Leading Self-Directed Work Teams [Hardcover]

Kimball Fisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1999

A new edition of the book that lead the self-directed work teams revolution. Leading Self-Directed Work Teams is one of the best-selling books on teams ever published. Now, the perfect guide for any team leader has been revised and expanded to reflect the new realities of team-based organizations. By explaining how team leaders differ from conventional supervisors, this informative volume which is based on the author's successful seminars and workshops is especially useful for those managers who move from hierarchical to participatory structures.

This edition feature more practical examples and techniques than in the previous edition, new research, dozens of tips and checklists, case studies, and valuable training exercises. It has been used and praised by experts at Motorola, M.I.T., AT&T and many other organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The classic book on team leadership­­now revised and expanded for a new era!

Motorola uses it to train managers, Logan Aluminum calls it their Bible, Industry Week proclaimed it one of the best dozen books of the year it was published, and experts and managers from M.I.T. to T&T praise its pragmatic insights on the new role for leaders. A bestseller just got better!

One of the most important books ever written about teams, the original edition of this groundbreaking book helped pioneer the self-directed work teams revolution. Now, drawing on a wide range of real-life lessons learned in the years since it was first published, this up-to-the-minute guide teaches you everything you need to know to lead confidently and effectively in today's non-autocratic, self-directed workplaces.

You'll learn how to:

• Lead through example and commitment, instead of by demanding obedience and control
• Give and obtain feedback in a constructive, non-defensive manner
• Excite, energize, and inspire team members about projects and goals
• Create accountability systems for teams­­without restricting autonomy and creativity
• Overcome the special challenges of leading knowledge workers
• And much more!

About the Author

Kimball Fisher is a cofounder of the Fisher Group, Inc., and has worked with many companies implementing high-performance management practices across North America, Western Europe, Asia, and Africa, including Amoco, Apple Computers, Chevron, Corning, Hewlett Packard, Mosanto, Motorola, NBC, Shell, Weyerhauser, and more. He is a popular speaker at conferences on teams, leadership, and organization design and has addressed audiences around the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 339 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (November 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071349243
• ISBN-13: 978-0071349246
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If teams are the Religion, then this is the Bible!, October 12, 1999

By 

Joe Cimbak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading Self-Directed Work Teams: A Guide to Developing New Team Leadership Skills (McGraw-Hill Training Series) (Hardcover)

This book is our standard as we begin to build the team concept. The quote, "If teams are the Religion, then this is the Bible" comes from a senior manager in our company who has PASSION for the team concept. I am an internal OD consultant and I have a healthy background in the development of self directed teams. I used to consider "Self Directed Work Teams, the New American Challenge" by Orsburn, Moran, Musselwhite and Zenger to be the standard. Since then I have read a lot of works on the concept of self directed teams, and this Fisher book is a great book, at the top of the heap. Reason? Because as a practitioner you can USE it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Heart of Modern Management, October 10, 2000

By 

Patrick W. O'Hara "taparaho" (Salt Point, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leading Self-Directed Work Teams (Hardcover)

Kimball Fisher writes about the heart of modern management, the need to develop employees at all-levels and tap latent organizational resources through the emphasis of employee involvement in team-based programs.

Fisher makes many of his points through analogies, which makes his work a delight to read, and easy to remember. Two of his analogies have taken a firm hold in my mind. The first is about the difference between the Shephard and the Sheep herder, and the second about not "eating the sausage." Both analogies describe the need for management to support workers, so as to create quality and efficiency in the absence of rigid oversight.

The book is well-written and easy to read, with information compartimantalized in understandable "sound-bites." The book is packed with models and concepts which promote the use of team based programs, and descibe the proper roles of team members and management.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from an Experienced Practitioner, May 24, 2001

By 

Mark Kelly (Raleigh Consulting Group) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading Self-Directed Work Teams (Hardcover)

This book is a solid how-to manual for leading self-directed work teams. Kimball does a great job of explaining what self-directed teams are all about and how to lead them.

Leading self-directed team may sound like paradox, but these teams need a special type of leadership. This book goes beyond theory to explain the realities of making these teams really work. Easy-to-read with plenty of examples.

* Mark Kelly, coauthor of MASTERING TEAM LEADERSHIP: 7 ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS