Few work situations are more difficult than being stuck with a boss that can’t lead. Make a move in any direction and you risk antagonising your superior or your sub-ordinates. Any achievements will probably have your boss’s name all over it! John Baldoni, in Lead Your Boss, provides middle managers with a roadmap for how they can successfully lead their organizations from the middle.
This invaluable guide helps middle managers cultivate the balanced, cohesive, and passionate leadership style called “managing up.” It’s a style that works from the middle ranks, where leadership often entails influencing your boss, your peers, and those who report to you—all of whom are favorably affected by your commitment and contributions. Managing up, then, is about building those traits that are most admired and appreciated, such as integrity, energy, empathy, resilience, and big-picture thinking—classic leadership traits that propel people from any organizational rank on a fast track upward.
Companies, especially in today’s economic climate, need everyone to contribute their best thinking and best leadership. Innovation and competitiveness cannot come just from the top. The book tells these managers how they can become a person of influence and action in order to achieve positive outcomes for their organizations. It is full of useful insights and practical suggestions.
At the same time, Baldoni doesn't promise a "rose garden." His advice is realistic about the risks involved in being persistent and assertive when some top level leaders might not want this from their direct reports.
You can open the book at any chapter and begin there. Each chapter can stand alone. Baldoni gives managers new—as well as tried-and-true—methods for influencing both their bosses and their peers, and giving senior leaders reasons to follow their lead. Filled with inspiring stories of people who accomplished great things by employing their skills, energy, and influence for the greater good—Eleanor Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Sir Edmund Hillary, Paul Newman, and others Lead Your Boss reveals how to
• Think strategically, challenging yourself and your team to be more innovative
• Cultivate criticism and honest feedback as important components of growth and improvement
• Coach your team in the 3Cs (coordinate, cooperate, and collaborate) of working together in a mutually beneficial way
• Persuade others to listen to your ideas, overcoming obstacles and turning influence into leadership
• Challenge assumptions without challenging the individual above you, and break down often daunting resistance to change
• Exhibit resiliency in the face of adversity, turning setbacks into comebacks
• Put people into positions where they can succeed—then stand aside and let them
This is must holiday reading for any manager who wants to make a significant contribution to the success of the organization while at the same time is looking for career advancement. Leading from the middle requires a combination of talent and skill, and Baldoni's new book shows us how.
