Title: Suddenly in Charge
Author: Roberta Chinsky Matuson
It’s been a while since I read a management book from cover to cover.
What I normally do is pick one up, select a chapter and read the elements that I think I will find most useful – I work in the NHS and deliver management training programmes, but I also lecture on a part-time basis at the local university.
This book is unusual in that it is really two books in one. You open it on one side and read ‘Managing Up’ and then flip it over to read ‘Managing Down’. There’s no correct starting point, of course, and you can choose whichever one you feel is the most appropriate.
Personally, I started with managing up, mostly because it seemed a little ’alien’ and I love a challenge. We seem to spend a lot of time looking at how we can improve the performance of and our relationships with the people who report into us, but how much time do we devote to building an effective relationship with our own managers?
This book enabled me to take time to reflect and, for me, the highlight was the section entitled ‘dealing with a bad boss’. Fortunately, I’m not in that position and haven’t been for years, but with the changes that are happening all around us, it could happen. The skills outlined could also be used by anyone in everyday life when dealing with people that they just find plain difficult, however.
‘Flying below the radar screen’ is something we can all learn to do on occasion and I, for one, know some people who make a career out of it. That’s not what is recommended here though. It’s about keeping your head down at times. A bit like the British weather, if you wait long enough, things are guaranteed to change.
Managing down
The ‘Five ways to toot your horn’ segment is excellent, although there are actually six points listed. That aside, the principles are good and are something at which a lot of us need to get better. It’s no longer enough just to do a good job. We also need to be seen to do a good job and publicise the fact to others too, especially those with strategic decision-making roles.
But I think there are some excellent tips in the managing down element as well, especially for new managers, at whom this book is primarily aimed. You have to get your head around the Americanisms – in the UK, we tend not to use phrases such as ‘trading’ or ‘terminating people’ as they have certain connotations. Or maybe I’ve just been out of the private sector too long.
Certainly, in these difficult times, some organisations may be excited at the prospect of releasing employees with whom they have had performance issues, dressing the situation up as ‘redundancies’. All that I would say is tread with care because, unless conducted properly, these scenarios can come back to bite you.
There is some particularly good advice under the ‘establishing credibility and building trust’ section though. While the advice may be just plain, old common sense, it’s good to see it spelled out.
This book is something that I will point new and aspiring managers in the direction of. It isn’t full of the usual management models and certainly isn’t an academic text, but it doesn’t pretend to be. Instead it’s a common sense approach to work from which we could all benefit.
- The reviewer this time was Alison Love.
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