I wish every manager had the opportunity for training — early and often. But if that’s not your reality, you may have to educate yourself. So let me suggest some books that meet the standard I’ve set for my personal leadership library: They are research-based, their authors have excellent credentials, and their practical advice works in a newsroom environment.
For the Manager in Need of a Tune-up
Understanding and Changing Your Management Style
By Robert Benfari
I consider this book a mini-management course. It contains self-diagnostic exercises that provide insights into your personality, your approaches to power, to conflict and to stress. The author is a psychologist whose advice is clear and useful.
For an Understanding of Leadership Styles and Their Impact
Primal Leadership
By Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee
The authors believe that the leader’s mood runs through the room like an electrical current. The book deals with multiple aspects of emotional intelligence so managers can build their awareness of how they act and react, and how it helps or hurts them. They can then learn to manage themselves and their behaviors so they can effectively lead others.
For Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Skills
Getting to Yes
By Fisher and Ury
This classic work from the Harvard Negotiation Project helps you prepare for negotiations and actually achieve results that leave all parties feeling they have succeeded. It is perfect for managers who negotiate contracts or often find themselves mediating disputes.
For the Manager Who Hates Conflict or Delivering Tough News
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
By Stone, Patton, Heen and Fisher
More from the Harvard Negotiation Project folks. This book helps managers take on conflicts of all types, using a clear, strategic approach. I’d suggest having a team of newsroom managers read this book to build their individual and collective “difficult conversation” skills.
For Great Insights into Motivating People
Intrinsic Motivation at Work
By Kenneth W. Thomas
Thomas, a noted expert in the field of conflict resolution, now examines the challenge of motivation. He claims we focus too much on extrinsic motivators like pay or perks — and overlook intrinsic drivers, the things that keep people motivating themselves. He points to competence, choice, meaningfulness and progress as key intrinsic motivators.
For the Manager Leading Change
Making Sense of Change Management
By Esther Cameron and Mike Green
I like this book because it covers the waterfront — individual change, team change, organizational change. The authors are management consultants and educators in the UK. They have assembled the best thinking on change management and they present it in down-to-earth terms.
For the Manager Who Wants to Change a Toxic Newsroom Culture, Staffer or Self!
The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t
By Robert I. Sutton
This book is the work of a respected management professor at Stanford. When he wrote about toxic employers and employees for a 2003 article in the Harvard Business Review and proposed his rule, the response was so strong that he developed this book. It even includes a self-test to see if you qualify for the “A” title. I hope not!
I developed this list for a column published in the RTNDA Communicator Magazine. I’ll add books to it from time to time. Feel free to e-mail me if you’re looking for a book that addresses a management interest or challenge of yours.
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