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Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team
***A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTELLER***
From the organizational experts at FranklinCovey, an essential guide to becoming the great manager every team deserves.
A practical must-read, FranklinCovey’s Everyone Deserves a Great Manager is the essential guide for the millions of people all over the world making the challenging and rewarding leap to manager. Based on nearly a decade of research on what makes managers successful—and includes new ways of thinking, tips and techniques—this volume has been field-tested with hundreds of thousands of managers all over the world.
Organized under four main roles every manager is expected to fill, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager focuses on how to lead yourself, people, teams, and change. Readers can start anywhere and go everywhere with this guide—depending on their current problem or time constraint. They can pick up a helpful tip in ten minutes or glean an entire skillset with deeper reading. The goal is for the busy manager to know what to do and how to do it without interrupting their regular workflow.
Each role highlights the current, authentic problems managers face and briefly explores the limiting mindsets or common mistakes that led to those problems. With skill-based chapters that cover managerial skills like one-on-ones, giving feedback, delegating, hiring, building team culture, and leading remote teams, the book also includes more than thirty unique tools, such as a prep worksheets and a list of behavioral questions for your next interview. An approachable, engaging style using real-world stories, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager provides the blueprint for becoming the great manager every team deserves.
From the organizational experts at FranklinCovey, an essential guide to becoming the great manager every team deserves.
A practical must-read, FranklinCovey’s Everyone Deserves a Great Manager is the essential guide for the millions of people all over the world making the challenging and rewarding leap to manager. Based on nearly a decade of research on what makes managers successful—and includes new ways of thinking, tips and techniques—this volume has been field-tested with hundreds of thousands of managers all over the world.
Organized under four main roles every manager is expected to fill, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager focuses on how to lead yourself, people, teams, and change. Readers can start anywhere and go everywhere with this guide—depending on their current problem or time constraint. They can pick up a helpful tip in ten minutes or glean an entire skillset with deeper reading. The goal is for the busy manager to know what to do and how to do it without interrupting their regular workflow.
Each role highlights the current, authentic problems managers face and briefly explores the limiting mindsets or common mistakes that led to those problems. With skill-based chapters that cover managerial skills like one-on-ones, giving feedback, delegating, hiring, building team culture, and leading remote teams, the book also includes more than thirty unique tools, such as a prep worksheets and a list of behavioral questions for your next interview. An approachable, engaging style using real-world stories, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager provides the blueprint for becoming the great manager every team deserves.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published October 8, 2019
199 people are currently reading
2213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 24, 2020
I thought this book wasn’t going to offer a lot of insightful and new ideas. However, I was wrong. I’ve already been able to implement quite a few of these ideas into my current job. It’s also allowing me to maintain focus more and watch my attitude towards my colleagues when they upset me. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to young leaders.
October 25, 2020
Best part of the book is that it includes a number of real life examples and easy to understand templates which gels well with the best practices discussed. Written in an interactive way where one can feel like sitting in a real workshop. Can be read at a fast pace. Can be used by a new or even practicing managers as a handy guide to course correct.
June 18, 2020
Most value a first-level leader can get out of a book or a course or under 4 hours. This is a must-read for anyone who aspires to manage a team. Every leader deserves a great book like this one.
May 28, 2021
Excellent overview of the basic practices that all leaders need to be successful. I was lucky enough that my company paid for me to attend the class that accompanies the information in this book, and I highly recommend it as well. The exercises in the book help any leader assess where they are and what they need to work on to become the leader their team deserves.
March 23, 2020
Read this book in book club format at work. Not a typical book I would pick up, because I find most these “success” books are all about catch phrases and fancy ideas. However, this book was succinct and practical. I guess I am aware of the importance of the points mentioned in the book, but I would never be able to say it so effectively with so few words.
Would definitely keep this book and use as a reference.
Would definitely keep this book and use as a reference.
Read
March 3, 2022Your actions as manager will have a huge impact on your team’s productivity – not to mention its members’ happiness and health. When you’re a new leader, it’s easy to get swept up in your own ambitions. But if you want to be an effective leader – one who can help employees reach their full potential – you need to let go of thoughts about your personal success. To be an effective leader, you must focus on supporting your team. That’s the true purpose of a manager – and the only way to do your job well.
