Synopses & Reviews
It Takes Two presents a fresh perspective on the relationship between manager and managed, telling not how to manage your boss but how to manage yourself in the relationship with your boss.
The author's unique perspective on self-awareness and personal development can be applied to a wide variety of organizations. Based on extensive quantitative and qualitative research--including a base of more than seven hundred managers and interviews and self-analysis data with dozens of managers--this book maps the patterns of people's responses to authority relations and provides guidance on how to change yourself and the relationship to be more effective, satisfying, and productive. Drawing on examples from both business and politics--including such notable political figures as Oliver North and Ronald Reagan--Gene Boccialetti describes the three orientations of management relationships--accommodating, autonomous, adversarial--and shows how to identify one's own style and determine how well and under what circumstances it does and doesn't work.
Review
"This is the best work I have seen on developing effective relationships with superiors. It goes way beyond the simplistic notions and techniques of most 'managing your boss' books. It is carefully researched, insightful, and best of all, imminently practical." —John J. Gabarro, professor, Harvard Business School, and author of The Dynamics of Taking Charge
"By emphasizing managers' relationships with their boss managers, Gene presents an important new perspective on the impact of authority relations on organizational processes. This new perspective makes a valuable addition to the management training we conduct to support cultural change in our organization." —Peter M. Richardson, director of training, Seabrook Station nuclear power plant, Northeast Utilities
"Finally, an articulate guide on the importance of managing self in the relationship with your 'boss.' It Takes Two exposes the debilitating effects of the age old fin art of finger pointing at your leadership as the only cause of our organizational ills." —William A. Spenla, senior consultant, human resources, DuPont AG Productis
Synopsis
It Takes Two presents a fresh perspective on the relationship between manager and managed, telling not how to manage your boss but how to manage yourself in the relationship with your boss.The author's unique perspective on self-awareness and personal development can be applied to a wide variety of organizations. Based on extensive quantitative and qualitative research--including a base of more than seven hundred managers and interviews and self-analysis data with dozens of managers--this book maps the patterns of people's responses to authority relations and provides guidance on how to change yourself and the relationship to be more effective, satisfying, and productive. Drawing on examples from both business and politics--including such notable political figures as Oliver North and Ronald Reagan--Gene Boccialetti describes the three orientations of management relationships--accommodating, autonomous, adversarial--and shows how to identify one's own style and determine how well and under what circumstances it does and doesn't work.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-214) and index.
About the Author
GENE BOCCIALETTI is associate professor of Organizational Behavior at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, University of New Hampshire. He has taught at the Center for Creative Leadership and consulted and conducted workshops all across the country for such clients as Ford Motor Company, AT&T, the U.S. Air Force, and Helene Curtis Industries.
Table of Contents
1. Managing Yourself, Not the Boss: A Look at Your Style
2. Sharing Power with Your Boss: Questions of Deference
3. Being Up Close and Personal With Your Boss: Issues of Distance
4. Aligning with and Trusting Your Boss: Degrees of Divergence
5. Getting a True Picture of Yourself: Matters of Style
6. Being More Effective with Bosses: Adaptations of Style
7. Reversing the Lens: Dealing with Different Styles When You Are the Boss
8. Changing Authority Relations: Impacts on Organizational Processes
AppAndixes: A. Aspirations in the Development of a Theory B. Research Methodology C. Assessment Inventory Statistics D. Additional Findings of the Research