The Truth About Winning at Work (Collection), 2nd Edition

Description

• Copyright 2013
• Edition: 2nd

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-13-344582-8
• ISBN-13: 978-0-13-344582-4

A brand new collection of management and leadership skills for improving business performance

4 authoritative books deliver world-class skills for leading change and improving performance throughout your team and organization!

You’re facing greater challenges than ever before – both outside your organization, and inside it. To win, you need today’s best skills for improving performance and driving change. Now, this 4-book collection presents hundreds of those skills simply, clearly, and quickly, to support action. In The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition bestselling author Stephen Robbins shares 61 proven principles and solutions for make-or-break, day-to-day management problems. Overcome the true obstacles to teamwork… avoid both over- and under-communication… improve hiring and employee evaluations… manage a culturally/generationally diverse or virtual workforces… combine stronger ethics and greater effectiveness… and much more. Next, in The Truth About Getting the Best From People, Second Edition, Martha Finney shares 60+ proven principles for gaining unprecedented employee engagement. This new edition features 15 new truths for managing virtual teams, overcoming your unconscious biases, managing multiple generations, identifying/cultivating individual high performers, and more. Next, persuade others in any environment with The Truth About Confident Presenting, by James O’Rourke. O’Rourke reveals 51 proven, concise, easy-to-use presenting techniques that work: all you need to know to prepare effectively (not obsessively), manage anxiety, connect with any audience, and succeed. Discover what makes people listen, and what instantly turns them off… how to muster evidence that’ll convince your specific audience… how to listen, establish a great first impression, and make nonverbal cues work for you… use PowerPoint and microphones well… handle hostile questions confidently; and much more. Finally, turn to William S. Kane’s The Truth About Thriving in Change for 49 proven ways to do what everyone wants, and few can deliver: lead successful change. Plan, drive, and sustain positive change that matters… transform organizations without destroying morale… objectively assess whether yours is really the best way… develop the change management skills you need most… know when to persuade, educate, or “use force”… create the right cultural framework you need to keep moving forward. These four eBooks aren’t “just someone’s opinion”: they offer definitive, evidence-based principles for improving performance throughout your entire leadership career!

From world-renowned workplace effectiveness experts Stephen P. Robbins, Martha I. Finney, James O’Rourke, and William S. Kane

