Essential Managers: Managing Teams [Paperback]

Robert Heller (Author)

Book Description

Series: DK Essential Managers | Publication Date: April 26, 1999

The four new guides in this best-selling series are ideal for managers at every level. These compact references -- the most accessible single-subject business guides on the market -- demonstrate techniques and skills useful in any work environment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you're in charge of putting together or overseeing a work team, but you can't bring yourself to crack those gazillion-pound guides or weighty workbooks that you've been handed to help you, you'll love this nifty palm-size companion to every aspect of leading the crew. Here, you'll learn not only what makes a good team and how to balance individual skills within a team, but also how to set the whole thing up (from setting goals and establishing trust to creating a self-managed team, or taking on an existing one), improve its efficiency (by facilitating improved communication, running meetings, improving team standards, and getting everyone to deal with problems and think creatively), and ensure team success in the future through measuring team performance and tracking its progress, setting and meeting targets, rewarding good work, and adapting to change. On every snazzy little page, boxed tips, handy checklists, mini case studies, and easy-to-follow flow charts bring the whole team-leading process to life--from inception to long-term operation and planning. Granted, if you're looking for very specific or in-depth guidance, you might find this book too cursory and general in its approach. But, if you're looking for a thumbnail guide to the basics, it'll do just fine.

It's worth mentioning that the book is part of the "Essential Managers" series by reference publisher Dorling-Kindersley--a series comprising 20 itty-bitty books on business and career topics that range from communication, leadership, and decision-making to the management of time, budgets, change, meetings, people, projects, and teams. Combining the talent of the "For Dummies" book series for breaking down a lot of information into bite-sized bits and sidebars with Dorling-Kindersley's signature design style of crisp, classy graphics on a gleaming white backdrop, the books don't represent the cutting edge of business thinking or reflect necessarily any unique individual perspective. Instead, it's as if someone had collated the best general thinking on these 20 topics, and rolled them out into 72 brightly designed and easy-to-read pages--studded along the way with boxed tips, color shots of a multiracial cast of "coworkers" animatedly hashing through the workplace issues of the day, and, on the last few pages of each volume, a self-test of one's skills in the topic at hand. Again, they're not for anyone who's looking for more in-depth or focused help on any of the covered subjects, but they're perfect as a quick general-interest reference; and, let's face it, they're so damn cute, and look so smart in a neat little stack or row, that probably you'll want to buy a whole bunch to give as gifts to your entire staff or department. --Timothy Murphy

About the Author

Robert Heller is a leading authority on management consulting. He was the founding editor of Management Today, and as editorial director of Haymarket Publishing Group, he supervised the launch of a number of highly successful magazines including Campaign and Computing. He is founder of the Working Words, a consulting firm specializing in business communications. He has been a contributor experienced and novice managers alike will be relevant to every work environment, from large corporations to small businesses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; 1 edition (April 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789428954
• ISBN-13: 978-0789428950
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Reference > Office Skills
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Workplace
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Book for Managing Teams., December 3, 2002

By 

Kari A. Cavada (Homestead, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Managers: Managing Teams (Paperback)

"Managing Teams" by Robert Heller is a very informative book and definitely should be read by new managers. This book contains many different ideas on how to manage your team. Heller brings up important points that many new managers may not be aware of when first starting into the challenging world of team managing. Heller discusses several different topics including `Understanding How Teams Work,' Setting Up A Team,' `Improving Team Efficiency,' and `Working For The Future.' Each of these chapters cover important topics that are broken down into easy to understand summarized sections. This book helps you determine the right people for a team, and how to form a multi- talented, functioning team. You will also learn how to motivate your team to complete the goals that they were brought together to achieve. Learning to manage a team can sometimes be a difficult transition if you are not used to doing so, but Heller's book can really help you to adjust to the position.
One great part about this book is that it is short (74 pages) and to the point. The chapters are informative and do not drag on and on like some of the books out there on the market. However there are enough details to help you understand and try out his suggestions and ideas. There is even an added bonus of 101 tips that offer practical advice. I especially like the examples and charts that are listed in this book. They are great in helping understand the individuals in the team, and how to deal with each person within the group and as a group. I highly recommend "Managing Teams" to anyone interested in learning new techniques for managing a team in the workplace. I also highly recommend several of Robert Heller's other books as well in the `Essential Managers' set of books, including "Motivating People."

1.0 out of 5 stars essential managers, October 10, 2008

By 

Elle Looney "Elle" (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Managers: Managing Teams (Paperback)

This book is over simplistic, no depth and completely useless to anyone who finds themselves in a position of management

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A necessity for every contemporary manager, September 14, 2005

By 

Amro A. Hussein (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Managers: Managing Teams (Paperback)

As a trainer, this is my advice; read it, distribute it to your organizational managers-it makes for a great gift by the way, then discuss it with them in groups or indvidually. Only then you can convert your groups into real teams.