Managing people has always been a challenge everywhere. This is because people are difficult to manage and most managers also lack the skill of effective people management. That is why we are doing an X-ray of this book entitled “The art of leading people.” It is co-written by Dr. Phillip Hunsaker and Dr. Anthony Alessandra, two brilliant management experts.

Hunsaker is a professor of management and director of management programs at the University of San Diego School of Business Administration. He is a renowned consultant, lecturer, and author of many best-selling management books. As for Alessandra, she is a highly respected sales, marketing and management consultant, as well as an award-winning public speaker. He has written more than 100 articles.

According to Hunsaker and Alessandra, the art of managing people productively and effectively is a dynamic process that is constantly changing and evolving, and many of the management concepts proposed just a few years ago cannot and will not work in today’s environment. These experts attribute this development to the fact that people, the business environment, the government and the world have changed, while the scarcity of resources has worsened, especially the valuable resource of skilled labor.

Hunsaker and Alessandra argue that attracting, training, motivating and retaining employees has become much more difficult and expensive, adding that this will get worse in the future. They argue that this text has been written to overcome many of the traditional problems of the manager-employee relationship. According to these authors, when a manager establishes a friendly but productive work environment, the benefits for the entire organization are substantial.

These authors affirm that the text offers practical strategies, guidelines and techniques to develop critical interpersonal skills for the improvement of relationships with employees; how to understand the differences between people and behave accordingly; evaluate and improve current work situations; build trust between managers and employees, etc.

Hunsaker and Alessandra say that person-to-person skills are critical to developing an effective team of satisfied and energetic workers. They teach that allowing your workers to express their own personalities and maximize their potential will reduce stress within the workforce, create a positive spirit throughout the company, and increase the productivity and profitability of the organization.

This text is divided into three parts of 19 chapters. The first part has a generic theme of building productive managerial relationships and covers the first five chapters. Chapter one is entitled “Effective Adaptation to Differences in Personal Style.” According to Hunsaker and Alessandra here, interactive management is a process of dealing with people as individuals in order to build trust, openness and honesty in the manager-employee relationship, thus improving productivity in the organizational setting. In his words, “To treat your employees as unique individuals, you, as a manager, must understand what makes them different from each other. With this knowledge, you can manage your employees as unique individuals with unique personalities, problems, and needs. This approach ‘personalized’ to managing employees in an organizational setting is one of the main thrusts of interactive management. “

Chapter two is titled “Learning to learn.” These authors say here that successful managers in today’s changing world are distinguished not so much by a technical skill set as by their ability to learn and adapt to the fluctuating demands of their careers. They emphasize that continued success requires the ability to explore new opportunities and learn from past successes and failures.

Hunsaker and Alessandra say that one of the purposes of studying the learning process is to understand how people generate concepts, rules and principles from their experiences as guides for their future behavior, and how they modify these concepts to improve their effectiveness in new situations. .

In chapters three through five, these authors discuss concepts like doing to others; decide how to decide; and analyze transactional styles.

The second part is briefly interwoven as “Interactive Communication Skills” and contains eight chapters, that is, chapters six to 13. Chapter six is ​​titled “The Art of Questioning.” Here, Hunsaker and Alessandra teach that one of the most critical and valuable tools in the manager’s arsenal of communication skills is the art of questioning.

They add that the manager’s ability to ask the right questions at the right time to better help his employees is an essential and integral part of interactive management. “Asking skillful questions simplifies the manager’s job because it makes employees ‘open up.’ The employee feels free to reveal internal feelings, motives, needs, current situations, goals, and desires. With this knowledge, the manager is in a position much better at guiding the employee toward the ultimate achievement of personal, professional, and organizational goals, “say Hunsaker and Alessandra.

In chapters seven through 13, they focus their analytical focus on concepts such as the power of listening; project the right image; communicate through tones of voice; use body language effectively; spatial arrangements that say things; how your use of time speaks; and making sure to get feedback.

The third part, the last part, has a general topic of interactive problem solving and covers the last six chapters, that is, chapters 14 to 19. Chapter 14 is entitled “Joint problem solving.” Hunsaker and Alessandra teach that when managers are asked how they make decisions and solve problems, the typical response is often something like “I don’t know. I just do what needs to be done.” In the words of these authors, “although they may not be able to specify what steps they take or what rules apply, everyone would probably agree that making ‘good’ decisions and solving problems effectively is the essence of good management.”

In chapters 15-19, Hunsaker and Alessandra discuss concepts such as problem definition; develop action plans; enforcement action; following through; and what to do with what you have learned.

As far as style is concerned, this text is on the highest rung of the ladder. For example, the language of the text is simple, while the organization of the concepts is fine. The authors use graphic embroidery to visually reinforce readers’ understanding. Also, the title is short but assertive.

However, grammatical errors are noted in the text. One of them is “Allowing your workers to express their own personalities and maximize their potential …” (outside back cover), rather than “Allowing your workers to express their own personalities and maximize their potential …” Please note that “Potential” is an uncountable noun and therefore does not take structurally an “S”). Another mistake is that of structural redundancy, that is, “Much more difficult and much more expensive” (page xi) instead of the elliptical version “Much more difficult and expensive”.

Despite these errors, this text still passes for a masterpiece. It’s a must-read and the tips should apply for anyone who wants to educate themselves well in the art of management in the New Year.