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Extras

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Sample Content

Table of Contents

The Truth About Managing People, 3/e

Preface vii
PART I THE TRUTH ABOUT HIRING
Truth 1 First Impressions DO Count! 1
Truth 2 Forget Traits; It’s Behavior That Counts 5
Truth 3 Brains Matter; or Why You Should Hire Smart People 9
Truth 4 When in Doubt, Hire Conscientious People! 13
Truth 5 Want Friendly Employees? It’s in the Genes! 7
Truth 6 Realistic Job Previews: What You See Is What You Get 21
Truth 7 Throw Out Your Age Stereotypes 25
Truth 8 Match Personalities and Jobs 29
Truth 9 Hire People Who Fit Your Culture: My “Good Employee” Is Your Stinker! 33
Truth 10 Good Citizenship Counts! 37
Truth 11 Manage the Socialization of New Employees 39
PART II THE TRUTH ABOUT MOTIVATION
Truth 12 Why Many Workers Aren’t Motivated at Work Today 43
Truth 13 Telling Employees to “Do Your Best” I sn’t Likely to Achieve Their Best 47
Truth 14 Not Everyone Wants to Participate in Setting Goals 51
Truth 15 Professional Workers Go for the Flow 55
Truth 16 When Giving Feedback: Criticize Behaviors, Not People 59
Truth 17 Managing Across the Generation Gap 63
Truth 18 You Get What You Reward 67
Truth 19 It’s All Relative! 71
Truth 20 Recognition Motivates (and It Costs Very Little!) 75
Truth 21 There’s More to High Employee Performance Than Just Motivation 79
PART III THE TRUTH ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Truth 22 Five Leadership Myths Debunked 83
Truth 23 The Essence of Leadership Is Trust 87
Truth 24 Experience Counts! Wrong! 91
Truth 25 Effective Leaders Know How to Frame Issues 95
Truth 26 You Get What You Expect 99
Truth 27 Charisma Can Be Learned 103
Truth 28 Charisma Is Not Always an Asset 107
Truth 29 Make Others Dependent on You 111
Truth 30 Successful Leaders Are Politically Adept 115
Truth 31 Ethical Leadership 119
Truth 32 Virtual Leadership: Leading from Afar 123
Truth 33 Adjust Your Leadership Style for Cultural Differences, or When in Rome 127
PART IV THE TRUTH ABOUT COMMUNICATION
Truth 34 Hearing Isn’t Listening 131
Truth 35 Listen to the Grapevine 135
Truth 36 Men and Women Communicate Differently 139
Truth 37 What You Do Overpowers What You Say 143
Truth 38 The Value of Silence 147
Truth 39 Watch Out for Digital Distractions 151
PART V THE TRUTH ABOUT BUILDING TEAMS
Truth 40 What We Know That Makes Teams Work 155
Truth 41 2 + 2 Doesn’t Necessarily Equal 4 159
Truth 42 The Value of Diversity on Teams 163
Truth 43 We’re Not All Equal: Status Matters! 167
Truth 44 Not Everyone Is Team Material 171
PART VI THE TRUTH ABOUT MANAGING CONFLICTS
Truth 45 The Case FOR Conflict 175
Truth 46 Beware of Groupthink 179
Truth 47 How to Reduce Work–Life Conflicts 183
Truth 48 Negotiating Isn’t About Winning and Losing 187
PART VII THE TRUTH ABOUT DESIGNING JOBS
Truth 49 Not Everyone Wants a Challenging Job 191
Truth 50 Four Job-Design Actions That Will Make Employees More Productive 195
PART VIII THE TRUTH ABOUT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Truth 51 Annual Reviews: The Best Surprise Is No Surprise! 199
Truth 52 Don’t Blame Me! The Role of Self-Serving Bias 203
Truth 53 Judging Others: Tips for Making Better Decisions 207
Truth 54 The Case for 360-Degree Feedback Appraisals: More IS Better! 211
PART IX THE TRUTH ABOUT COPING WITH CHANGE
Truth 55 Most People Resist Any Change That Doesn’t Jingle in Their Pockets! 215
Truth 56 Use Participation to Reduce Resistance to Change 219
Truth 57 Employee Turnover Can Be a Good Thing 223
Truth 58 In Cutbacks: Don’t Neglect the Survivors 227
Truth 59 Beware of the Quick Fix 231
References 235

