First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals - Hardcover

McKenna, Patrick J.; Maister, David H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743225511 ISBN 13: 9780743225519

Publisher: Free Press, 2002

Synopsis

Whether you have just been appointed as a group leader or you are a battle-scarred veteran, you know that managing professional people is difficult!

• Intelligent professionals are often free-agents, accustomed to having autonomy to work on grueling assignments with little supervision, and always relentlessly demanding of themselves and others. How do you actually add value as a group leader, or even get these people to accept your guidance?

• How do you deal with those oh-so-talented but oh-so-annoying professionals who exhibit attitude problems or are just exceedingly difficult to work with, when you need them but they needle you?

• How do you avoid unsettling group meetings where you meet for no clear purpose; people drift in and out at random times; the power players dominate discussions; and everyone brings along their favorite axe to grind?

• How do you actually inspire your group to bone-satisfying performance?

In this strikingly unique "playbook," professional service experts Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister provide real-world examples, a wealth of self-evaluation materials, and concrete advice on stressful day-to-day management issues that every leader of professionals will welcome. The authors offer penetrating insights into the basics of coaching, dividing their attention equally between energizing and guiding the individual performer and the group.

There has never been a book quite like this. First Among Equals is essential reading for practice leaders and group heads in the professional sector as well as managers of highly talented, technical knowledge workers anywhere. The lessons and learnings presented here will give you insights and action tips to help you provoke and inspire your people to their full potential.

About this title

Review:

Competently managing a group of peers is unquestionably among the most difficult of workplace tasks, but key steps that produce success are laid out so clearly by consultants Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister in First Among Equals that even those who completely lack experience should find the process feasible and effective. McKenna and Maister focus on leading teams of professionals--often composed of people who don't feel like they are part of a team or in need of leadership--by transforming the way managers assume responsibility and direct members. "Success in helping your group succeed is mostly about you. Not them," they write. Their book starts by explaining how to prepare for the job ahead, for example, by meeting informally with participants and displaying sincere interest in things that matter to them. It then explores coaching the individuals involved (offering methods for gaining acceptance, building rapport, assisting underperformers and dealing with prima donnas) and guiding the collective group (by developing rules, building trust, invigorating meetings, and resolving conflicts). Finally, it proposes measures for continued success, such as integrating new hires and gauging performance. Dozens of self-assessment questionnaires and diagnostic tests help make this an exceptionally practical guidebook on a critical but oft-neglected topic. --Howard Rothman

From the Inside Flap:

ADVANCE PRAISE

"A unique and very useful contribution to the field of leadership and management of professionals."

--Jon Katzenbach, co-author of The Wisdom of Teams

"McKenna and Maister turn the often elusive and obscure concept of leadership into something tangible and accessible. With rich detail and straight talk they offer practical lessons, usable tools, and case examples from the real world. This is advice and counsel you can trust, and every manager of professionals (no, every manager in any setting) should take it to heart."

--Jim Kouzes, co-author, The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart; Chairman emeritus, tompeters!company

"This book is a unique combination of good business, understanding of people and applied wisdom."

--Regis McKenna, author of Total Access, Real Time, and Relationship Marketing

"This book is truly a fire hose of practical, proven, workable advice and counsel that is intimately sensitive to the very special demands of professionals. It may well become the most dog-eared book in every firm--and with good reason."

--Jim Shaffer, author of The Leadership Solution

"First Among Equals delivers for newcomers and old pros alike. McKenna and Maister--polished professionals both--know how to work with enormously talented people, and they write with the kind of reassurance and calm confidence a professional group leader craves. The book's hands-on checklists are flat-out superb."

--Nancy K. Austin, co-author, A Passion for Excellence

"This is a fast-moving, practical book, full of proven strategies and techniques that you can use immediately to manage a professional group more effectively. These methods will help you get better results, faster, with your colleagues than you ever imagined."

--Brian Tracy, author of Focal Point, Success Is A Journey and Maximum Achievement

"This book is invaluable. McKenna and Maister have honed in with laser precision on a desperately important yet vastly under-addressed topic, to provide eminently practical advice and prescriptions for every leader of professional workers."

--Ross Dawson, author of Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships: The Future of Professional Services

About this edition

• Publisher: Free Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0743225511
• ISBN 13: 9780743225519
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320