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Leading Change from Within: A Road Map to Help Middle Managers Affect Lasting Change
Change is at the core of human essence. The simplest definition of change is to make different. Human essence isnt so simple to define. Aristotle referred to it as to ti esti, the what it is. As such, change makes different what is.
Many experts now assert the number one task of leaders is simply to manage change. Yet managing change is anything but simple. Leading change is even more difficult.
Maximizing value in this environment requires leadershipand not yesterdays authoritarian style of leadership, but leadership at a higher level that connects with both the heart and the mind.
Many experts now assert the number one task of leaders is simply to manage change. Yet managing change is anything but simple. Leading change is even more difficult.
Maximizing value in this environment requires leadershipand not yesterdays authoritarian style of leadership, but leadership at a higher level that connects with both the heart and the mind.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2015
4 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Brian Strobel
5 books2 followers***A limited number of complimentary electronic copies of my book are available for review. Please email me directly if you're interested***
Brian Strobel strives to be a servant leader. As a middle manager, executive and consultant, he’s helped organizations find value in change for the past twenty-five years. He’s done this within the military, the government and across the private sector.
Originally from Pittsburgh, he spent the first part of his career as a Marine Officer before transitioning into corporate management. His next career phase is focused on consulting with organizations to improve the effectiveness of their middle managers.
He has graduate degrees in management and in executive leadership (which includes study under Ken Blanchard). He is a certified professional coach (CPC) and manager of quality/organizational excellence (CMQ/OE) and holds additional certifications in negotiation and internal auditing.
Strobel is committed to helping organizations uncover hidden value by developing middle managers into more effective leaders. He has been able to work with some amazing people over the last quarter of a century. And he looks forward to the journey that allows him to continue to do so.
He enjoys spending time with his wife and his favorite dog at their home by a quiet lake in the forest, just north of Grand Rapids.
Brian Strobel strives to be a servant leader. As a middle manager, executive and consultant, he’s helped organizations find value in change for the past twenty-five years. He’s done this within the military, the government and across the private sector.
Originally from Pittsburgh, he spent the first part of his career as a Marine Officer before transitioning into corporate management. His next career phase is focused on consulting with organizations to improve the effectiveness of their middle managers.
He has graduate degrees in management and in executive leadership (which includes study under Ken Blanchard). He is a certified professional coach (CPC) and manager of quality/organizational excellence (CMQ/OE) and holds additional certifications in negotiation and internal auditing.
Strobel is committed to helping organizations uncover hidden value by developing middle managers into more effective leaders. He has been able to work with some amazing people over the last quarter of a century. And he looks forward to the journey that allows him to continue to do so.
He enjoys spending time with his wife and his favorite dog at their home by a quiet lake in the forest, just north of Grand Rapids.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 21, 2015
(I received this book for free through the First Reads program.)
I found this book to be more a review/textbook than a workbook, comprehensive but poorly focused. It didn't seem to provide many on-the-ground ideas or strategies for putting its ideas into practice. It left me wondering who this book was speaking to. Someone looking for a roadmap for how to lead through change won't find enough detail here to give them first steps. Someone looking for an analysis of the different models won't find enough detail to compare them or see how they really differ in practice. Someone who has read as much as this author and truly understands these models likely will find this book a skimming review of the topic. Mostly, reading this book makes me want to go hunting through the bibliography so I can go read the original books and get some actual details of how to implement the models that the author has told me are the best.
There are some good ideas in this book. I liked the idea of having a leadership plan that you share with new employees. A getting to know you document which basically kicks off communication by telling them who you are and what you value. This is a great suggestion, because I think that too many bosses start off a relationship by making sure that you respect them, rather than understand them.
