Individuals moving up to “middle management” in our field have to look long and hard to find material that will assist them during the early days of their new management responsibilities. The vast majority of our professional management literature is directed to either beginners or senior managers. This slim volume, 103 pages counting the index and author biography page, will provide a starting point for individuals seeking guidance as they move upward in management. Although the focus is clearly US practice and operating environments, it is sufficiently general that readers in other countries will find some useful information. The style is informal and easy to read, making the volume a very quick read.
The overall tone of the volume is set in the opening lines of chapter two, The changing environment for middle managers, where the author asks, “Why don’t the tried and true rules of management work anymore?” (p. 7). Her essential position is that very little of what one knows or thought one knew about management is not valid any longer. That position seems a little extreme for a volume that does not have space to go into depth on any topic and make clear why the author’s view is correct.
This reviewer also found the following troubling given the book’s length. The author is writing about leadership in the USA. “In this environment, people are retreating into their electronic worlds … and losing any sense of community. People are not trying to make society better nor is society interested in doing better…. At work, we want to know what the institution will do for us. We are less interested in what we can be doing to advance the overall goals of the institution” (p. 10). Such sweeping generalisations, without supporting evidence, may leave the reader a little sceptical about other generalisations in the volume.
The text is divided into ten short chapters; On becoming a manager, The changing environment of middle managers, New roles for middle managers, Taking charge of your department, Mentoring and managing professionals, Planning skills, Decision making skills, Communication skills, Structuring your department: From bureaucracies to teams, and Putting it all together. Given the opening two chapters’ emphasis on the need for doing things differently – “New managers also need to understand that tried and true management theories of the past will not be effective today” (p. 1) – one might expect later chapters addressing basic management activities would reflect little of “the past.” However, many of the old theories are revisited, sometimes with a slight modification and sometimes they stand alone.
The above somewhat critical comments are not to suggest the book lacks value. It can be a good starting point for someone just moving into a middle management position. To be successful one would need to review some of the references cited in the chapters as well as spend some time reviewing the current management literature in journals.
