The World's Best Book Summaries
Do you know how to build an effective team? Is your current team failing to work cohesively? Claire Hughes Johnson recognizes that the work isn’t finished after you’ve hired the best candidates to round out your team. On the contrary, you must take active steps to integrate these new employees successfully into the team. Let’s examine three steps that Hughes Johnson recommends for building and sustaining effective teams.
What’s it like working in a team environment? What makes a team environment healthy? Once you’ve started delegating work to your team members to tackle key projects, Claire Hughes Johnson recommends you continuously develop a healthy team environment. There are two primary modes of doing this: offsites, which are multiple-day events outside the office, and regular meetings. Continue reading for more on the two modes that create an environment your employees are comfortable in.
What’s hypothesis-based coaching? What are ways to coach your employees to success? Claire Hughes Johnson says that hypothesis-based coaching—which we’ll call inquisitive coaching—is when you informally share your observations of your employees to guide them to better performance. Inquisitive coaching has three steps. Keep reading to learn how to coach employees using these three steps.
Is it time for you to evaluate employees? What are the three parts of an employee review? Claire Hughes Johnson points out that managers should implement formal reviews that occur on a consistent basis. Such reviews have three parts: gathering feedback from various sources, adjusting that feedback to account for irregularities, and determining any changes to compensation. Discover how to write employee reviews that are thorough and helpful.
What is a business operating system? How does accountability improve a company? Claire Hughes Johnson notes that your operating system—the set of underlying norms that outline how your company functions—allows your company to function effectively. She discusses three subsystems that are essential to your operating system: constructing strategy, ensuring accountability, and fostering communication. Here’s more on the three subsystems of a business operating system.
Do you know how to mentor employees? What is inquisitive coaching? Claire Hughes Johnson recognizes that management’s work doesn’t end with the formation of a thriving team. On the contrary, she holds that managers should continue to develop the skills of their employees through active instruction. Let’s discuss Hughes Johnson’s informal approach to mentoring employees.
Do you have too much on your plate? What’s the most you can handle in a workday? Human beings are asked to juggle a lot in their lives. Many people have jobs, families, and social lives. The only way to avoid collapsing under the weight is to prioritize everything. Find out how to prioritize workload tasks so you can balance everything.
What’s a leadershift? What changes must you make if you want to keep growing as a leader? In his book Leadershift, John Maxwell argues that today’s leaders must abandon traditional management practices and make “leadershifts.” This is the word he uses to describe changes in how people think, communicate, and act as leaders. Continue reading for an overview of Leadershift.
Do you need other people? Are you a giver or a taker? Do you tend to run ahead of others and leave them behind? Many leaders think in terms of what’s best for themselves and base their decisions on their personal goals and opinions. John C. Maxwell writes that, to be an effective leader, you must prioritize your team’s needs over your personal ambitions. Keep reading for Maxwell’s advice on how to practice selflessness in leadership.
Do you have positional authority? Do you have moral authority? Which is more powerful? As a leader, you must develop your influence over others. To do so, you must gain moral authority—respect and recognition for exemplary personal qualities, values, and actions. Having positional authority may force people to follow you, but earning moral authority makes people want to follow you. Read more to learn how to earn moral authority as a leader.