The Truth About Getting the Best from People, 2/e

Introduction xi

PART I The Truth About Employee Engagement

Truth 1 You don’t need the carrot or the stick 1

Truth 2 You have direct influence over your employees’ passion quotient 4

Truth 3 You get the best by giving the best 8

Truth 4 It’s not money that motivates 11

Truth 5 Employment engagement isn’t for sissies 15

Truth 6 Real engagement gains happen after survey scores come in 19

PART II The Truth About Yourself

Truth 7 Your behaviors are your brand 23

Truth 8 You can’t give what you don’t have 26

Truth 9 “Best” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone 30

Truth 10 Think you’re a great leader? Think again 34

Truth 11 You could be your own worst employee 38

Truth 12 Visionary or beat cop? Your choice 41

Truth 13 Your health may be compromising your leadership effectiveness 44

Truth 14 You don’t have to be perfect 48

Truth 15 Your career can recover from an engagement hit 52

PART III The Truth About Engaged Cultures

Truth 16 Employee happiness is serious business 55

Truth 17 Great leaders make their people cry 58

Truth 18 Better questions lead to better answers 61

Truth 19 Individual passion builds a passion-fueled customer service culture 65

Truth 20 Authentic is better than clever 69

Truth 21 Retention begins with hello 72

Truth 22 The bad will do you good 75

Truth 23 Your biggest complainer may be your best supporter 78

Truth 24 You can sell an unpopular decision 82

Truth 25 Flex is best 85

Truth 26 Nobody cares if you don’t mean to be mean 89

Truth 27 Controlling your temper is a labor-saving device 93

Truth 28 There is no “but” in “I’m sorry” 97

PART IV The Truth About Motivation

Truth 29 Engagement happens one person at a time 101

Truth 30 If you’re a manager, you’re a career coach 104

Truth 31 The candidates you’re seeking may not be the ones you need 107

Truth 32 Ask for cheese—you might get the moon 111

Truth 33 You lead better when you get off your pedestal 114

Truth 34 Trust is your strongest persuasion tool 118

Truth 35 If they aren’t buying it, they aren’t doing it 121

Truth 36 Overselling an opportunity can cost you precious talent 124

Truth 37 Focusing on what’s right can help solve what’s wrong 128

Truth 38 High performers are motivated by a piece of the action 131

Truth 39 All the generations want the same thing 135

PART V The Truth About Performance

Truth 40 Compassion promotes performance 139

Truth 41 A hot star can brighten your whole team 142

Truth 42 B players are your A team 146

Truth 43 High performers have enough coffee mugs 149

Truth 44 Discipline deepens engagement 152

Truth 45 You don’t have to inherit the problem employees 155

Truth 46 Performance appraisals are really about you 159

Truth 47 New hires can inspire current employees 162

Truth 48 Terminations are an engagement tool 165

PART VI The Truth About Creativity

Truth 49 Innovation begins with y-e-s 169

Truth 50 Everyone can be creative 172

Truth 51 You stand between inspiration and implementation 176

Truth 52 Failures promote progress 179

Truth 53 People don’t quit their bosses, they quit their colleagues 182

Truth 54 Extreme pressure kills inspired performance 186

Truth 55 Creativity is a balancing act 189

PART VII The Truth About Communication

Truth 56 Open questions ignite inspiring answers 193

Truth 57 Serving your employees means managing your boss 196

Truth 58 Bad news is good news 200

Truth 59 Trivial conversations are essential 203

Truth 60 The way you listen speaks volumes 206

Truth 61 Crap happens 210

Truth 62 Engaged employees need to know more 213

PART VIII The Truth About Teams

Truth 63 Absence makes the employee happier 217

Truth 64 Your team has untapped talent 221

Truth 65 People need to fight their own battles 224

Truth 66 Games don’t build teams 228

Truth 67 Answers build teams 231

Truth 68 Your team can lead you to greatness 234

Truth 69 You’re still the boss 237

References 240

About the Author 242

The Truth About Confident Presenting

Introduction v

Part I Some Initial Truths

Truth 1 Public speaking is not easy, but it’s certainly doable 1

Truth 2 The key to success is preparation 5

Truth 3 Rehearsal is essential 9

Truth 4 Emulating good speakers will make you better 13

Truth 5 Establish goals for your presentation 17

Truth 6 A presentation is a learning occasion 21

Part II The Truth About Getting Ready to Speak

Truth 7 Talk is the work 25

Truth 8 Know what your audience is looking for 29

Truth 9 There is a difference between speaking and writing 33

Truth 10 Preparing a presentation is a relatively simple process 37

Truth 11 Begin by analyzing your audience 41

Truth 12 Know about your audience 45

Part III The Truth About What Makes People Listen

Truth 13 Understand what makes people listen 49

Truth 14 Your speaking style makes a difference 53

Truth 15 Anticipate the questions your audience brings to your presentation 57

Truth 16 Listening matters 61

Truth 17 Being an active listener brings real benefits 65

Truth 18 You can overcome the barriers to successful communication 69

Part IV The Truth About Developing Support for Your Presentation

Truth 19 Develop support for your presentation 73

Truth 20 Understand the power of your content 77

