Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management

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Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management

Companies with individual contributors being promoted tomanagers sometimes take the sink or swim approach with the transition requiredto become a successful leader. Numerous books have been published on the topic,and filtering out the ideas from this mountain of written advice is a task fewhave the time or experience to do. Fortunately, Pragmatic Bookshelf hasreleased a book targeted at application development organizations, written inthe endearing style and matter-of-fact approach that has made their books sopopular among its readers.

Authors Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby, both experiencedproduct management consultants, walk through the first seven weeks of a newmanager s daily tasks and dialogs with supervisors, peers, and direct reports.Each of these simulated scenarios teaches valuable and popular managementtechniques. Some of the more notable nuggets of knowledge include focusing onthe funded work, assigning a work buddy to new hires, affinity grouping ofideas, learning how to delegate, seeking opportunities to practice new skills,re-planning with your team, defining what success means, creating anenvironment of trust, and Manage By Walking Around & Listening (MBWAL).

The final portion of the book offers worksheets andtechniques that include guidelines for effective coaching, facilitation essentialsfor managers, how to give effective feedback, the checklist to welcome newhires, setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound)goals, how to run effective meetings, and several excellent project portfolioplanning tips.

Experienced managers will find the bulk of the book to belike most management books obvious best practices that are easily preachedbut often inconsistently practiced. Great managers continue to sharpen the saw (yes, this quote is the seventh habit from one of the most popular andfrequently cited management books, Stephen R. Covey s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) by taking these techniquesseriously and making a conscious effort to practice them daily in some form oranother. Yet for those leaders who are unable to spend as much time as theyprefer to coach new managers such tenants, BehindClosed Doors can serve as a concise handbook for management techniques thatshould be imbued by any team player wishing to maximize their effectiveness.

About the only criticism I have, besides the fact thatthere are no new, innovative management secrets shared in the book, is that theauthors could have painted some nasty scenarios involving the corporatepolitics that really occur behind closed doors in an acrimonious workenvironment and how best to eradicate these practices or recognize when toleave the company when corrective efforts are beyond hope. It s an unpleasantpart of business that is a reality in some circumstances, and recognizing thesigns would be valuable knowledge for any manager to learn and apply thesolution to the problem head-on.

Even though this was written with the target audience ofsoftware development in mind, its contents are universal enough to apply to anyproject management task.

Mike Riley

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Title: Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of GreatManagement

Authors:Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby

Publisher:Pragmatic Bookshelf

ISBN:0-9766940-2-6

Web Site: http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/rdbcd/index.html

Price: US$24.95

Page Count: 192