Actionable advice:
Praise team members in a way that speaks to them.
When it comes to being praised, everyone has personal preferences. Some employees will love it if you applaud them during a staff meeting. Others will be mortified by this type of public attention, preferring you to say thank you during a 1-on-1. Make it your mission to discover how and when you should deliver your praise to each individual on your team. That way, you can tailor your approach, and make sure your words of gratitude and encouragement hit the right note every time.
---
Focus on your team’s success – not your own.
Carolyn – a colleague of the author’s and a fellow salesperson – was the obvious choice when a leadership position opened up at her workplace. She was a high performer, consistently exceeding her sales targets each quarter. Upper management was excited about her team potentially doing the same.
But they were bitterly disappointed. Carolyn’s team didn’t seem to be developing. And worse, they didn’t trust her. What was going wrong?
Carolyn was always trying to save the day. If it looked like a deal was slipping away during a client meeting, she’d swoop in, put her sales skills into action, and close the deal. She thought this was the right thing to do, because her focus was still on sales targets. Carolyn had forgotten that she wasn’t in sales anymore. Her job now was to support her team.
If you’re a first-time leader, you might think it’s your job to fix all the problems you encounter. But by taking over when things look precarious, you sabotage your team’s opportunities to learn.
Imagine how different things would have been for Carolyn’s team if she’d let them make mistakes. Sure, they would’ve lost a few sales. But afterwards, Carolyn and her team could’ve explored what they could do differently next time. This would’ve helped team members develop their sales skills, improving results over time. And, perhaps most important, it would have shown the team that Carolyn trusted them, building their confidence.
Stepping into the leadership role means changing your definition of results. Your results won’t arise from your own work anymore – like Carolyn’s impressive sales records. They’ll arise from your team’s achievements.
So what does that mean, exactly?
It means that your main focus must be supporting your team. If your team is developing and working well, you’re doing your job properly. Your personal deliverables need to take a backseat, so you can prioritize your team’s growth. After all, what’s the point of having a sales team if the manager is closing all the deals? That’s not going to achieve sustainable results long-term, or increase the overall volume of sales.
Get into the habit of regularly asking yourself what type of manager your team needs in that moment to be the best they can possibly be. Is there something you need to learn so you can support them? Maybe there’s even something you have to unlearn – so that you don’t end up like Carolyn.
---
Connect your team with the company’s vision.
How would you feel if your boss told you to do something without explaining why? Enthusiastic, or uninterested and confused? Now, imagine you asked why that task was important. If your boss responded with, “Because I said so,” would you feel any better? Or would you feel like a kid being ordered to eat his vegetables?
When employees don’t understand why the work they do is important, motivation plummets. They might carry out their tasks, but they won’t have a sense of ownership over their work, so its quality will drop – and you’ll waste time picking up the slack.
But if your team members understand how their contributions support the company’s goals, they’ll be infused with purpose. They’re no longer just shuffling papers for the sake of it. They’re shaping a memorable customer experience, or maybe helping a business recover a debt so that jobs won’t be lost. And that’s motivating.
Your team won’t be clear on what your company’s goals are if you don’t know them yourself. If you don’t know, check in with your boss. Ask her what the priorities are, then think about what your team could do to support them.
Once you know where you’re all supposed to be heading, call a meeting and share the company’s goals with your team. Then, as a group, explore different ways you could help achieve those goals. This is how you create deep buy-in. If a team has designed its own goals, its members will be more motivated to put in the hard work. As soon as they have a sense of purpose, they’ll stop just going through the motions and take ownership.
When you’ve finished workshopping, choose three goals, then create briefs for each. Appoint specific team members to work on different aspects of the project, with clear accountabilities, so everyone knows what you expect of them.
Hold brief, regular meetings to check in on action items. This’ll keep your team focused as you work toward your goals. Meetings like this build momentum by creating a sense of progress. They also help everyone keep their eyes on the ball amid the inevitable interruptions and distractions of daily work life. And they’re a great opportunity to reconnect everyone’s contributions with the company’s vision, to keep your team inspired.