But the book often suffered, in my mind, from a mix of going too broad and also too narrow. This happens right in the first chapter, which is ostensibly about "Preparing Your Self". The chapter wanders, delving deeply into various models of personality assessment and the various leadership models...without giving enough information for the reader to judge whether the author is correct or not. It goes too broad, losing me in the buzzwords associated with each model. It seems like I need to have already read about these models to really understand them. The author certainly knows his material, and he does give his opinions on what approaches are best, but he doesn't really explain his full thought process to the reader. For instance, the author spends two paragraphs explaining why he prefers situational leadership to transformational leadership before moving on to another topic. The only problem is that he hasn't discussed what transformational leadership IS. I have no idea. He breezes over that, just saying that it is deficient in X and Y characteristic, and situational leadership is better because A and B. That's it. Next subject.
The writing style is technically proficient but feels repetitive, with the same points made over and over. There's many cases of making a point in one paragraph and then restating it to make it again in a later paragraph. The headings all make sense, all seem like they should go where they are, but the actual text feels like pieces of different texts cut and pasted where they kind of go without much smoothing. The chapter titles are even a bit misleading, as they are much more active than the actual text. For instance, "Diagnose the Organization" would be more aptly titled "Models for Looking at Organizational Culture", because the text focuses on going through a laundry list of models but doesn't really give any advice on how to use them to actually diagnose anything. Also, more headings (and keeping to them) would help organize things a bit more. I often felt that the author had wandered away from whatever it was he was supposed to be discussing.
Also, more concrete examples would help. The author seemed like he was trying to do this, but his examples from his own experience were often "You should do X. I did X, and I succeeded. Here are the steps to do X." Yet, he'd describe how to do X without actually giving an example of a completed X. If his X was so good, why not put part of it in the book to show what a successful X looks like? Why not include specific examples of steps taken to implement a certain model, and how these succeeded?
All the negatives outweighed the positives for me, unfortunately, and this book was very hard to finish.
I found this book to be more a review/textbook than a workbook, comprehensive but poorly focused. It didn't seem to provide many on-the-ground ideas or strategies for putting its ideas into practice. It left me wondering who this book was speaking to. Someone looking for a roadmap for how to lead through change won't find enough detail here to give them first steps. Someone looking for an analysis of the different models won't find enough detail to compare them or see how they really differ in practice. Someone who has read as much as this author and truly understands these models likely will find this book a skimming review of the topic. Mostly, reading this book makes me want to go hunting through the bibliography so I can go read the original books and get some actual details of how to implement the models that the author has told me are the best.
There are some good ideas in this book. I liked the idea of having a leadership plan that you share with new employees. A getting to know you document which basically kicks off communication by telling them who you are and what you value. This is a great suggestion, because I think that too many bosses start off a relationship by making sure that you respect them, rather than understand them.
But the book often suffered, in my mind, from a mix of going too broad and also too narrow. This happens right in the first chapter, which is ostensibly about "Preparing Your Self". The chapter wanders, delving deeply into various models of personality assessment and the various leadership models...without giving enough information for the reader to judge whether the author is correct or not. It goes too broad, losing me in the buzzwords associated with each model. It seems like I need to have already read about these models to really understand them. The author certainly knows his material, and he does give his opinions on what approaches are best, but he doesn't really explain his full thought process to the reader. For instance, the author spends two paragraphs explaining why he prefers situational leadership to transformational leadership before moving on to another topic. The only problem is that he hasn't discussed what transformational leadership IS. I have no idea. He breezes over that, just saying that it is deficient in X and Y characteristic, and situational leadership is better because A and B. That's it. Next subject.
The writing style is technically proficient but feels repetitive, with the same points made over and over. There's many cases of making a point in one paragraph and then restating it to make it again in a later paragraph. The headings all make sense, all seem like they should go where they are, but the actual text feels like pieces of different texts cut and pasted where they kind of go without much smoothing. The chapter titles are even a bit misleading, as they are much more active than the actual text. For instance, "Diagnose the Organization" would be more aptly titled "Models for Looking at Organizational Culture", because the text focuses on going through a laundry list of models but doesn't really give any advice on how to use them to actually diagnose anything. Also, more headings (and keeping to them) would help organize things a bit more. I often felt that the author had wandered away from whatever it was he was supposed to be discussing.
