Title | : | Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 0688039693 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9780688039691 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Hardcover |
Number of Pages | : | 111 |
Publication | : | First published October 6, 1985 |
If your management motto is "everyone should be treated equally," Leadership and the One Minute Manager. will show you why this style not only hinders workplace efficiency, but also frustrates your staff.
Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership Reviews
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The only thing worse than being wrong is being useless, and this book is rather useless.
Much like "FISH!" this book is a fictional scenario meant to illustrate how their techniques can help you become a successful manager. The story centers around "the Entrepreneur" and "the One Minute Manager." Yes, that's the only way they're referred to in this volume, reminding me of the "Who Moved My Cheese" structure. Might I suggest that writing intended for grown men and women who are supposed to manage other grown men and women maybe shouldn't have the structure and writing style of "Go, Dog, Go!" or "Green Eggs and Ham"? It just reeks of condescension.
Beyond the spoonful of sugar reasoning for the fictional structure, a part of me has much more cynical theories about why it's not just a work of nonfiction. Allow me to number them corporate style.
1. Inflated Length - The actual guidance information could be condensed into a pamphlet. I bookmarked every page with concrete information, and I think I dog-eared maybe 10 pages out of 110. Fiction, especially with wide margins, diagrams, and many pages not completely filled for stylistic reasons, gives you something thick enough to slap an ISBN number on.
2. Avoiding Research - In nonfiction, especially responsible nonfiction, you'd have to bring evidence to back up your claims that this approach is practical and works. Studies and pier-reviewed articles would need to be cited, journals and news articles read, the whole thing might actually need a bibliography for god sakes! Why do all that when you can structure it like it's an Aesop's Fable for the corporate set?
3. Easy Examples - This somewhat ties into research, but the benefit of fiction, as I mentioned with works like Ayn Rand's and "FISH!" is that you can generate a picture-perfect scenario that fits all your theories. Blanchard doesn't give us real cases where his quadrant of methods worked, he gives us the almost hyperbolically successful, nameless Entrepreneur, who by the end of the book is a CEO overseeing multiple companies. The damning problem with this is the fictional scenario doesn't get specific enough to make the advice practical.
And that's the part that ultimately breaks Leadership and the One Minute Manager, the advice just isn't that useful. It's theoretical high-level wishful thinking. It doesn't help you when things go wrong, because like a lot of these books, it refuses to acknowledge bad employees, defiant employees, or even thoughtful dissent. You're either working with the program or you don't exist. Real-world success stories with interviews and working how-to data would have gone great lengths to help here.
I watched two different TED Talks, one by a former Brigadeer General, and another by a chinese scientist, and in different words they basically said the same thing. The military man outlined that leadership was about feeling for a person, understanding a person, and helping a person. The Chinese scientist was more concerned with it on a level of compassion, but stated the three basic areas:
Thinking, Feeling, Doing. The Brigadeer General spent his career learning this, the scientist researched this. They have working data to support their conclusions and cited it even in their brief talks.
All these books seem like a lame substitute for being a compassionate, thoughtful human being. -
I am trying to cull my large leadership and management library I collected over the years. I left the stars blank because at this point in my life, I would say this short primer on situational leadership was OK, 2.5 stars. If I was a newbie getting into this topic for the first time, I would give it 4 stars as it is clear & to the point in its descriptions of this leadership theory. The story presentation is its real drawback for me. It reminded me of the awful training videos that accompanied many of the leadership and management programs that were required from time to time as I moved through the ranks of the organization.
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Quote from the book:
“The golden rule,” said Randall.
“The golden rule?” Echoed the entrepreneur.
“Whoever owns the gold makes the rules,” laughed Randall.
This is a key problem with the world but, so many people celebrate and live their lives this way. Makes me sad.
(Reading it for work, case in point) -
Хүн болгон адилгүй хүлэг болгон өөр гэдэг шиг байгууллагын ажилтан бүрт өөр өөр харилцаа шаарддаг аж
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Loved the apollo analogy.
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As a young university graduate I think I learned a lot from this book. It was short and up to the point, so it was nice to read. I also really liked how the whole book was a conversation between two people.
My favourite quote from the book was "There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals"!! Taking a moment to analyze this phrase I realized it not only apply to businesses but to everyday life. -
Content fine, stylistically horribly grating
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Очень лаконичная и ясная книга.
Если подрезюмировать её суть - в большинстве случаев, ваш сотрудник, партнёр, любой контрагент по деловым и не только процессам - это инструмент. Как инструмент он не плохой, и не хороший, он просто на определённом уровне качества способен выполнять некоторые необходимые вам функции.
И тут максимально важно подобрать к этому человеку правильный способ руководства. Не забивать микроскопом гвозди, не носить воду решетом. Не требовать того, что человек по той или иной причине не в состоянии сделать. А командовать, наставлять, поддерживать, а позже и доверять в нужном русле. Иногда меняя стили, иногда чередуя, а иногда и прекращая сотрудничество. Это тоже иногда полезно, причём для обоих сторон.
