Customer Reviews

FYI: For Your Improvement, A Guide for Development and Coaching (4th edition)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

FYI presents a comprehensive list and description of competencies needed for leadership, according to the Lominger Group. This model may differ in some respects from the one used by your organization, but it won't be far off.

The competencies in this book are organized into six factors: Strategic Skills, Operating Skills, Courage, Energy & Drive, Organizational Positioning Skills, and Personal & Interpersonal Skills. The authors add the two negative factors Trouble With People and Trouble With Results. Nested within these factors are clusters and individual competencies. One might quibble with the details, but this map covers the terrain.

Readers are skillfully guided through this territory. The initial chapters provide solid advice for deciding which competencies to develop, recognizing that sometimes it is more useful to compensate for a weakness with other strengths and that it is possible to unproductively overuse one's strengths. The authors' willingness to deal seriously with negative issues such as overapplication of strong competencies and barriers to success is valuable--and often lacking in competency publications.

Individual competency chapters have a predictable and useful structure. Each chapter begins by locating the competency within its factor and cluster and "inspires" the reader with an appropriate quote. The reader encounters concise lists of the behavioral indicators of unskilled performance, skilled performance and overuse of this competency. These lists cross-reference other competencies that can either substitute for unskilled peformance or compensate for overuse. Then, following a list of some causes underlying poor performance, comes an extended discussion of several strategies for developing the competency and sources for further reading.

You can find the best competency chapter for your needs in under two minutes. This competency chapter can then be read and understood in under 10 minutes. Developing the competency will take longer, of course. But this book helps the reader diagnose and begin remediation with some confidence that the right disease is being treated--and treated effectively.

This book is worth having--and using.

A very good overall guide for self discovery, and a great tool for coaching and developing others - a great leadership resource. This touches at a high level a lot of behavior and development topics, but does not get into the details. If you're looking for a book that dives deep into a specific behaviorial area, this is not the book for you. But what it gives is 3-4 pages on a behavior or skill, hitting it fast and hard, with guides and advise on development (covers overuse of a skill, as well as adressing gaps in a skill). It links topics/bahaviors to each other which is very helpful, and the book even leaves space in its categorizing/numbering for future skills and behaviors that may come in future editions. I've purchased this book for all the managers on my team.

If you want to advance your career, you must know how to professionally evaluate people, give & receive feedback, recognize talent, and compensate. These are titles HR personnel use to evaluate YOU, and YOU must learn these skills if you want to supervise people.

This is a CORE TITLE for any professional Manager which should also include FYI for Performance Management, Broadband Talent Management, Flawless Consulting, Successful Manager's Handbook, and The Science Behind Best People Practices.

Lominger really does have the best leadership development system out there. I would never consider using anything else.

The 5th Edition is available directly from the Lominger-dot-com web site for substantially less than these other sellers are offering the 4th edition.

Fabulous resource.

Not only a succinct guide for improvement in itself, many references to detailed research on improvement of individual traits.

My Team members each have a copy. Works well with 360 degree review approach.

Amazing book that provides insight as to what the essential characteristics for leaders to achieve in order to be successful. It even goes into when a particular skill is overused by a leader and what skills to use to compensate for that. If you are one who is honest about your strengths and development needs, this is absolutely the book for you! I've had it since I attended a corporate retreat 10 years ago and have since bought the updated version a few years back. I've even provided a copy to my second level managers as a guide to improve themselves. Couldn't recommend it more.

I swear this is the most objective and therefore impotent book on management and training that exists. I had a sales person lend this to me who had a boss that made them get it bc she was, I guess, a manager with ZERO management skills so she actually relied on this book. It is terrible. It reminds me of the kind of junk like the Oz Principle or one of those just corporate sterile and cold publications of the obvious. Do I need a book to tell me if I am not good at computers that I should work on getting better at computer? Seriously? How do these books sell?

I did not expect this book to be as helpful as it has been. The information is simple and easy to use and is actually very helpful. The tips are not really practical but the problems identified are true and give you something to work on.

This books covers performance attributes in excellent definition and easy to understand examples. It is a bit overwhelming in its depth to measuring an individua's performance and identifying the means to grwo professionally.