Also, more concrete examples would help. The author seemed like he was trying to do this, but his examples from his own experience were often "You should do X. I did X, and I succeeded. Here are the steps to do X." Yet, he'd describe how to do X without actually giving an example of a completed X. If his X was so good, why not put part of it in the book to show what a successful X looks like? Why not include specific examples of steps taken to implement a certain model, and how these succeeded?
All the negatives outweighed the positives for me, unfortunately, and this book was very hard to finish.
June 25, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book as part of a Christian book review exchange.
Quite honestly, I'm not sure that I was a great audience for this book. There's nothing particularly "Christian" about it (which may reassure some people), other than a few scripture quotes (mixed in with a host of other sources), and a mention that the author attends church. Given the very narrow target audience, I can understand the author reaching for reviews.
I'm not a middle manager. I can see how there would be some great information and leadership theory for middle managers in here, but I found it a tough read. I'd sum it up as coming across like an academic thesis that's trying really hard not to be. It's also heavily jargony. "Business" types might see it as an effective presentation; I really don't know. I just know that I wasn't particularly fond of it.
Basically, 4 stars for information (I assume), and 2 stars for presentation... split the difference for the rating.
If you're a middle manager looking for resources on change and transition, it's definitely worth a try.
Your mileage may vary.
Quite honestly, I'm not sure that I was a great audience for this book. There's nothing particularly "Christian" about it (which may reassure some people), other than a few scripture quotes (mixed in with a host of other sources), and a mention that the author attends church. Given the very narrow target audience, I can understand the author reaching for reviews.
I'm not a middle manager. I can see how there would be some great information and leadership theory for middle managers in here, but I found it a tough read. I'd sum it up as coming across like an academic thesis that's trying really hard not to be. It's also heavily jargony. "Business" types might see it as an effective presentation; I really don't know. I just know that I wasn't particularly fond of it.
Basically, 4 stars for information (I assume), and 2 stars for presentation... split the difference for the rating.
If you're a middle manager looking for resources on change and transition, it's definitely worth a try.
Your mileage may vary.
May 28, 2015
I read this book because the author asked me for an honest review.
This book took a while for me to get interested. It is not a bad book by any means. I am simply not a middle manager, and thus the book did not really apply to me at certain stages. It is also written from a business perspective and with business language. Something I know very little about.
I did glean some very important insights from the reading. One of which I have already quoted in a sermon of mine. However, if you are not a middle manager, or interested in business, I would not read this book. If you are a middle manager, and you are interested in business, then by all means read this book! It will help you!
This book took a while for me to get interested. It is not a bad book by any means. I am simply not a middle manager, and thus the book did not really apply to me at certain stages. It is also written from a business perspective and with business language. Something I know very little about.
I did glean some very important insights from the reading. One of which I have already quoted in a sermon of mine. However, if you are not a middle manager, or interested in business, I would not read this book. If you are a middle manager, and you are interested in business, then by all means read this book! It will help you!
May 8, 2015
An in-depth book on the issue of change in business. Do you manage it or does it manage you?
Brian Strobel approaches the subject in the context of leadership. He speaks to the organization, the employee, and the individual on multiple levels. Instead of waiting for the effect of change, Strobel shows important ways of leading a successful business within the ever-changing environment of today’s world.
But this book isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s long and exhaustive as are similar works. It could use a bit more editing to remove unnecessary words and a few errors, but even so it's a challenging read.
I give it four stars.
Brian Strobel approaches the subject in the context of leadership. He speaks to the organization, the employee, and the individual on multiple levels. Instead of waiting for the effect of change, Strobel shows important ways of leading a successful business within the ever-changing environment of today’s world.
But this book isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s long and exhaustive as are similar works. It could use a bit more editing to remove unnecessary words and a few errors, but even so it's a challenging read.
I give it four stars.
May 7, 2015
This book covers the topic of change exhaustively. If you are interested and willing to push through to the end you will have the equivalent of a semester of masters study. The many charts and diagrams are very helpful. Here is a hint for comprehension.read the last chapter first.
Want to read
June 1, 2015This book looks good Can't believe I won a copy on Goodreads
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews