BOOK REVIEW:FRANK DILLON reviews Being the boss – the three imperatives for becoming a great leaderby Linda A Hill and Kent Lineback; Harvard Business Review Press; €23.99

TODAY’S BOSSES face a myriad of new challenges. The increasingly disconnected nature of work organisations and the competitive environment means that the old-style psychological contract between boss and subordinate has altered irrevocably.

Work relationships are now defined in terms of short-term performance measures with much less security of tenure and the number of part-time, freelance and independent contractor “employees” is growing dramatically.

This may appear good for the organisation’s bottom line but managing a transient workforce that feels little personal investment in the organisation is tough. How do you create real engagement that drives superior performance?

Low birth rates and an ageing workforce are shrinking the talent pool in developed economies while growing educational and economic opportunities in developing ones are fuelling increased expectations.

This is an urgent issue for bosses and only good ones, supported by enlightened organisations, will be able to hold good people, argue the authors of this book.

Hill and Lineback, a Harvard professor and former manager turned writer respectively, integrate a workbook element into this book with questions and checklists that encourages readers to think deeply about their own management strengths and shortcomings. It’s a well- presented title that should prove especially useful for those assuming management positions for the first time.

The three imperatives of the title are identified as: managing yourself, managing your network and managing your team.

The need for strong emotional intelligence is a recurring theme. The use of authority without respect for others or to satisfy personal needs rarely sits well with others, the authors note.

Common mistakes include issuing orders without explanation, demanding personal loyalty and praise, foisting your opinions on others, stifling disagreement, focusing on the perks that come with the title.

Seeing yourself primarily as “the boss”, the one above those you manage, will limit the willingness of others to accept your influence.

Instead, bosses should strive for a two-way relationship with give and take and be conscious of the obligations that come with management. Subordinates expect bosses to solve problems, make decisions, develop them, protect them, obtain necessary resources, advocate and negotiate for them and generally care for them. Those who feel they are being let down will find many ways to comply formally with your directions without achieving what they really want.

Authority works best when it is exercised rarely and only when necessary such as in an emergency when fast action is required. When an organisation faces a big problem and there’s little time for consensus building, people will look to the boss for clear and decisive direction.

One of the most powerful prerogatives of authority is the simple ability to command people’s time and attention. Say, for example, customer service is slipping. Instead of imposing new solutions, a suggested better approach for the boss would be to facilitate conversations about 10 customers with a number of groups. Such assignments, along with asking for reports or calling meetings can bring attention to an issue so people discover it for themselves. That’s usually better than dictating a solution.

While stressing the importance of building bonds with employees, the authors have strong views on close friendships with subordinates. If you maintain such ties, you will either compromise results or make unethical choices that harm others, not for the greater good but for the good of the friend.

If, on the other hand, you choose the organisation’s priorities over the wishes of a friend, as inevitably you must, the friend will feel betrayed.

Given its paradoxical nature, the boss-subordinate relationship is easy to get wrong. Instinct and natural chemistry are poor guides here. They will push you away from people you instinctively don’t like and pull you towards those to whom you feel naturally attracted.

Building effective networks, both with people that you directly control and with those outside your control but on whom you depend, is also considered important. Managing the politics of this is a delicate balancing act, the authors acknowledge.

Instead of being a fly caught in the web, you must become the spider that weaves the web and dances slightly over it.

The third key imperative is creating and managing a team that is more than the sum of its parts. Increasingly these teams will be working on a virtual basis, adding to the complexity of the challenge. The advice here is get agreement about purpose and goals and especially the future that you are trying to create and return to these topics regularly to remind members of the significance and context of their work.

Bosses develop, the authors conclude, through experience and reflection, supported by a development network, emotional maturity, competence and resilience.

Frank Dillon is a freelance journalist and media lecturer