Actionable advice:
Praise team members in a way that speaks to them.
When it comes to being praised, everyone has personal preferences. Some employees will love it if you applaud them during a staff meeting. Others will be mortified by this type of public attention, preferring you to say thank you during a 1-on-1. Make it your mission to discover how and when you should deliver your praise to each individual on your team. That way, you can tailor your approach, and make sure your words of gratitude and encouragement hit the right note every time.
---
Focus on your team’s success – not your own.
Carolyn – a colleague of the author’s and a fellow salesperson – was the obvious choice when a leadership position opened up at her workplace. She was a high performer, consistently exceeding her sales targets each quarter. Upper management was excited about her team potentially doing the same.
But they were bitterly disappointed. Carolyn’s team didn’t seem to be developing. And worse, they didn’t trust her. What was going wrong?
Carolyn was always trying to save the day. If it looked like a deal was slipping away during a client meeting, she’d swoop in, put her sales skills into action, and close the deal. She thought this was the right thing to do, because her focus was still on sales targets. Carolyn had forgotten that she wasn’t in sales anymore. Her job now was to support her team.
If you’re a first-time leader, you might think it’s your job to fix all the problems you encounter. But by taking over when things look precarious, you sabotage your team’s opportunities to learn.
Imagine how different things would have been for Carolyn’s team if she’d let them make mistakes. Sure, they would’ve lost a few sales. But afterwards, Carolyn and her team could’ve explored what they could do differently next time. This would’ve helped team members develop their sales skills, improving results over time. And, perhaps most important, it would have shown the team that Carolyn trusted them, building their confidence.
Stepping into the leadership role means changing your definition of results. Your results won’t arise from your own work anymore – like Carolyn’s impressive sales records. They’ll arise from your team’s achievements.
So what does that mean, exactly?
It means that your main focus must be supporting your team. If your team is developing and working well, you’re doing your job properly. Your personal deliverables need to take a backseat, so you can prioritize your team’s growth. After all, what’s the point of having a sales team if the manager is closing all the deals? That’s not going to achieve sustainable results long-term, or increase the overall volume of sales.
Get into the habit of regularly asking yourself what type of manager your team needs in that moment to be the best they can possibly be. Is there something you need to learn so you can support them? Maybe there’s even something you have to unlearn – so that you don’t end up like Carolyn.
---
Connect your team with the company’s vision.
How would you feel if your boss told you to do something without explaining why? Enthusiastic, or uninterested and confused? Now, imagine you asked why that task was important. If your boss responded with, “Because I said so,” would you feel any better? Or would you feel like a kid being ordered to eat his vegetables?
When employees don’t understand why the work they do is important, motivation plummets. They might carry out their tasks, but they won’t have a sense of ownership over their work, so its quality will drop – and you’ll waste time picking up the slack.
But if your team members understand how their contributions support the company’s goals, they’ll be infused with purpose. They’re no longer just shuffling papers for the sake of it. They’re shaping a memorable customer experience, or maybe helping a business recover a debt so that jobs won’t be lost. And that’s motivating.
Your team won’t be clear on what your company’s goals are if you don’t know them yourself. If you don’t know, check in with your boss. Ask her what the priorities are, then think about what your team could do to support them.
Once you know where you’re all supposed to be heading, call a meeting and share the company’s goals with your team. Then, as a group, explore different ways you could help achieve those goals. This is how you create deep buy-in. If a team has designed its own goals, its members will be more motivated to put in the hard work. As soon as they have a sense of purpose, they’ll stop just going through the motions and take ownership.
When you’ve finished workshopping, choose three goals, then create briefs for each. Appoint specific team members to work on different aspects of the project, with clear accountabilities, so everyone knows what you expect of them.
Hold brief, regular meetings to check in on action items. This’ll keep your team focused as you work toward your goals. Meetings like this build momentum by creating a sense of progress. They also help everyone keep their eyes on the ball amid the inevitable interruptions and distractions of daily work life. And they’re a great opportunity to reconnect everyone’s contributions with the company’s vision, to keep your team inspired.
