HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss: How Leaders Transform Their Organizations and Create Lasting Value

by Harvard Business Review

Are you a good boss—or a great one?

We know people don't leave jobs, they leave bosses. So how can you be the type of boss that doesn't send employees running? One who makes your people happy to work for you?

You've got the basics covered, like reading a P&L and setting and implementing strategy. But how can you raise your leadership level to be a boss who develops trust with their employees? How do you create a culture where learning—and failing—are OK? Can you go beyond evaluating performance and distributing bonuses once a year to finding ways to regularly share productive feedback—and recognize great work—in ways that work for the individuals who work for you?

You can meet the basic requirements of your job as leader and rise above that to motivate the people on your team to do more—and be more—than they thought possible. Whether you're a first-time boss or you've been managing people forever and are looking for some new insights and inspiration, the HBR Guide to Being a Great Boss will provide you with a variety of expert voices sharing their advice on being a boss who sparks creativity, engagement, and collaboration.

You'll learn how to:

- Magnify your people's strengths
- Communicate effectively—and regularly—with your team
- Cultivate trust
- Help your employees find meaning in their work
- Challenge your people to reach beyond their current limits
- Recognize and reward good work
- Network to keep your team informed—and visible
- Help struggling employees improve
- Bring out the best in your people—and yourself

Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Audiobook, Management

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2021

Reviews

[Mina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate this book. It is a group of articles published in HBR from 2005 onwards. Definitely some good advice there for managers, such as, dealing with under-performance and dealing with fairness and I learned of new terms, such as "mantrerupting".

I only finished 2/3 of the book. While I completed my MBA, I am not sure why I could not engage with the content. It seemed to me as a manual of some sort, it is even printed on A3 paper, that is only good to read and apply one article at a time.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was read for Self-Development at work for my role as Assistant Manager; and while not everything was applicable to my role it was rather interesting to learn facts and learn mechanisms and methods that I could apply to the staff I lead every day. My biggest takeaway was being an advocate for your employees but also being consistent in how you do things. I think if you needed to grow in your position or just wanted some tips this could really help you!

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had so many bad bosses over the years and I don't want to be one! I thought I would find this cheesy because I'm not really a "Business Book" person, but I actually found it to be pretty useful and it helped me frame some things differently. Definitely keeping it around as a reference as well.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another useful collection of HBR essays that you can read during your lunch breaks or while waiting on an appointment. Some good thought-provoking topics in this one, which I am still thinking about and plan to try implementing at my office.

[Konstantinos Boulis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all of the books in the HBR series but I found this one to be the most boring to read. Full of platitudes "your team needs a purpose" and just non-actionable and non-specific advice. Quite the letdown from HBR.

[Carlos Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book (at least, I was able to read it in one day) with good tips on improving as a boss, and it triggered some ideas to implement in my workplace.
As expected from HBR, the book delivers on the premise of the title with succint chapters that laser focus on a single idea each.

[Racer_rajesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection of short essays. Very good reference for first time managers..

[Kimi Dahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of short essays

[Kristina Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find myself using this as a quick reference occasionally to make sure I'm on track as a good boss. I really appreciate the insight.

[Zack Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and easy to understand. You can jump around or read it straight through great resource for managers.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

HBR articles are such a hit or miss. Some stand alone as novel and actionable. Some are nearly devoid of content and purely are there as an advert for the author’s consulting firm.