How to be an Even Better Manager. A complete A-Z of Proven Techniques & Essential Skills – Sixth Edition

How to Be an Even Better Manager is recognised as a phenomenal success since it first appeared in 1983 as How to Be a Better Manager. Dealing with management and specifically in those areas in which managers have to be competent, it helps to explain how to develop the managerial skills and competences required. The author, Michael Armstrong, has a wealth of experience as a practising manager, and has written several books on the subject, thus contributing with his works to the development of management thought and practice. The author bases the book upon the idea that management is an art, and that the art of management is a skill that everybody can learn in order to obtain the best from the job. The book is structured in 50 chapters, all self-contained, that bring the reader from the main management issues to the way to develop the 50 key managerial competencies and skills that the art of management requires. Each of the 50 brief chapters provides the reader with techniques, strategies and actions, which can be utilised to enhance the managerial skills of a good contemporary manager. Even if all the chapters are independent from each others, I believe it is useful to read the first chapter, as it defines the overall concept of management and the areas in which managers need to be competent, thus providing a framework for the succeeding chapters. Specifically, in this chapter Armstrong defines management as “achieving results by effectively obtaining, deploying, utilising and controlling all the resources required”, and he differentiates management and leadership (that focuses on only one type of resource, that is people), stressing that it is not enough to be a good manager of resources but a good manager has also to be a good leader of people. At the end of chapter 1 the Author proposes an example of competency framework, that is then elaborated in the following “How to … ” chapters, that cover the following three main areas:managing people;managing activities and processes; andmanaging and developing yourself.As for the former, people are viewed as the most important resource because it is through people that all other resources (namely, knowledge, finance, materials, plants, equipments, etc.) will be managed in a both effective and efficient way. Thus the book clearly explains to the reader the way to effectively coach, communicate, develop and motivate people. In addition, it discusses the issue of conflict management, since conflicts are inevitable within organisations, or performance management, referred to as both the management organisational performance and the management of manager's own performance. As far as the second area is concerned, I found chapter 49 very interesting, that is “How things go wrong and how to put them right”: Armstrong begins the chapter providing the reason why things go wrong, that is because people do less than they are capable of. And in a little more than ten pages he provides the things to do and those not to do to trouble-shoot. Finally, as for the “managing and developing yourself” area, it is useful for all the managers who want to enhance their personal skills. The author points out that, in order to be effective, managers have to be personally involved in the process and not to delegate everything. In other words, managers have to rely on their own expertise, know-how, skills and competencies, and time in order to motivate and direct their teams. Moreover, they must be able to understand the various scenarios and issues which come up in the job environment in order to accurately analyse and define them, and be prepared to take direct actions themselves or through other people. I liked the useful checklists (called by the author himself “Ten things to do”) to summarise in a succinct as well as clear way the actions to be undertaken. Similarly, I liked the appendix where the author lists the positive or negative indicators of performance, as well as the extensive general bibliography, where he cites relevant books and professional periodicals thus making the book useful also for people who are not practitioners (for example, academics whose main research interests cover this issue). In general, I found the book very easy reading and covering all the issues on management and leadership. I believe this book could be useful to both new managers or those aspiring to a management role, because it provides practical guidelines on what managers must know and on which skills a manager have to develop to do their jobs efficiently and effectively.