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Don't Kill the Bosses! Escaping the Hierarchy Trap

Samuel Culbert John B. Ullmen

$59.99

Hardback

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English
Berrett-Koehler
01 January 2018
"The boss/subordinate relationship is an age-old problem cited in almost every management book and on-the-job survey as an area rife with dishonesty and inefficiency. All too often, subordinates spin the truth for those above while bosses fail to establish the conditions required for subordinates to tell it to them straight. The end result is warped communication, corrupt internal politics, illusionary teamwork, pass-the-buck accountability, and personal dispiriting-and the company is always the big loser.

Don't Kill the Bosses! reveals the ""trap"" created when people fail to differentiate between the positives of hierarchical structure and the negatives of hierarchical relationships. Far from being opposed to hierarchy, the authors believe strongly that an accurate and cleanly defined organization chart is vital. But they show how to implement an alternative model of hierarchy- two-sided accountability. Drawing on case studies from their consulting practice, Culbert and Ullmen show how this new model leads to a freer flow of information, more creative problem-solving, and quicker response to changing conditions.

Unlike other books that acknowledge boss/subordinate relationships as a systematic, continuing problem and offer skill development suggestions for dealing with it, Don't Kill the Bosses! tells how to think about the problem in a way that will enable readers to understand the steps they need to take to change things. It diagnoses what's missing in boss/subordinate relationships, connects what's wrong with them to personal and organizational outcomes, and defines the whole new mentality required to make them work successfully."
By:   ,
Imprint:   Berrett-Koehler
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 241mm,  Width: 160mm,  Spine: 23mm
Weight:   470g
ISBN:   9781576751619
ISBN 10:   1576751619
Pages:   200
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Primary
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Don't Kill the Bosses! Chapter 1. The Beginning. Chapter 2. The Middle.

Samuel A. Culbert has developed a blunt yet sensitive way of framing situations so that all forces driving people's opinions and actions, including the subjective, self-interested, and political, can be matter-of-factly considered and explicitly discussed. Throughout his career he has creatively welded three activities- consulting, teaching, and writing. Consulting is where he encounters work effectiveness problems in their contemporary forms, learns how they are being dealt with, and finds challenge in coming up with new ways of engaging them. Teaching provides forums for extrapolating from problems to issues and, through give-and-take interaction, for probing underlying dynamics to identify which assumptions and resulting practices need upgrading. Writing is where he brings it all together to package his understanding for public consumption. John Ullmen is currently a senior manager for organizational effectiveness at Earthlink. He is in the dissertation process of a Ph.D. in management at UCLA with a study that focuses on cofounder relationships in entrepreneurial firms. Ullmen has broad independent consulting experience in teambuilding, management coaching, network analysis, organizational change, and business development. He has been a consultant in the Management Communication Program at UCLA's Anderson School of Management for the last four years and a consultant for several Internet start-up businesses. He holds a B.S. degree in engineering mechanics from the Air Force Academy and an M.S. degree in public policy from Harvard University.

Reviews for Don't Kill the Bosses! Escaping the Hierarchy Trap

Don't Kill the Bosses! offers a valuable new approach to management philosophy. It makes one rethink traditional boss/employee relationships. -Glenda Grant, President, Hearst Entertainment When issuing directives and asserting myself I've always tried to think about the other person's knowledge and experience. This book has provided additional sensitivity-most essentially, the importance of hiring people who know more than you and the structure that allows them to excel. -Paul Koplin, President, Venture Technologies Group, LLC Don't Kill the Bosses! reveals a practical, sensible and inherently intuitive paradigm for the management of hierarchical relation- ships. It's an easy read, well salted with real-life case studies, communicating a clear message to anyone who reports to someone or has someone reporting to them. -Gordon W. Perkin, M.D., Director, Global Health Program, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation You will learn in this book that two-sided accountability leads to straight talk and better communications. Finally, a book with practical advice that managers can use day-to-day to get better results. -Philip J. Harkins, President and CEO, Linkage Inc. What the authors call 'the obvious' is a refreshing awareness of dealing with relationships both inside and outside the workplace. Two-sided accountability is the foundation for any successful organization, however, until now, there never has been such an insightful review of the concept. In short, this is an unforgettable book. -Donald L. Struminger, Chairman of the Board, Virginia Linen


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