Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton PhD

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Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton PhD tells what good bosses do and learn what not to do by bad bosses. Dr. Sutton breaks the book down into nine chapters that cater from having the right mindset to it is all about you. The book breaks down situations into common sense thinking.
Summary
Dr. Sutton highlights what it takes to be a good boss. People that work for a good boss are 20 percent less likely to have a heart attack (Sutton, 2010). Dr. Sutton wrote that teams with stronger leaders cost the company less money and achieved their work better (Sutton, 2010). Engagement and performance of employees were based upon their direct boss and not if the company was good or bad (Sutton, 2010). Most bad bosses have employees who have check-out: actively disengaged, and undermine their co-workers accomplishments. Managers have to find the balance between performance and humanity to be successful. Performance is about doing everything possible to help followers do great work; while humanity is about employees experiencing dignity and pride. Treating managerial work as an endurance race instead of a sprint race with small wins will lead one to becoming a good boss called grit by Sutton. Sutton believes that good bosses walk a constructive line between being assertive and not assertive enough with guidance, wisdom, and feedback that he called Lasorda’s law (Sutton, 2010).
Sutton tells one “Learn to be just assertive enough, and don’t become an overbearing asshole” (Sutton, 2010). As a boss one has to act confident because acting makes one feel confident this is the self-fulfilling prophecy. Acting confident Sutton says “magnify the illusion and reality that you are in control of what your followers do, how well they perform, and they ...

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...m my personal experience of having a boss stand by me; I feel this is an important piece of a good boss. Giving employees credit for great work drives productivity up and self-esteem in employees. Bosses know that mistakes happen, but learning from missteps and blunders is crucial for employees (Wilson, 2011).

Works Cited

Holtz, B. C., & Harold, C. M. (2008). When your boss says no! The effects of leadership style and trust on employee reactions to managerial explanations. Journal Of Occupational And Organizational Psychology, 81(4), 777-802. doi:10.1348/096317907X251569
Sutton, R. I. (2010). Good boss, bad boss: How to be the best-- and learn from the worst. New York: Business Plus.
Wilson, M. S. (2011). What Makes A Good Boss?. Career Journal, The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/12/16/career-journal-what-makes-a-good-boss/

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