THE CAREFULL SUPERVISOR

Burns, a business educator and consultant, presents a guidebook for supervisors to improve their skills.

Why is it, the author asks at the beginning of his book, that some teams are full of solid, healthy relationships, while others are full of counterproductive conflict? Why do some teams perform far better than others even under identical circumstances, with the same workloads and remuneration, sometimes even operating in the same building? Burns draws upon thousands of hours of discussions he’s had with supervisors of all kinds to shape his response: the PeopleWork Supervisor program, which includes a “Toolbox” full of approaches designed to help supervisors become “CareFull,” meaning more competent and confident when working with teams. The strategies in this “Toolbox” range from very simple things, like using an employee’s name (“It’s impossible to be disengaged when someone calls you by your name,” he writes, “in fact, you hyper-engage when you hear your own name”) to psychological hacks, like including future hopes and aspirations in every practical morning meeting. Using examples from the business world and beyond (including Navy SEAL teams), the author distills the basics of leadership and coaching. “The coach’s job,” he writes, “is to inspire and motivate the team to want to be better, come together as a unit, and build a reputation for high-level performance.” Too often, the guidance comes in the form of pat cliches; Burns frequently resorts to the inclusion of chestnuts like “Made a mistake? Own up. Don’t make excuses,” or “If you want your team to give their best, you must give yours.” Still, the energy of the delivery compensates for the simplicity of some of the book’s sentiments. Burns is surely right to stress the importance of the basics. His tips should be valuable to supervisors at all levels.

An upbeat management primer concentrating on leadership tools.