I’m a low level technocrat with a small team of technical specialists. I know my stuff and can push my guys towards quality work but I am by objective benchmarks (or KPIs if you prefer) managerially rubbish.
Can the Doper Hivemind suggest any suitable management texts? I like what I do, and don’t want to rise above this very modest station. If I can get away with adopting zero of the habits of highly effective people, that would suit me just fine.
Someone else can aspire to work a 3 hour day, and have a dazzling smile, a permanent tan and be distruptive or whatever it is this week. I just want to make managerial and admin stuff go away as quickly as possible so I can do what I might actually be competent at.
Surely there must be self-help books for the also rams as well as those for the pathologically controlling who want to rise to the top.
Your suggestions please.
Ps I’ve already mined Dilbert for ideas.
I once had a manager who handed me this book when I started working for him and told me that it contained his management philosophy. He turned out to be a great manager, who mostly left me alone to do my work (he once had no contact with me, not even an email, for four months!) He did complain to me that *The One Minute Manager *works great for good employees, but was not nearly as effective in dealing with the incompetent or lazy ones.
I’d recommend “It’s Your Ship” by Michael Abrashoff. It’s a good read, and it’s relatively short and simple, and tends to reinforce some common sense things that all too often get lost in today’s corporate world as far as how managers relate to and treat their subordinates.
