿¿¿¿ 107
Truth 32 Ask for cheese–you might get the moon¿¿¿¿ 111
Truth 33 You lead better when you get off your pedestal¿¿¿¿ 114
Truth 34 Trust is your strongest persuasion tool¿¿¿¿ 118
Truth 35 If they aren’t buying it, they aren’t doing it¿¿¿¿ 121
Truth 36 Overselling an opportunity can cost you precious talent¿¿¿¿ 124
Truth 37 Focusing on what’s right can help solve what’s wrong¿¿¿¿ 128
Truth 38 High performers are motivated by a piece of the action¿¿¿¿ 131
Truth 39 All the generations want the same thing¿¿¿¿ 135
PART V The Truth About Performance
Truth 40 Compassion promotes performance¿¿¿¿ 139
Truth 41 A hot star can brighten your whole team¿¿¿¿ 142
Truth 42 B players are your A team¿¿¿¿ 146
Truth 43 High performers have enough coff ee mugs¿¿¿¿ 149
Truth 44 Discipline deepens engagement¿¿¿¿ 152
Truth 45 You don’t have to inherit the problem employees¿¿¿¿ 155
Truth 46 Performance appraisals are really about you¿¿¿¿ 159
Truth 47 New hires can inspire current employees¿¿¿¿ 162
Truth 48 Terminations are an engagement tool¿¿¿¿ 165
PART VI The Truth About Creativity
Truth 49 Innovation begins with y-e-s¿¿¿¿ 169
Truth 50 Everyone can be creative¿¿¿¿ 172
Truth 51 You stand between inspiration and implementation¿¿¿¿ 176
Truth 52 Failures promote progress¿¿¿¿ 179
Truth 53 People don’t quit their bosses, they quit their colleagues¿¿¿¿ 182
Truth 54 Extreme pressure kills inspired performance¿¿¿¿ 186
Truth 55 Creativity is a balancing act¿¿¿¿ 189
PART VII The Truth About Communication
Truth 56 Open questions ignite inspiring answers¿¿¿¿ 193
Truth 57 Serving your employees means managing your boss¿¿¿¿ 196
Truth 58 Bad news is good news¿¿¿¿ 200
Truth 59 Trivial conversations are essential¿¿¿¿ 203
Truth 60 The way you listen speaks volumes¿¿¿¿ 206
Truth 61 Crap happens¿¿¿¿ 210
Truth 62 Engaged employees need to know more¿¿¿¿ 213
PART VIII The Truth About Teams
Truth 63 Absence makes the employee happier¿¿¿¿ 217
Truth 64 Your team has untapped talent¿¿¿¿ 221
Truth 65 People need to fi ght their own battles¿¿¿¿ 224
Truth 66 Games don’t build teams¿¿¿¿ 228
Truth 67 Answers build teams¿¿¿¿ 231
Truth 68 Your team can lead you to greatness¿¿¿¿ 234
Truth 69 You’re still the boss¿¿¿¿ 237
References¿¿¿¿ 240
About the Author¿¿¿¿¿ 242
The Truth About Managing People
Preface¿¿¿¿¿ vii
PART I THE TRUTH ABOUT HIRING
Truth 1¿ First Impressions DO Count!¿¿¿¿ 1
Truth 2¿ Forget Traits; It’s Behavior That Counts¿¿¿¿ 5
Truth 3¿ Brains Matter; or Why You Should Hire Smart People¿¿¿¿ 9
Truth 4¿ When in Doubt, Hire Conscientious People!¿¿¿¿ 13
Truth 5¿ Want Friendly Employees? It’s in the Genes!¿¿¿¿ 7
Truth 6¿ Realistic Job Previews: What You See Is What You Get¿¿¿¿ 21
Truth 7¿ Throw Out Your Age Stereotypes¿¿¿¿ 25
Truth 8¿ Match Personalities and Jobs¿¿¿¿ 29
Truth 9¿ Hire People Who Fit Your Culture: My “Good Employee” Is Your Stinker!¿¿¿¿ 33
Truth 10¿ Good Citizenship Counts!¿¿¿¿ 37
Truth 11¿ Manage the Socialization of New Employees¿¿¿¿ 39
PART II THE TRUTH ABOUT MOTIVATION
Truth 12¿ Why Many Workers Aren’t Motivated at Work Today¿¿¿¿ 43