June 17, 2022
This easily became the most effective and enjoyable leadership/management book I have read! So many tangible examples and key points that I can begin incorporating into my team and my daily work. I picked this up thinking I would read it over a week or two period and ended up finishing it in one sitting, taking copious notes throughout. Anyone who has interest in being a first level manager or is currently managing others should read this book.
November 10, 2020
While this book had many good overarching themes similar to “Management Mess” the specific guidance seem to break down again and left me wishing for more. My preference and what I believe is the better management book is still Mark Horstman’s “The Effective Manager” which gives much better “how to implement” than this book. That being said, this book is still a good introduction into some very important management topics.
January 25, 2021
Quick read, easy to follow, great roadmap to improvement for yourself as a manager and your direct reports in effectively enabling growth.
April 26, 2024
A colleague recommended this book to our leadership team last year, and I am admittedly just getting around to reading it now. It's not a genre I particularly enjoy, and spending my career in nonprofit and public sector jobs, I often find the advice given in this genre to directly contradict our values and priorities. But this one surprised me. I found that all six of these practices really resonated with me, and there were even some things I could take away and put into practice in my role.
The authors start with developing a leader's mindset - focusing on training and supporting your staff, rather than just getting results even if you have to do it all yourself. I really appreciated that the focus here was about more than long-term efficiency, but that it really focused on supporting your team as whole people who deserve professional development and trust. A theme of this book actually is succession planing and training your team to step into your role, and to me that felt like exactly the right way to frame this.
Practices 2 and 4 were ones that have actually been huge focuses for my team in the last year: holding regular 1-on-1s and creating a culture of feedback. I cannot stress enough the importance of weekly 1:1s. I know that some people have different opinions, especially about frequency (our leadership landed on monthly as the minimum), but the impact of making time for each of your team members to bring self-directed questions and concerns, to have time set aside to talk about their professional development, and to directly schedule bandwidth to provide hands-on coaching and support cannot be understated. When I struggle to get that time from my manager, my priorities get out of alignment and I start to feel anxiety about my progress, even when constantly running myself to exhaustion. And developing a culture of multi-directional feedback is the only way to build that rapport and have these conversations be authentic and meaningful. And sure, yeah, they also get results.
Practice 3, setting up your team to get results, sounded to me like coaching and providing infrastructure more than anything. Or, as they put it, "focusing on long-term strategy, ensuring the right people are in the right roles, and clarifying the vision for the future."
Practice 5 is about change management, which is really the space my organization was in when this book was recommended to me. We were going through an all-agency re-org that did involve a handful of layoffs, and people were appropriately concerned and skeptical about what this all meant for them. The messages in this chapter about the value of transparency in particular were really borne out in our experience. While they acknowledge that their four zones of change model is extremely simplistic, it felt too simple to be useful to me. I had hoped for more from this chapter, especially since the vignette given was also about significant layoffs - teams don't just move linearly through this four zone model of status quo / disruption / adoption / better performance with a change that severe; it just doesn't happen.
Practice 6 is about self-care and work-life balance, and while obviously important, it just feels very rote and overdone at this point. Perhaps that is a function of my business environment, but in social work at least, it feels like this is all we talk about. Of course sleeping, eating, connecting, exercising, and relaxing are important. We know. I did appreciate the immediate dispensal with the Eisenhower matrix and the understanding that most folks these days are balancing competing priorities that are all urgent and all important. Deleting and delegating reflect a level of inefficiency often left long behind, and our choices are often do or schedule (or effectively delete and face the consequences because there is too much to get done). I feel like there is a lot more that could have been said on that subject still though.
Overall, it was a helpful little primer and worth recommending to some of our newer managers as well. Not super full of new insights, but mostly good reminders for those of us who have been managing for a while.
The authors start with developing a leader's mindset - focusing on training and supporting your staff, rather than just getting results even if you have to do it all yourself. I really appreciated that the focus here was about more than long-term efficiency, but that it really focused on supporting your team as whole people who deserve professional development and trust. A theme of this book actually is succession planing and training your team to step into your role, and to me that felt like exactly the right way to frame this.
