Synopses & Reviews
Whether you have recently been appointed as a group leader or are a battle-scarred veteran, you know that managing professional people is difficult! In this unique handbook, Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister argue that leaders will best enable their people to achieve peak performance not by managing them, not by leading them, but by inspiring them. The authors show you how to actually add value as a group leader or induce people to accept your guidance, even with intelligent professionals who are often free-agents accustomed to having automony to work on grueling assignments with little supervision. They also give advice on how to handle those oh-so-talented but oh-so-annoying professionals who exhibit attitude problems or are just exceedingly difficult to work with, when you need them but they tend to needle you. andlt;BRandgt; The lessons and learnings presented here will give you insights and action tips to help you provoke and inspire your people to their full potential.
Review
Jim Shaffer
author of The Leadership Solution
This book is truly a fire hose of practical, proven, workable advice and counsel that is intimately sensitive to the very special demands of professionals. It may well become the most dog-eared book in every firm -- and with good reason.
Review
"This is a timely, easy-to-read work leavened with action plans and examples."andlt;BRandgt; -- Harvard Business School Working Knowledge for Business Leaders
Review
"This book makes a unique and very useful contribution to the field of leadership and management of professionals. It captures both fundamental principles that are characteristic of the better firms as well as offering dozens of practical specifics."andlt;BRandgt; -- Jon R. Katzenbach, coauthor of andlt;Iandgt;The Wisdom of Teamsandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;The Discipline of Teams,andlt;/Iandgt; and author of andlt;Iandgt;Peak Perfomanceandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
Jim Shaffer
author of The Leadership Solution
This book is truly a fire hose of practical, proven, workable advice and counsel that is intimately sensitive to the very special demands of professionals. It may well become the most dog-eared book in every firm -- and with good reason.
Review
Nancy K. Austin
co-author of A Passion for Excellence
First Among Equals delivers for newcomers and old pros alike. McKenna and Maister -- polished professionals both -- know how to work with enormously talented people, and they write with the kind of reassurance and calm confidence a professional group leader craves. The book's hands-on checklists are flat-out superb.
Review
andlt;Iandgt;"First Among Equalsandlt;/Iandgt; is a treasure chest of extraordinary value. Open it up and between its covers you'll find an unparalleled source of wisdom from two highly seasoned and extraordinarily credible professionals. McKenna and Maister turn the often elusive and obscure concept of leadership into something tangible and accessible. With rich detail and straight talk, they offer practical lessons, usable tools, and case examples from the real world. This is advice and counsel you can trust, and every manager of professionals (no, every manager in any setting) should take it to heart."andlt;BRandgt; -- Jim Kouzes, coauthor of andlt;Iandgt;The Leadership Challengeandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Encouraging the Heartandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"This is a timely, easy-to-read work leavened with action plans and examples."
-- Harvard Business School Working Knowledge for Business Leaders
Review
"This book makes a unique and very useful contribution to the field of leadership and management of professionals. It captures both fundamental principles that are characteristic of the better firms as well as offering dozens of practical specifics."
-- Jon R. Katzenbach, coauthor of The Wisdom of Teams and The Discipline of Teams, and author of Peak Perfomance
Review
"First Among Equals is a treasure chest of extraordinary value. Open it up and between its covers you'll find an unparalleled source of wisdom from two highly seasoned and extraordinarily credible professionals. McKenna and Maister turn the often elusive and obscure concept of leadership into something tangible and accessible. With rich detail and straight talk, they offer practical lessons, usable tools, and case examples from the real world. This is advice and counsel you can trust, and every manager of professionals (no, every manager in any setting) should take it to heart."
-- Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart
Synopsis
Professional service gurus David Maister and Patrick McKenna have created a practical handbook on how to lead professional colleagues or peers when you lack formal authority. Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge calls it "a timely, easy to read work leavened with action plans and examples."
Whether you have recently been appointed as a group leader or are a battle-scarred veteran, you know that managing professional people is difficult In this unique handbook, Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister argue that leaders will best enable their people to achieve peak performance not by managing them, not by leading them, but by inspiring them.
The authors show you how to actually add value as a group leader or induce people to accept your guidance, even with intelligent professionals who are often free-agents accustomed to having automony to work on grueling assignments with little supervision. They also give advice on how to handle those oh-so-talented but oh-so-annoying professionals who exhibit attitude problems or are just exceedingly difficult to work with, when you need them but they tend to needle you.
The lessons and learning presented here will give you insights and action tips to help you provoke and inspire your people to their full potential.
Synopsis
Whether you have recently been appointed as a group leader or are a battle-scarred veteran, you know that managing professional people is difficult! In this unique handbook, Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister argue that leaders will best enable their people to achieve peak performance not by managing them, not by leading them, but by inspiring them. The authors show you how to actually add value as a group leader or induce people to accept your guidance, even with intelligent professionals who are often free-agents accustomed to having automony to work on grueling assignments with little supervision. They also give advice on how to handle those oh-so-talented but oh-so-annoying professionals who exhibit attitude problems or are just exceedingly difficult to work with, when you need them but they tend to needle you.
The lessons and learnings presented here will give you insights and action tips to help you provoke and inspire your people to their full potential.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Patrick J. McKennaandlt;/Bandgt; is a widely recognized expert on managing professional service firms and a partner in Edge International in Edmonton, Canada, a consulting firm serving professional service firms throughout the world. Mr. McKenna is the coauthor of two Canadian Top 10 management bestsellers, andlt;Iandgt;Beyond Knowingandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Herding Cats.andlt;/Iandgt;David H. Maister, one of the world's leading authorities on the management of professional service firms, is the author of several successful books, including andlt;iandgt;Managing the Professional Service Firm, True Professionalism,andlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;Practice What You Preach,andlt;/iandgt; and coauthor of andlt;iandgt;The Trusted Advisor.andlt;/iandgt;
Table of Contents
andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Introductionandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;PART ONEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;GETTING READYandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. CLARIFY YOUR ROLEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How, exactly, do you add value as a group leader?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. CONFIRM YOUR MANDATEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Is there an explicit agreement about your rights and responsibilities?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS -- ONE AT A TIMEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;What are the key skills you must have?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. DARE TO BE INSPIRINGandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Do you know how to inspire people?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;PART TWOandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;COACHING THE INDIVIDUALandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. WIN PERMISSION TO COACHandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you get people to accept your guidance?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6. LISTEN TO BUILD RAPPORTandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Do people think you are a good listener?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7. DEAL DIFFERENTLY WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How can you understand and respond to people's differences?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;8. HELP UNDERPERFORMERSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How can you be useful to those who need assistance?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;9. TACKLE THE PRIMA DONNASandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you deal with difficult people?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;10. BUILD SUPPORT FOR CHANGEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you get people to buy into the need for change?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;PART THREEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;COACHING THE TEAMandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;11. CLARIFY GROUP GOALSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Does your group have specific, clearly articulated, shared objectives?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;12. DEVELOP YOUR GROUP'S RULES OF MEMBERSHIPandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;What do members of your group owe to each other?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;13. BUILD TEAM TRUSTandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;What gets group members to trust each other? andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;14. THROW DOWN A CHALLENGEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Has your group selected an exciting challenge?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;15. ENERGIZE YOUR MEETINGSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;What are good meeting disciplines?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;16. GIVE RECOGNITIONandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you acknowledge accomplishments?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;17. RESOLVE INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;What do you do when team members fall out?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;18. DEAL WITH YOUR CRISESandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you respond to dramatic events?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;PART FOURandlt;BRandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;BUILDING FOR THE FUTUREandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;19. NURTURE YOUR JUNIORSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you deal with your junior staff?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;20. INTEGRATE NEW PEOPLEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you ensure the success of new hires?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;21. CONTROL YOUR GROUP'S SIZEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you respond to the problems of size?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;22. MEASURE GROUP RESULTSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;How do you measure your group's success?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;23. WHY BOTHER?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Why would you want to do all this?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Notes on Sourcesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Further Readingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;/Iandgt;