The Art of Leadership: Small Things Done Well - Essential Guide for Managers & Team Leaders | Workplace Success & Professional Development

This is a heartfelt and brilliant book.If you, like me, have been reading the blog Rands in Repose for many a year -- or whether you're completely new to the mind of Rands -- a.k.a. Michael Lopp, you're in for a treat. I've been following the blog for something verging on 15 years but every "small thing" in this book is brand new.The "small things" are like finely crafted gemstones -- faceted and polished to focus their light of wisdom. Each small thing manages to capture and distill an “unspoken truth” about what makes effective management and leadership (as well as the difference between them!)The prose is direct, honest, and warm. Think of an old friend or mentor offering you advice for different stages of your career. The author spans the range: starting out as a manager, to a manager of managers (director), to a manager of manager of managers (executive). The description of the New Manager Death Spiral (Small Thing 9) is eerily accurate and worth the price of the book alone. The insights into and explanations of the thoughts and worries of directors (Delegate Until It Hurts, Small Thing 11) and executives (why they always seem to be fire-fighting and How to Build a Rumor, Small Thing 24) are incredibly valuable, whether you’re an executive or whether, like most, you (eventually) roll up and report into one.There is much to learn from in this book -- it can be read straight through, but it also demands to be returned to, drawn upon in the movements when the poignant lesson of one of its “small things” might just what is needed.