The Making Of A Manager By Julie Zhou

 

Genre: Non-Fiction Business | Management | Leadership

Rating: 4/5

Pages: 256

Welcome to the book review of The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhou. This is a book that I received quite a bit of suggestions from my work circle. And eventually my office book club as well. And I must say I have not been disappointed.

In the simplest form, it is a guide for a new manager. But once you dig deep, it offers a lot more. The making of a manager is very well categorized. Julie has done well to split the chapters in a way, you can jump between chapters. And even come back to specific ones when there is a need. 

The book describes the different types of managers and the strengths and weaknesses that each one possesses. If you belong to any of these categories, you can use the tools provided in your favour. Each category or chapter has a simple layout, is easy to understand and has enough examples.

It can definitely act as a guide for someone who is new to the role. At the same time, if you are not a manager, you can still make the most of the book. It will help you to plan ahead and even make the most of your existing situation with your manager. 

The feedback section was particularly good. She stresses how to give feedback. If you aren't a manager, you can use them on your subordinates or juniors or even to extract feedback from your manager. A crucial part of it being managing yourself, your time, and your resources. A retrospective analysis made her realise that a huge chunk of her meetings could do away without her presence. Being in a corporate, a lot of us will correlate with that. Taking action on this, can save you a considerable amount of time and leave you with space to do more.

Julie provides adequate details about building a team and understanding your hiring strategies. Some of the steps mentioned will help you stay ahead and proactively envision things versus reacting to stimuli. Building a culture of trust is one of the most crucial elements of becoming a manager and Julie stresses enough on that. 

You will also come across sections about dreaded meetings. How attending only the most important ones or the ones where you have a say or input will save you time and effort. Setting clear objectives about meetings will make it clear for the attendees to decide, if they need to be present for the meeting or not. 

And I particularly liked the part, where she talks about managing yourself as a part of being a good manager. Overcoming your own fears, understanding your strengths and how to make the most of your team is crucial and will help you move ahead.

A large number of people from the tech industry will be able to resonate with the book and its learnings. However, the converse is also possible. Readers from other industries might not correlate as much or the examples and learnings might not necessarily apply to other industries.

Having said that, this is a book that you can keep with you and keep getting back to at regular intervals. If you are an aspiring manager in the tech industry, this is definitely a book that you can add to your TBR list!

On to the next book then!

Happy Reading!