Truth 13¿ Telling Employees to “Do Your Best” I sn’t Likely to Achieve Their Best¿¿¿¿ 47
Truth 14¿ Not Everyone Wants to Participate in Setting Goals¿¿¿¿ 51
Truth 15¿ Professional Workers Go for the Flow¿¿¿¿ 55
Truth 16¿ When Giving Feedback: Criticize Behaviors, Not People¿¿¿¿ 59
Truth 17¿ Managing Across the Generation Gap¿¿¿¿ 63
Truth 18¿ You Get What You Reward¿¿¿¿ 67
Truth 19¿ It’s All Relative!¿¿¿¿ 71
Truth 20¿ Recognition Motivates (and It Costs Very Little!)¿¿¿¿ 75
Truth 21¿ There’s More to High Employee Performance Than Just Motivation¿¿¿¿ 79
PART III THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Truth 22¿ Five Leadership Myths Debunked¿¿¿¿ 83
Truth 23¿ The Essence of Leadership Is Trust¿¿¿¿ 87
Truth 24¿ Experience Counts! Wrong!¿¿¿¿ 91
Truth 25¿ Effective Leaders Know How to Frame Issues¿¿¿¿ 95
Truth 26¿ You Get What You Expect¿¿¿¿ 99
Truth 27¿ Charisma Can Be Learned¿¿¿¿ 103
Truth 28¿ Charisma Is Not Always an Asset¿¿¿¿ 107
Truth 29¿ Make Others Dependent on You¿¿¿¿ 111
Truth 30¿ Successful Leaders Are Politically Adept¿¿¿¿ 115
Truth 31¿ Ethical Leadership¿¿¿¿ 119
Truth 32¿ Virtual Leadership: Leading from Afar¿¿¿¿ 123
Truth 33¿ Adjust Your Leadership Style for Cultural Differences, or When in Rome¿¿¿¿ 127
PART IV THE TRUTH ABOUT COMMUNICATION
Truth 34¿ Hearing Isn’t Listening¿¿¿¿ 131
Truth 35¿ Listen to the Grapevine¿¿¿¿ 135
Truth 36¿ Men and Women Communicate Differently¿¿¿¿ 139
Truth 37¿ What You Do Overpowers What You Say¿¿¿¿ 143
Truth 38¿ The Value of Silence¿¿¿¿ 147
Truth 39¿ Watch Out for Digital Distractions¿¿¿¿ 151
PART V THE TRUTH ABOUT BUILDING TEAMS
Truth 40¿ What We Know That Makes Teams Work¿¿¿¿ 155
Truth 41¿ 2 + 2 Doesn’t Necessarily Equal 4¿¿¿¿ 159
Truth 42¿ The Value of Diversity on Teams¿¿¿¿ 163
Truth 43¿ We’re Not All Equal: Status Matters!¿¿¿¿ 167
Truth 44¿ Not Everyone Is Team Material¿¿¿¿ 171
PART VI THE TRUTH ABOUT MANAGING CONFLICTS
Truth 45¿ The Case FOR Conflict¿¿¿¿¿ 175
Truth 46¿ Beware of Groupthink¿¿¿¿ 179
Truth 47¿ How to Reduce Work—Life Conflicts¿¿¿¿ 183
Truth 48¿ Negotiating Isn’t About Winning and Losing¿¿¿¿ 187
PART VII THE TRUTH ABOUT DESIGNING JOBS
Truth 49¿ Not Everyone Wants a Challenging Job¿¿¿¿ 191
Truth 50¿ Four Job-Design Actions That Will Make Employees More Productive¿¿¿¿ 195
PART VIII THE TRUTH ABOUT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Truth 51¿ Annual Reviews: The Best Surprise Is No Surprise!¿¿¿¿ 199
Truth 52¿ Don’t Blame Me! The Role of Self-Serving Bias¿¿¿¿ 203
Truth 53¿ Judging Others: Tips for Making Better Decisions¿¿¿¿ 207
Truth 54¿ The Case for 360-Degree Feedback Appraisals: More IS Better!¿¿¿¿ 211
PART IX THE TRUTH ABOUT COPING WITH CHANGE
Truth 55¿ Most People Resist Any Change That Doesn’t Jingle in Their Pockets!¿¿¿¿ 215
Truth 56¿ Use Participation to Reduce Resistance to Change¿¿¿¿ 219
Truth 57¿ Employee Turnover Can Be a Good Thing¿¿¿¿ 223
Truth 58¿ In Cutbacks: Don’t Neglect the Survivors¿¿¿¿¿ 227
Truth 59¿ Beware of the Quick Fix¿¿¿¿ 231
References¿¿¿¿ 235