Всё это изложено максимально просто, сжато и по делу. Читается быстро. Рекомендую не пропускать. -
3.90/5.00
Highly impressive that even after all these years, so many of the ideas and guidelines from the book stand the test of time in most of the corporate environments in 2022 and probably beyond.
Why only 3.90 then? Not the biggest fan of the chosen mode for narration, dialogue instead of more of an academic style of writing. Still, as I already mentioned, very solid stuff still. -
There is nothing in this book about effective leadership skills that I disagree with. But….
Recommended for the people who love to attend those corporate 'Leadership' trainings.
(Sadly, I am not one of them)
Pongalswamy asked, "Who asks you to read 'leadership' books, when you dislike those anyway?"
"I couldn't resist the offer in the last sales. And, moreover, see - my Goodreads reading challenge is ticking," I replied. -
Obligated to read this for work. Some of the concepts were sound, but the writing was painful. Felt weirdly targeted towards children? With a fairytale ending to boot.
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Pretty interesting idea but, as other commentators have noted, hardly enough to fill a book and the authors use every shortcut available to get to 140 pages. I could have done without the cheesy format as well (it's a fictional framework but apparently nobody could think of better names for the two main characters than The Enterpreneur and The One Minute Manager - even though there's three authors!).
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Not bad. Very practical information. I like the conversational type of the book; it made me imagine like im just having a good conversation with the author.
It lacks the importance of data research and the current trends. Still, it is a good primer for lost and confused entrepreneurs.
I read the updated edition. -
I like to mix in some self-help and career development books here and there. I tend to not do this too often because I don’t want reading to ever feel like a chore - reading it very much my way of decompressing.
This was a quick read with some great insight into situation leadership and management styles. I don’t currently manage any people but I’m a big believer in always preparing for the future. This book also helped me understand situational leadership from my own perspective of being an employee. I’ve had 4 managers in the last 1.5 years so this book helped to put some things in perspective for me.
1. “The One Minute Manager’s symbol - a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch - is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. And to realize that they are our most important resources.”
2. Don’t work harder - work smarter.”
3. “Different strokes for different folks.”
4. “When I slow down, I Go Faster.”
5. “Everyone has peak performance potential - you just need to know where they are coming from and meet them there.”
6. “The more I know, the more I realize I don’t know.”
7. “Leaders need to do what the people they supervise can’t do for themselves at the present moment.”
8. “You can expect more if you inspect more.”
9. “When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, we did it ourselves!”
10. “Reprimands do not teach skills, but are only effective in getting good performers back in line when they’ve developed a poor attitude toward their work.”
11. “Situational leadership is not something you do to people but something you do with people.”
12. “Everyone is a potential high performer. Some people just need a little help along the way.” -
Fun book to read with some simple, yet profound wisdom. It’s a simple narrative to express the meaning behind being a situational leader; such a powerful concept.
Being a situational leader basically means you adapt your leadership style to meet your people where they’re at. There are 4 leadership styles, which correspond to 4 developmental phases. Phase 1 follower, we have low competency, so we need high direction. Phase 2 follower, we have some competency, so we need a little less direction and lots of support. Phase 3 follower, we have moderate competency, and becoming more autonomous, so we need little direction and lots of support. Phase 4, the follower is running the show, so we need little direction and little support.
Bigger takeaway for me was that it’s very very important to discuss this upfront with your subordinate and align on exactly what phase you believe they are currently in. Once done, you need to align on the leadership phase you’ll manage with. Overtime, you follow up on these phases and how progress is being made. As subordinates become more competent and more autonomous, they need less leadership, so we adjust our style accordingly and realign.
Only feedback is just that the whole book could be condensed into a few pages, or at least wrapped up at the end with a great summary. The narrative is nice, but kind of trivial at moments.
Great read! Definitely putting this into practice! -
This is a simple book about how to become a better manager. It's designed to be read efficiently so the busy working person can read it in-between meetings, at lunch, or during the week before holiday break when the office is mostly dead. Since that is it's goal, it achieves it, and I recommend this book to managers who don't have a lot of time on their hands.
While reading it, I found that I already do some of the techniques mentioned in the book, which was a relief, but now there was a fancy name attached to it. There's an attempt at narrative to keep the reader's interest while others might find it pedantic. A word of advice: don't expect a lot from this book, and you'll come away having learned something. I really do believe the material in here was interesting and valuable, even if I could've done without the imaginary employees.
What struck me the most was how Blanchard discusses that different people need different management styles, and sometimes people need a manager who's more encouraging and supportive than authoritarian. Even though this was written in the 80s, the time of big business and gluttonous commercialism, this was insightful. People make fun of millennials for constantly needing praise in the workforce, when this book illustrates that's not true. Everyone needs it at some point in their careers. Take that, grumpy old people.