Truth 21 The kinds and quality of evidence matter to your audience 81

Truth 22 Structure can help carry an inexperienced speaker 85

Truth 23 Find support for your presentation 89

Truth 24 Use the Internet to support your presentation 93

Part V The Truth About Getting Up to Speak

Truth 25 Select a delivery approach 97

Truth 26 Your introduction forms their first impression 101

Truth 27 Begin with a purpose in mind 105

Truth 28 Keep your audience interested 109

Truth 29 Conclusions are as important as introductions 113

Truth 30 Have confidence in your preparation 117

Truth 31 Repeat the process as often as possible 121

Part VI The Truth About Managing Anxiety

Truth 32 All speakers get nervous 125

Truth 33 Recognize anxiety before it begins 129

Truth 34 Deal with nervous behaviors 133

Truth 35 Keep your nervousness to yourself 137

Part VII The Truth About Nonverbal Communication

Truth 36 Most information is transferred nonverbally 141

Truth 37 The nonverbal process can work for you 145

Truth 38 Nonverbal communication has specific functions 149

Truth 39 Nonverbal communication is governed by key principles 153

Truth 40 Nonverbal communication has an effect on your audience 157

Part VIII The Truth About Visual Aids

Truth 41 Visual aids can help your audience understand your message 161

Truth 42 Understand visual images before you use them 165

Truth 43 Choose the right visual 169

Truth 44 Use PowerPoint effectively 173

Truth 45 Consider speaking without visuals 177

Part IX The Truth About Handling an Audience

Truth 46 Assess the mood of your audience 181

Truth 47 Answer the audience's questions 185

Truth 48 Handle hostility with confidence 189

Part X The Truth About What Makes a Presentation Work

Truth 49 Know as much as possible about the location 193

Truth 50 Use the microphone to your advantage 197

Truth 51 Know your limits 201

References 205

Acknowledgments 207

About the Author 209

The Truth About Thriving in Change

Preface ix

Part I The Truth About Staying or Going

Truth 1 Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react 1

Truth 2 If your values don’t agree, it’s probably time to flee 5

Truth 3 Service awards aren’t what they used to be 9

Truth 4 Teaching long division doesn’t work on a Blackberry 13

Part II The Truth About What You should Pack

Truth 5 It’s not what you’ve got; it’s what you need 17

Truth 6 To manage change, you must lead change 21

Truth 7 You can’t do without a “can-do” attitude 25

Truth 8 If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything 29

Part III The Truth About those Early Days

Truth 9 Run before you walk 33

Truth 10 Keep your boss your biggest fan 37

Truth 11 There are only three ways to introduce change 41

Truth 12 Build the case: It’s a challenge and an opportunity 45

Truth 13 Teach others how to treat you 49

Part IV The Truth About Planning

Truth 14 If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll get there 53

Truth 15 To realize the future, you must create it 57

Truth 16 Convert aspiration to invitation 61

Truth 17 Having organizational values matters; living then means more 65

Truth 18 Make the change agenda everyone’s agenda 69

Part V The Truth About Communications

Truth 19 We listen with our eyes 73

Truth 20 Email is the tool of the devil 77

Truth 21 People can’t drink from a fire hose 81

Truth 22 Conversion is for missionaries and crusaders 85

Part VI The Truth About Matching People with Purpose

Truth 23 Organizational structure: Look in from the outside 89

Truth 24 Build your team around your “A” players 93

Truth 25 Candidate screening: Let the facts speak for themselves 97

Truth 26 Avoid the ten potential “placement pitfalls” 101

Truth 27 Don't surround yourself with yourself 105

Truth 28 Why you need to get staffing right 109

Truth 29 If you must “right-size,” do it the right way 113

Part VII The Truth About Managing Performance

Truth 30 One style doesn’t fit all 117

Truth 31 You can influence without authority 121

Truth 32 You can’t work the plan if you don’t plan the work 125

Truth 33 There’s no excuse for excuses 129

Truth 34 Know what buttons to push 133

Part VIII The Truth About Creating your Cultural Framework

Truth 35 Calm waters make for easier sailing 137

Truth 36 Trust is a currency not easily earned, but easily spent 141

Truth 37 If you’re out of sight, you’re probably out of touch 145

Truth 38 Teams aren’t a necessary evil 149

Truth 39 Your way may not be the best way 153

Truth 40 The whole is greater than the sum of the parts 157

Truth 41 Embrace--don’t run from--the questions! 161

Truth 42 Decision making: The fastest don’t always finish first 165

Truth 43 Exceptions: Can’t live with them; can’t live without them 169

Truth 44 Employee discipline: Ask the more meaningful question 173

Part IX The Truth About Recognition and Reward

Truth 45 Make every employee feel like your only employee 177

Truth 46 A little formal recognition goes a long way 181

Part X The Truth About Sustenance

Truth 47 Your best investment is in... YOU 185

Truth 48 Your title is manager; your job is teacher 189

Truth 49 Trying to be all things to all people is a slippery slope 193

References 197

About the Author 211

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