Having worked for the best leaders and the worst bosses (and everything in between) I (TD) decided to share some observations and techniques that have resulted in success, both as a manager and a leader. I read many books on management and leadership and always try to utilize the best ideas. After years of trial and error and success with a variety of management and leadership techniques, this book distills many of my experiences.
For the experienced managers and leaders, we hope this handbook acts as a refresher course. Even better, perhaps it will spark a few new ideas. From my (EZ) perspective, the best outcome of your reading this book is that you will find enough value to pass it on to your teams.
To those new to management and leadership, I hope this book will help you avoid the pitfalls I (TD) have experienced first-hand and those I have heard about while comparing notes with other managers and leaders. I also hope you will pick up some tips on how you can grow from being a "boss" to effectively managing, and even leading, your team to success.
When Ed and I started this book, the year was 2012 and we were just coming out of what is now called the "Great Recession". To say life in the US has changed would be an immense understatement. We are still in the throes of the Covid 19 Pandemic and the challenges leaders are now faced with are opposite than the challenges of the Great Recession. One example is the employment situation. During the Great Recession leaders struggled with how to keep talented employees versus today the challenge is finding talented employees. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in August of 2021 there were 10.4 million job openings compared to 6.4 million only one year ago.
If there ever was a need for strong, flexible corporate leadership, it is now. In today's workforce not only is a manager faced with the normal challenges of hiring high producers, providing training, motivating, mentoring and retaining top talent, today's leader is faced with a number of new challenges.
One of those new challenges is and will continue to be 'doing more with less'.
Most companies have learned to do a lot more with a lot less and consequently many workers are doing double or even triple duty. This was true during the Great Recession and, for different reasons, is true during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
As the economy changes, the challenges also change and evolve. As a Manager and Leader, you need to change with the times and the circumstances if you intend to stay employed and be of service to your team and a profit generator for your employer.
A commonly held theory is that companies evolve as follows: from survival to stability, stability to success and success to significance. (Zig Ziglar, Over the Top - From Survival to Significance). My observation is that today most businesses are somewhere between survival and stability; unfortunately, many have accepted this condition as the new normal. Occasionally, you see a company that is between stability and success or has even arrived at success. Have you ever wondered what the determining factors were that separates the companies that are barely making it and the ones that are enjoying success? The answer is quite simple; it all goes back to leadership.