Everyone Deserves a Great Manager Book Summary - Everyone Deserves a Great Manager Book explained in key points
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Scott Jeffrey Miller, with Todd Davis and Victoria Roos Olsson

The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team

4.5 (280 ratings)
22 mins

Brief summary

Everyone Deserves a Great Manager by Scott Jeffrey Miller, with Todd Davis and Victoria Roos Olsson is a practical guide for managers to develop leadership skills and build effective teams. It offers actionable advice, tools and techniques for all levels of management.

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    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager
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    Managers don’t innately know how to lead well.

    When the author, Scott Jeffrey Miller, was just 27, he received one of the biggest wake-up calls of his career. After just three months in a sales job at the Covey Leadership Centre, he was promoted to managing a team of client-service coordinators. Miller was delighted, and determined to be the best leader ever. And to him, that meant producing staggeringly impressive outcomes.

    So the author announced some new rules. There were to be no personal appointments during work hours, and start and finish times would be monitored. He even asked a coordinator to check voicemails on her honeymoon. What was the result of these new rules? Three weeks later, he was demoted because of his terrible management style. He may have been brilliant at sales, but he wasn’t manager material – yet.

    If you’re a first-time manager, you probably started off a similar scenario – as a high performer who’d caught your boss’s eye. One day, you were promoted internally, and suddenly found yourself responsible for a whole team of employees.

    If you think about it, this is pretty ludicrous. You wouldn’t get on a plane being flown by an untrained pilot. So, why do employers think you’ll have the skills to be a manager just because you were good at your job?

    Unfortunately, this is common practice in the business world. In fact, an article in the Harvard Business Review claimed that the average age of a first-time leader is 30 – but that that person won’t get any leadership training for another twelve years! That’s over a decade of flying in the dark and managing by trial and error.

    It’s harrowing to think so many people are being led by managers without any official training. After all, employees’ career growth, skills development, emotional well-being, and mental health are all affected by how their bosses lead. And the responsibilities of the role have a huge impact on you as leader, too. If you want to manage your own stress levels, take care of yourself and your team, and achieve those workplace goals, you need to know what you’re doing.

    Whether you’ve been freshly promoted or you’re a senior leader wanting to become more effective, the practices you will learn in the blinks ahead can serve as your foundation. They’ll allow you to help your team thrive – without your job taking its toll on your health.

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    Key ideas in Everyone Deserves a Great Manager

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    What is Everyone Deserves a Great Manager about?

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager (2019) provides business leaders with six crucial practices that will transform team members into high performers. Offering practical solutions, it fills in the gap many new managers encounter when they’re promoted without receiving any leadership training. 

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager Review

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager (2019) is an insightful book that provides practical guidance on becoming an effective manager. Here are three reasons why this book is definitely worth reading:

    • With its real-life stories and examples, the book offers actionable strategies to improve your managerial skills and enhance your team's performance.
    • It emphasizes the importance of building strong relationships with your team members, fostering a positive work environment where everyone can thrive.
    • Through its engaging and relatable approach, the book keeps you hooked from start to finish. You'll find yourself applying the book's principles immediately, making it anything but boring.

    Who should read Everyone Deserves a Great Manager?

    • Newly promoted managers who have no idea what they’re doing
    • Fledgling managers wanting better outcomes
    • Senior managers looking to update their skills

    About the Author

    Scott Jeffrey Miller is the executive vice president of thought leadership at FranklinCovey, a company that develops business modeling to foster success. A leadership expert, Jeffrey Miller hosts Great Life, Great Career with Scott Miller, a weekly radio program, as well as the weekly podcast On Leadership with Scott Miller.

    Todd Davis is the author of the best seller Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work. Chief People Officer at FranklinCovey, he fosters the professional development of employees in 160 different countries.

    Victoria Roos Olsson is a senior leadership consultant at FranklinCovey, and was on the development team for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. A certified yoga teacher and running coach, she hosts her own podcast, Roos&Shine, with her sister.

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    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager FAQs 

    What is the main message of Everyone Deserves a Great Manager?

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager emphasizes the importance of effective leadership and provides practical strategies for becoming a better manager.

    How long does it take to read Everyone Deserves a Great Manager?

    The reading time for Everyone Deserves a Great Manager varies based on individual reading speed. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

    Is Everyone Deserves a Great Manager a good book? Is it worth reading?

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager is a valuable read for anyone in a managerial role. It offers actionable advice and insights to improve leadership skills.

    Who is the author of Everyone Deserves a Great Manager?

    Everyone Deserves a Great Manager is written by Scott Jeffrey Miller, with contributions from Todd Davis and Victoria Roos Olsson.

    What to read after Everyone Deserves a Great Manager?

    If you're wondering what to read next after Everyone Deserves a Great Manager, here are some recommendations we suggest:
    • Management Mess to Leadership Success by Scott Jeffrey Miller
    • The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer
    • Attitude Reflects Leadership by Leo Hamblin
    • The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
    • The First-Time Manager by Loren B. Belker
    • Becoming the Boss by Lindsey Pollak
    • Positively Energizing Leadership by Kim Cameron
    • It's the Manager by Jim Clifton
    • Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
    • Do Breathe by Michael Townsend Williams