The Leader Lab summary

Let’s say you’re an average manager – not the best, but not the worst either. One morning, you call in sick. You tell your team you won’t be in. When they get the notification, how do you think they feel? What are they thinking?

Well, we hate to break it to you, but . . . they’re probably relieved. According to a study, 88 percent of people are relieved when their manager is off for the day. Most people just don’t think much of their boss.

Poor management has a cost – an estimated $7 trillion a year across the world, due to inefficiency and staff turnover. It also takes a toll on employees’ mental and even physical health.

Maybe that’s something you’ve experienced firsthand with your own manager. If you’ve ever had a bad manager, you know how it feels – that sense of dread when you arrive at the office.

Put simply, management matters. We need better managers.

The authors, Tania Luna and LeeAnn Renninger, are experts on management and leadership. Through their organization LifeLabs Learning, they’ve trained thousands of leaders at companies across the world. And through painstaking research, they’ve identified some key behaviors and skills – the tell-tale signs of a good manager.

These aren’t necessarily innate qualities. They’re things that anyone can learn and develop. And while it’s true that you can learn on the job, why wait? Start now. By the end of this Blink, you’ll have picked up some simple, practical tips for improving your management style.

We can’t cover all of the skills and behaviors in the book, but we’ll focus on the most important ones. They’re easy to learn, and you can start using them right away.

In order to make the most of this crash course, we recommend a bit of self-reflection along the way. With every example or scenario, ask yourself, Do I do this? or, How could I do this differently? After all, becoming a better manager is an active process. So listen actively.

Also, for even faster learning, share what you learn with someone else. There’s a phenomenon known as the protégé effect – we learn faster when we’re teaching. So in between chapters, you could pause, and share your newfound wisdom with your manager or a coworker. You can even tell your cat.

Now, get ready to read and learn – you and your cat.