Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences

by Jane Hyun, Audrey S. Lee

Renowned executive coaches and global leadership strategists offer lessons on the vital skill of "Flexing"-the art of switching leadership styles to more effectively lead people who are different from you, allowing managers to successfully manage the multicultural workers of today and tomorrow

The workplace around the world is growing increasingly multicultural, female, and younger. Diversity experts often tell CEOs and managers what NOT to do, and corporate diversity programs have become defensive measures against lawsuits and harassment charges. We have lost the ability to build the trust required to achieve great outcomes in our workplaces. In order to be successful in this new global business environment, we need to re-think the way we lead others.

Flex offers a different approach-a proactive strategy for managers to navigate and leverage diversity effectively in this new global economy, showing managers how to:

• Understand the Power Gap, the social distance between you and those in the workplace of different cultures, ages, and gender.
• Flex your management style, by stretching how you work and communicate with others, and bridging the gap with more effective communication, feedback tools and building healthy teams
• Multiply the effect, by teaching these skills to others and closing the power gap with clients, customers, and partners to create innovative solutions

Creating flex in a company's management style will impact all aspects of developing the talent you have, attracting future talent and building relationships with customers in this competitive marketplace. Now, Flex shows you how.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Management, Personal Development

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2013

Reviews

[Benjamin Vanevery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this book. It's hard to summarize the subtleties of the book without losing the critical context. The easiest summary is that it presents the reader with a mental model for viewing and assimilating into a diverse world full of new ideas, energy, productivity, and rapport.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of the electronic ARC from Edelweiss.

Three stars is a bit of a stretch for this one, but I gave it a little extra bump because I am really not the target audience. This would be a valuable book for managers who deal with a diverse workforce, particularly in the corporate world. As a suburban librarian who currently works with 97% white women (not something we should be proud of, but there it is), I valued this book for the lessons I hope I will remember down the line, when I am in a position to change where I work or take on a management role.

The premise of the book is that to be a fluent leader, you must learn to "flex" your management skills based on who you are working with. Flexing means adapting to the different issues that may arise when dealing with the power gaps caused by gender, culture, race, communication style, and age. For example, workers coming over from China are going to have very different ideas about authority and respect than workers raised in the US, and these differences may cause a schism between management and the worker. Flexing involves being open and honest about these differences, and both parties being willing to meet each other halfway and come to a solution that everyone is comfortable with. According to the authors, the standard trope in American business right now is to pretend that differences don't exist--we embrace diversity by trying to make it invisible. Instead, we should be talking about our differences to improve the way we all work together.

There's certainly a lot to take away from this book. However, it was difficult for me to connect to these stories of fluent leaders who flex out to their diverse staff, because so many of them work in large businesses, with global divisions, etc. I would like to have seen a small business owner, or someone who isn't dealing with a large workforce but must still flex across barriers. There was a teacher mentioned, which I thought was a nice addition.

Overall, a useful text but not a stellar one.

[Amy Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend of mine and I have recently taken on more leadership roles in our careers, so we thought we would give this book a try. However, this is not a book geared towards anyone in the education field. There is one teacher mentioned, Rafe Esquith, who is already highly publicized, and it seemed out of place. This is definitely more for people who work in places where CEOs are involved. Still, there was some food for thought.

I liked the chapter on Culture and Communication: Flexing Across Styles.In this part of the book, a series of spectrums are described and you have to think about where you tend to fall on it. Spectrums include: The Direct vs. Indirect Spectrum, The Expressive vs. Restrained Spectrum, and The Task vs. Relationship Spectrum. The authors describe how different cultures generally approach each spectrum too. It made me think about how my tendency to be one way, say task oriented, may not take into account how important it is for others to focus more on relationships on the job. While I may want to just get started on the meeting agenda and connect to people while accomplishing tasks, other people need to have those team building ice breakers first in order to work well, and both are valid. The emphasis on acknowledging differences is always a good reminder.

[Olga Kraineva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay. Felt dated when it was written just 7 years ago…a business book should not feel dated when it’s only been less than a decade since it was published…

Very repetitive - I found the authors own rhetoric and advice was either 1. Not deep enough (aka the same concept was repeated over and over again) or 2. Elementary without profound insight. A lot of the more meaty concepts were taken from other published works (which they cited).

I did appreciate some of their interviews with successful leaders but overall very skippable.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was long, in depth, and something of a slog to get through. Typical leadership book for the most part. Do “x” better and your whole team is stronger. It’s like saying to win the game we need to score more points.

I did appreciate the thoughts on coaching, onboarding, and mentoring programs, and think those are sorely lacking in my own career field. The reflection questions were something I did find helpful as well.

[Abby Epplett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes the "business = sports" fallacy and leans in. Fortunately the analogies don't extend much past the title. The authors remind the reader of the changes in the workplace, such as the increasing number of women, retiring of older workers, and emphasis on cultural differences. Although written in 2014, the book feels older, maybe a 1990s read.

[Kristen]

DNF.

[Yee Teng Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Case studies and personal accounts included provides great insights and perspective to the diverse ways of bridging the power gap.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free through the Goodreads First Reads program. It came at a time when I was helping one of our directors manage older, more experienced employees, so it was great timing. I love that it was written by two women who address issues in narrowing the "power gap" in organizations by looking at the total picture. They take into account not only experience differences, but culture, gender, race, and generation gaps, and how these experience bases can affect communication, trust, interpretation, etc... Overall, a great book for anyone who wants a comprehensive view of effectively managing differences in an organization.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the premise of the book is certainly timely and important (managing across power gaps/differences between genders, generations, and cultures) I really disliked this book-- it was a fluffy HR-ish read that didn't present anything new and was generally not a value-add. At all. So many lame hypothetical stories, overly "familiar"/informal language, overly politically correct switching between gendered pronouns constantly in a dumb distracting way... ugh. I had to read it for work or would have put it down post-haste.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC through a Goodreads contest and was on a Lean In/women & minorities in business/The Partner Track kick. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was not only about managing "down" but also about managing "up." Given that I'm not a manager, nor do I usually read this genre, I appreciated the anecdotes and hope that I'll be able to translate some of the messages into my work, especially if I ever manage someone other than an intern!

[Mike Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe really 3.5 stars.

Another good business book that probably could have been summarized in a much smaller package. "People are all different and today's workforce is used to be treated like individuals." So do that.

If you need more background as to why that's true, it's all there, but felt a little bloated. Worth at least a casual read.

[Shelli McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who manages a diverse work force, particularly those working with individuals from various generations or cultures. Great tips and practical ideas for improving how you work and handle those different from you.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Paul Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once they got past a few key points and good illustrative anecdotes, the whole thing got repetitious.

[Santhosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

sddad