Practices 2 and 4 were ones that have actually been huge focuses for my team in the last year: holding regular 1-on-1s and creating a culture of feedback. I cannot stress enough the importance of weekly 1:1s. I know that some people have different opinions, especially about frequency (our leadership landed on monthly as the minimum), but the impact of making time for each of your team members to bring self-directed questions and concerns, to have time set aside to talk about their professional development, and to directly schedule bandwidth to provide hands-on coaching and support cannot be understated. When I struggle to get that time from my manager, my priorities get out of alignment and I start to feel anxiety about my progress, even when constantly running myself to exhaustion. And developing a culture of multi-directional feedback is the only way to build that rapport and have these conversations be authentic and meaningful. And sure, yeah, they also get results.
Practice 3, setting up your team to get results, sounded to me like coaching and providing infrastructure more than anything. Or, as they put it, "focusing on long-term strategy, ensuring the right people are in the right roles, and clarifying the vision for the future."
Practice 5 is about change management, which is really the space my organization was in when this book was recommended to me. We were going through an all-agency re-org that did involve a handful of layoffs, and people were appropriately concerned and skeptical about what this all meant for them. The messages in this chapter about the value of transparency in particular were really borne out in our experience. While they acknowledge that their four zones of change model is extremely simplistic, it felt too simple to be useful to me. I had hoped for more from this chapter, especially since the vignette given was also about significant layoffs - teams don't just move linearly through this four zone model of status quo / disruption / adoption / better performance with a change that severe; it just doesn't happen.
Practice 6 is about self-care and work-life balance, and while obviously important, it just feels very rote and overdone at this point. Perhaps that is a function of my business environment, but in social work at least, it feels like this is all we talk about. Of course sleeping, eating, connecting, exercising, and relaxing are important. We know. I did appreciate the immediate dispensal with the Eisenhower matrix and the understanding that most folks these days are balancing competing priorities that are all urgent and all important. Deleting and delegating reflect a level of inefficiency often left long behind, and our choices are often do or schedule (or effectively delete and face the consequences because there is too much to get done). I feel like there is a lot more that could have been said on that subject still though.
Overall, it was a helpful little primer and worth recommending to some of our newer managers as well. Not super full of new insights, but mostly good reminders for those of us who have been managing for a while.
October 8, 2019
As a first line manager, I often wonder whether I am really spending my time on the tasks that are not only going to be most beneficial for me but also for my team. Like a lot of other managers I know, I haven't had a huge amount of management training. This is not so uncommon. Many people who are promoted in to managerial roles are put in those positions without a whole lot of formal training. As a result, it's up to the individual to figure out what it takes to be a good manager on their own.
Thankfully there is a terrific new book out from Scott Miller at FranklinCovey called Everyone Deserves A Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team. Whether you are a new manager or someone who has been in a managerial role for a number of years (like I have) you will find a wealth of useful tips in this book.
The authors have distilled years of experience and research into six actionable steps that managers can take to improve the leadership of their teams. Each critical practice is backed not only with their own exhaustive data but also from their own personal experiences. In fact, the authors will frequently share ways they failed to apply the principles outlined in the book and how those failures spurred each one of them on to become more effective managers. I found their authenticity refreshing as it dispelled the common myth that as managers we have everything figured out.
This is a book that I can see going back to again and again to these principles. I can see already in my first of many readings through this book that it has already made me a better manager. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in a managerial role.
Thankfully there is a terrific new book out from Scott Miller at FranklinCovey called Everyone Deserves A Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team. Whether you are a new manager or someone who has been in a managerial role for a number of years (like I have) you will find a wealth of useful tips in this book.
The authors have distilled years of experience and research into six actionable steps that managers can take to improve the leadership of their teams. Each critical practice is backed not only with their own exhaustive data but also from their own personal experiences. In fact, the authors will frequently share ways they failed to apply the principles outlined in the book and how those failures spurred each one of them on to become more effective managers. I found their authenticity refreshing as it dispelled the common myth that as managers we have everything figured out.
This is a book that I can see going back to again and again to these principles. I can see already in my first of many readings through this book that it has already made me a better manager. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in a managerial role.
