I read Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management, and I have to say it’s a great book.
Written by Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby, Behind Closed Doors is written as the story of Sam, a new manager at a technology firm. The book takes us “behind closed doors” to see how Sam learns about his new situation, evaluates and mentors his four direct reports, interfaces with other managers at his level, and persuades superiors to work the right way. In addition, there are 13 “Techniques for Practicing Great Management” which are referenced from the main storyline.
Every new manager should read this book to get an optimistically realistic overview of what the job is supposed to be like. Many new managers in the technology field have mostly (or only) poor examples of management as behavior models. Sam is a Super Manager: not only does he know all the right things to do, he can persuade his organization to go along with most of them. Life as a manager at most technology companies will not be as easy as Sam’s is: the problems will be less obvious and less tractable; your management chain will likely be less biddable than his;
It’s a quick read, and I think it ought to be on every manager’s bookshelf.