Brilliant ManagerNic Peeling (Prentice Hall Pearson Education, Jan 30,2006)Reviewed by admin Mon 24 Nov 08 Bob's Rating: In Brilliant Manager, the author Nic Peeling suggests that this book is “the first book to try to distil the hard-won experience of the best managers and set it down as practical things you need to know, say and do”. To say this is the “first book” might be a little presumptuous as there have been many of similar ilk in this genre – see for example “Becoming a Manager” by Linda A. Hill, “Inspirational Manager” by Judith Leary-Joyce, “The First 90 Days: Critical success factors for new leaders at all levels” by Michael Watkins and “50 DOs for Everyday Leadership” by John Barrett, David Wheatley & Lynn Townsend. Further, I did not see evidence of reports from the “best managers” merely self reports from Peeling. Not that there is too much wrong with some of the advice given by the author – there are some very good points made about:• Drawing a line between work and home and sticking to it• Delegation – the right and wrong ways• Play to your strengths• Business tipsto name just a few. However, I found the negative tone of the book put me off much of the good pieces of advice it contains. For example, there are a number of references to avoiding a “blame culture”, but little on how to avoid it. The author even uses the term blame himself when talking about handling poor performance “If the person is to blame …” Even handling key staff (high performers) is handled this way with comments about “drop hints about grievances” and “do not yield to threats” (on the assumption that key staff will threaten the manager). I also disagree with some of the advice given, for example Peeling proposes delegating staff problems to others in your team if this is not a strength of yours. Peeling suggests “organise your team to include someone who has responsibility for staff development” and adds that this person can be a great source of feedback on the attitude within your team and alert you to serious concerns. My contention is that the manager cannot delegate staff matters – he or she is solely responsible for the performance of the people they manage. Full stop. This book will suit a certain style of manager, but is not for everyone. |
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