Manager Resources

Here is a list of resources you will find useful – reference works, training courses, specific “how to guides” and more.

These resources are compiled from sources we and our M.N.T.K. members have found especially beneficial. If there is a resource – a book, a course, a software package etc. – which you have found particularly useful, please let us know through the “Make a Suggestion” section. We can then share it with your fellow M.N.T.K. members.

1:1 with People

• Coping with Difficult People: The Proven-Effective Battle Plan – by Robert M. Bramson
  Difficult behaviour is not all that difficult to identify. That is, unless you’re in the middle of a confrontation and you’re either too angry or intimidated or distracted to realize what’s taking place. This book won’t turn you into a psychologist but it will teach you how to identify difficult, destructive, problematic behaviour in people, and how to cope with it.
  This book is about coping. You can’t always convince someone and when someone’s determined to make life difficult for you, you can’t always win. But you can try to push ahead, keep your cool, remain focused and constructive and pleasant and not be trampled on.

• How to Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding – by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
  This book will become a permanent, staple reference. It is simple, practical and provides wisdom on the art of confrontation and communication.
  Overall the book is great. It is simple, practical, and gives godly wisdom on the art of confrontation and communication.

• From Losers to Winners: How to Manage Problem Employees – by V. Clayton Sherman
  A very helpful book for managers. It really shows how to deal with problem employees. Some of the topics covered are:
• • steps to positive discipline
  • special cases special approaches
  • action plan for employee managing
  • formal disciplinary procedures
  • keep it legal

Meetings

• Successful Meetings: How to Plan, Prepare, and Execute Top-Notch Business Meetings – by Shri Henkel
  Very useful content and easy to read. It covers planning meetings, setting the agenda, strategic planning, physical setting, opening a meeting, handling difficult people and keeping control, evaluating a meeting and ending a meeting.

Performance/Appraisal

• Ready-to-Use Performance Appraisals – by William S. Swan and Leslie E. Wilson
  This is a great tool for managers who are responsible for writing performance reviews for their staff. It provides an actionable outline for the performance review process (if your company doesn’t already have one). Most importantly, it provides pre-written paragraphs and text to help you articulate how employees exceeded or didn’t meet expectations. (Great for those who don’t have much experience writing reviews or those who just need some fresh ways to express their thoughts.).

Recruitment

• The Essential Guide to Recruitment – by Margaret Dale
  A manager’s success is dependent on the quality and performance of those s/he manages and recruitment techniques are key to obtaining the best help: that’s why the step-by-step directions of The Essential Guide To Recruitment: How to Conduct Great Interviews and Select the Best Employees is so important. Chapters cover the best questions and how to assess answers for underlying strengths and weaknesses.

• High Impact Interview Questions – by Victoria A. Hoevemeyer
  Victoria A. Hoevemeyer proposes that human resource departments and hiring managers should ask applicants explicit questions about their skills and behavior. This approach, known as “Competency-Based Behavioral Interviewing” (CBBI), provides a clear picture of what candidates actually did in their previous jobs. Hoevemeyer’s sensible idea is that if candidates succeeded at certain tasks before, they’ll repeat their success in their new jobs. She provides a very long list of detailed questions that hiring managers can use to learn the specifics of candidates’ skills and past performance.
  The book lacks actual proof that the CBBI process actually results in recruiting new hires who perform well and have better retention rates. Still, since Hoevemeyer’s approach clearly elicits rich information, we believe that managers and even experienced HR professionals may find her interviewing tactics useful.

Leadership and Teams

• The Inspirational Leader: How to Motivate, Encourage & Achieve Success – by John Adair
  This is an enlightening book on leadership by a world renowned leadership guru who is an internationally acclaimed writer, teacher and consultant. Adair explains the clear distinction between management and leadership and also highlights the fact that leaders are not born but made. Adair illustrates how leaders can inspire their subordinates to achieve outstanding performance through effective management of the three variables namely the individual, the team and the task. Through having a clear shared vision, he explains how leaders can motivate their people to give off their best.

General

• Time Management from the Inside Out - by Julie Morgenstern
  A time management book for you if you fear time management – in case it creates an overly scheduled and uncreative life for you which lacks spontaneity.
  It gives a practical approach to the concept of TIME and considers 3 problem areas 1) Technical errors 2) External reality and 3) Psychological obstacles.