Leading People (Pocket Mentor) [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1422103498 | ISBN-13: 978-1422103494 | Edition: 1

Today’s leaders don’t use command-and-control. Instead, they leverage their communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills to inspire employees to ever higher levels of performance. Packed with practical tools and expert advice, Leading People shows managers how to bring out the best in their team.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Pocket Mentor Series offers immediate solutions to common challenges managers face on the job every day. Each book in the series is packed with handy tools, self-tests, and real life examples to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and hone critical skills.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; 1 edition (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422103498
• ISBN-13: 978-1422103494
• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Leadership

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice short course on leadership vs. management..., December 27, 2006

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leading People (Pocket Mentor) (Paperback)

Most people I run into at work use the terms "manager" and "leader" interchangeably. But they *are* different, and Leading People by Harvard Business School Press stresses those differences (and a bit more) in a concise volume.

Contents:
Leading People - The Basics: The Challenge of Contemporary Leadership; What Makes an Effective Leader?; How to Acquire Leadership Skills; How to Craft a Vision; How to Motivate the People You Lead; How to Care for Yourself
Tips and Tools: Tools for Leading People; Test Yourself; To Learn More; Sources for Leading People; Notes

This Pocket Mentor guide is ideal for someone who's just starting to move into management, and really doesn't know much about how to be a leader. The definition offered here is that a manager copes with complexity, while a leader copes with change. Management is often more technically oriented, while leadership is more about vision. Both of these roles need to possess the skill base of manager *and* leader, but that's a general dividing point that's useful to remember. The book also goes into the different types of leaders (charismatic, transformational, pragmatic) as well as the various leadership styles (coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching). All the types listed have benefits and drawbacks, and each has a time and place where they are most appropriate. As the book is only 85 pages, it's a small investment in time to start to build your mental framework around the subject of leadership. I wouldn't recommend this as your only leadership book by any means, nor is it intended to be such. But as a starting point (or a remedial short course), it serves its purpose well.