Again, if you're a manager looking to spruce up your skills, I recommend reading this book. It's quick, easy, to the point, and the narrative isn't really that bad. Sure, the stories it presents are idyllic and don't illustrate scenarios with "bad" employees, but I still think managers can take the points raised in this book and apply them to those individuals as well as everyone else. -
Ač se nezdá, jeden příběh kniha má, kde neúspěšná podnikatelka k Minutovému manažeru do firmy zavítá. K tomu, aby se úspěšnější ve svém oboru stala, musela pochopit, že nestačilo pouze delegovat. Minutový manažer Vám ukáže, že na to existují daleko efektivnější nástroje. Metoda situačního vedení je pro řízení firmy ideální, neboť je dostatečně flexibilní. Vysvětlí Vám, že pro lepší plnění cílů je nutné provést úrovňovou diagnostiku, díky které se manažer rozhodne, jaké vedení uplatní na své zaměstnance. 😊
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Even though it doesn't seem, one story the book will give, where unsuccessful businesswoman comes to One Minute Manager's firm. In order to become more successful in her field, she has to get that is not enough to delegate. The One Minute Manager will show you, there are more effective tools to do. The method of situational leadership is the best for management of the firm, because it is very flexible. For better accomplishment of their goals, it is necessary to find their level diagnose, thanks to that the manager will decide, which kind of leadership on his employees will apply. 😊 -
It’s not that this book doesn’t have something helpful to share: it does. It’s just that there is so much here that... isn’t. The basic information is summed up in two very clear flow charts: one on leadership styles, and another on the development levels of those you lead. These flow charts are helpful and concise. Unfortunately, they are presented as part of a fiction narrative between two main characters.
Most of this book is the “One Minute Manager,” CEO of several fictional companies, leading “The Entrepreneur” through various conversations with fictional employees, who testify to the One Minute Manager’s effectiveness in leading them differently based on their roles, experience, and development levels. Few will need this in order to better understand two flow charts. Instead, it comes across as condescending and frustrating.
So, the content itself is probably worth more than two stars, but the presentation brings it right back down. -
Desde a época da minha pós-graduação já era fã dos livros acadêmicos do Sr. Blanchard. Porém, não sabia que o autor tinha livros simplificados para demonstrar tão densa teoria.
Este, assim com "Os 7 hábitos das pessoas altamente eficazes" pode ser facilmente encontrando e confundido com aqueles livros de "autoajuda empresarial". Não se engane, apesar de simples, o texto é embasado em inúmeras pesquisas conduzidas pelo autor e seus influenciadores.
Por meio de uma parábola narrativa, Blanchard exemplifica muitos dos conceitos de liderança situacional, em especial o modelo dos 4 níveis de maturidade. De tudo que já li a respeito, este é o modelo que mais concordo e que mais resultado me traz quando consigo aplicar com sucesso.
Indico fortemente a todos: "por um mundo com mais líderes situacionais". =)) -
Not working harder, but working smarter. Sounds great, but where do you start ?
The book ‘Leadership and the One Minute Manager’ shows a way to get the best out of your team members by tailoring your own leadership style to the level of development of each team member.
Crucial in this model are : together setting clear targets and having clear agreements on form and the level of guidance.
An all-round manager helps his team members to reach their agreed targets and helps them grow into competent and dedicated managers.
No one in your team is on the same level with all tasks, so you’ll use different leadership styles depending on the task.
The challenge as a future situational leader is not so much this new leadership model but rather getting this model introduced into your team.
TONY VYNCKIER -
I'm a big fan of leadership books that explain concepts and then give real-world examples to illustrate the manifestation of the concept. One Minute Manager is not one of those books. Instead, the author uses a fictional narrative between the "One Minute Manager" and a leader in another organization to explain all of his concepts. It comes across as clunky story-telling with unrealistic dialogue.
That being said, the leadership principles taught in this book are sound. Situational leadership, while difficult to master, is an excellent leadership style to adopt as you manage relationships. -
This book focuses on how to treat employees to get the best out of them.
Situational leadership is clearly explained with the help of a few diagrams, easy to understand and apply. Specifically, this book is useful to the management graduates who are going to work for any organization or highly recommended for entrepreneurs.
One of my favorite lines in this is "There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals"!!
If one reads the book and analyzes thoroughly one will understand that each phrase is not only useful in any organization but also in every possible situation where a group or team is involved. -
En ledarskapsbok som faktiskt säger något om ledarskap, hallelujah! I detta fallet situationsanpassat sådant och lite om ledarstilar. Minus för irriterande inspelad-dialog-prosa. Trots sin tunna förpackning och framtoning en av de bättre i McManagement-genren jag - motvilligt, initialt - närmat mig på sistone. The Dark Side för en antikapitalistisk humanist, men visst, allt är egentligen psykologi.