Engagement Transforming Difficult Relationships at Work

Engagement is the manager's essential primer for dealing with difficult people and managing your team. Bestselling authors Lee G. Bolman and Joan V. Gallos are back with an engaging business novella that relates real, practical techniques captured in the 4-step SURE model for handling people problems. The story centers around a manager in a new job, and her experiences applying the four steps in leading her new team. Brief interludes punctuate the story throughout to provide room for reflection, and to explain the complex interpersonal dynamics at play in commonly encountered situations. Key lessons are underscored as the foundation for a sound people strategy, and the features and details of each rule are laid out in a clear, concise manner. You'll learn alongside the story's manager as she uses the model to find artful solutions to problems that could have easily derailed her chances of success.

People are the hardest part of a manger's job. No matter how well-matched their skill sets, there is always the potential for interpersonal conflicts and strains to throw the team off-course. This book shows you deft strategies for addressing those challenges with a well thought-out framework for getting your team fully invested in the group's success.

• Find creative solutions to persistent issues
• Dig into the interpersonal dynamics at work
• Learn how to handle?and manage?difficult people
• Apply key strategies for engaging the team

This compact, easy-to-apply set of guidelines draws on your leadership skills while providing a strong foundation for a new managerial approach. Effective management is frequently a tightrope between results and morale, and Engagement shows you how to find your balance and steady your team.

PREFACE xiii

INTRODUCTION xvii

SURE Rules of Engagement xx

How to Use This Book xxv

PART I REALITY 1

CHAPTER 1 The Choice 3

CHAPTER 2 The Boss 5

CHAPTER 3 A Single Step 7

INTERLUDE 1 Coping with Bullies 8

PART II BEGINNINGS ARE EVERYTHING 15

CHAPTER 4 The Motley Crew 17

CHAPTER 5 SOS 20

CHAPTER 6 The Ally 23

INTERLUDE 2 Managing the Boss 25

PART III COMPLEX CHARACTERS 33

CHAPTER 7 Madison 35

CHAPTER 8 Data 39

CHAPTER 9 Underperforming 41

CHAPTER 10 The Check-in 44

INTERLUDE 3 Learning with Tenacity 49

PART IV THE PLOT THICKENS 55

CHAPTER 11 Clarity 57

CHAPTER 12 Checking It Twice 59

CHAPTER 13 Production 62

INTERLUDE 4 Leading with Purpose 65

PART V FIX OR FOLD 71

CHAPTER 14 Sales 73

CHAPTER 15 A Warning from Michael 77

CHAPTER 16 Hate Your Boss? 79

CHAPTER 17 In Sheep’s Clothing 82

CHAPTER 18 Fire Your Star? 86

CHAPTER 19 Back to the Boss 90

INTERLUDE 5 Move On? Push Out? 92

PART VI TEAM WORK 99

CHAPTER 20 The Game Plan 101

INTERLUDE 6 A SURE Tour de Force 106

PART VII A HAPPY ENDING? 111

CHAPTER 21 The New Boss 113

EPILOGUE THE SURE ROUTE TO SUCCESS: ENGAGEMENT 117

The SURE Principles: Remember the Basics 120

Conclusion 125

THE SKILLS OF ENGAGEMENT TUTORIAL 126

Stop, Look, and Learn 128

Unhook 136

Revise the Script 146

Engage—Evolve or Exit 150

NOTES 155

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 166

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 169

INDEX 173

LEE G. BOLMAN holds the Marion Bloch Missouri Chair in Leadership at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He is the coauthor of How Great Leaders Think; Reframing Organizations; The Wizardandthe Warrior; and Leading with Soul, all from Jossey-Bass.

JOAN V. GALLOS is professor of leadership at Wheelock College, where she also served as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Gallos is coauthor of Teaching Diversity: Listening to the Soul, Speaking from the Heart; editor of both Organization Development:A Jossey-Bass Reader and Business Leadership: A Jossey-Bass Reader (second edition); and creator of the teaching materials for the full Jossey-Bass Reader Series.

BOLMAN and GALLOS are the co-authors of Reframing Academic Leadership, also published by Jossey-Bass.