May 10, 2020
I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book has some good tips, but I found it spent too much time selling other Franklin Covey products. I also felt that it lacked specific stories that engaged the reader, and the format between the three authors was a bit clunky. I can see it filling a gap for first time, front line leaders, but probably won’t be one that stays on my bookshelf - there are others that transmit the same information in a way that is more impactful for me, personally.
This book has some good tips, but I found it spent too much time selling other Franklin Covey products. I also felt that it lacked specific stories that engaged the reader, and the format between the three authors was a bit clunky. I can see it filling a gap for first time, front line leaders, but probably won’t be one that stays on my bookshelf - there are others that transmit the same information in a way that is more impactful for me, personally.
October 7, 2019
This book is for first-level managers, who supervise people, but also have a manager or two above them.
I love the worksheets at the end of the chapters to think through & write out what was discussed in the chapter.
The last chapter on rest to avoid burning out is excellent & a reminder that is so needed in our always busy culture.
Receiving an advanced copy of this book was a privilege. I appreciate the opportunity to review and share my thoughts with others.
I love the worksheets at the end of the chapters to think through & write out what was discussed in the chapter.
The last chapter on rest to avoid burning out is excellent & a reminder that is so needed in our always busy culture.
Receiving an advanced copy of this book was a privilege. I appreciate the opportunity to review and share my thoughts with others.
July 24, 2024
As far as leadership books go, this one is pretty good. Decent balance of real(istic) stories and examples and useful advice, without the typical filler that just ups the word count.
It's also a good primer on the FranklinCovey curriculum, because it's a coles notes version of some of the courses and material they've fleshed out. It's readable, practical, contains worksheets and coaching questions that you could use on yourself to get intentional about improving your leadership abilities.
It's also a good primer on the FranklinCovey curriculum, because it's a coles notes version of some of the courses and material they've fleshed out. It's readable, practical, contains worksheets and coaching questions that you could use on yourself to get intentional about improving your leadership abilities.
January 20, 2022
I found this book very much relative to my journey as a new manager. It was able to open many of the areas I wanted more insight and guidance. I love the templates and examples provided in this book. I would recommend all the new and aspiring managers to get a copy. A big thanks to Scott Miller for coming up with this book.
March 17, 2023
So let me start by saying that this book was assigned to me by my leadership team at work as a possible learning method.. so I was skeptical. I did actually enjoy the book for the most part though! I learned a lot And took lots of notes. I do think some of it doesn’t apply to my current position, but I also could see where I can adapt it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2025
This book was decently well written and had some helpful insights into leadership and management, but it didn't have anywhere near the depth of wisdom of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the 4 Disciplines of Execution, or some of the other things I've learned from people at FranklinCovey. Still, not a bad inclusions as part of my professional development reading.
October 7, 2019
This book was for anyone who wants to become a better leader. It has insights for new leaders as well as insights for experienced leaders. Read this book If you want to be a better leader at work, at home, on the field/court, or anywhere you might need to lead someone.
October 8, 2019
Everyone who is in management needs to read this book. The weekly or biweekly one on ones is such a great idea to keep people engaged and excited. It also provides a space for feedback from each party involved. I will refer to this book for years to keep me on track with my management skills.
August 25, 2021
I was pretty anxious about my new role in management and this was the perfect book to help me make that transition. My manager got me this book and it’s been invaluable, helping me immediately identify ways I can be a more effective manager and keep my teammates happy.
October 16, 2019
To be reviewed in the January-February 2020 issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence.
November 11, 2019
Full of tactical strategies for managers.
January 25, 2020
Lots of good information. I'll be revisiting it
February 20, 2020
Very practical guide book for managing any size of a team, whether in a large or small organization.
March 7, 2020
An interesting book with some 4DX & time management thrown in for good measure.
April 3, 2020
Very simple and logical advice on how to be an effective and welcomed leader.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2020
A must-read if you are a manager. Whether you are new or experienced, you will pick up some new practices and hone your existing skills. I recommend this book to all my manager friends.
July 2, 2020
Quick, easy, clear read.
August 30, 2020
Very practical and easy to read. Great accompanying resources for application too
January 7, 2021
I did not find this very useful. The six rules are quite basic. I like the given examples. In fact I wish there were more testimonies and real-life examples.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews