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Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

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Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#11

Post by avgcorrection »

Sharlin wrote: post #8

People in general dislike being managed. Don’t do that. Lead instead.

Leading in this context is a euphemism for management. That faux-egalitarian “could you X” (bonus points for upspeak).[1]

For some reason it grinds my gears when people in formal positions of authority insist on talking about being a leader instead of a boss.

[1] I’m all for pleasantries and being nice even though there really is no choice (ask/order). Don’t get me wrong. But not to the point where either party starts getting delusional about what’s going on.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#12

Post by jacurtis »

Out of curiosity, why are you looking for "articles" as opposed to more generally "resources"?

The reason I say this is that articles are usually 800-3,000 words, with a median around 1,200 words. I'd ask if you can really gain much depth or promote deep change in yourself based on a bunch of short pieces?

Meanwhile there are numerous private courses, conferences, research papers, and books that dive into these topics in much more greater depth which is likely to have a more lasting impact on your life.

I'd venture a guess that you want articles because they are easier and faster to read. They don't require much time or effort to go through and you can get a few quick hits of dopamine that make you artificially feel like you impacted your career. Leadership isn't something you're going to be able to learn with a couple listacles and blog posts. It's going to take a lot more time and dedication to get good at.

As others have mentioned. Management is easy. Leadership is hard.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#13

Post by quag »

jodrellblank wrote: post #2

15 years ago, RandsInRepose.com wrote a lot of interesting blog posts on management, and then turned them into books: https://randsinrepose.com/archives/

The article about types of one on ones has stuck with me: https://randsinrepose.com/archives/the-update-the-vent-and-t...

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#14

Post by nknealk »

https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-price-of-incivility

Not explicitly related to management but good advice. I’ve seen too many people put in a position of power and become assholes. It destroys morale.

Edit: a non paywalled link https://www.qualitymanagementinstitute.com/images/hrsolution...

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#15

Post by davidg109 »

squadleader wrote: post #7

Just a meta-comment - if you're new to all this, it's good to know that management != leadership. If you're starting out, you'll want to learn both, and you'll need both. More practically, here's a fun blog where you can ask specific questions: https://www.askamanager.org/

^ THIS. Where I’ve worked, there has been a severe degradation over time of actual leaders, and an increase in managers who have no clue how to lead or inspire.

One thing I have oriented myself to doing is being a servant leader. As I told one team I led, “I’m your bitch. Tell me where your rocks are and I’ll move them out of the way so you can get your work done.” And then I do exactly that. I’ve had to work miracles sometimes but I can usually clear the path.

I detest micro management in every conceivable way, but I do believe in accountability and ensuring the work is done on time by the team with no surprises. This has worked well for me.

Been some time since I read about this stuff but Five Dysfunctions of a Team I recall being descent. Summary article here: https://www.runn.io/blog/5-dysfunctions-of-a-team-summary

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#16

Post by maCDzP »

I really like the work of Gervaise Bushe and his book “clear leadership”.

He makes the argument that by putting a lot of effort in understanding your own and other peoples viewpoint you are able to build good relationship.

But what I believe sets his work apart from others is his psychological view on why it’s sometimes hard for people to listen to each other. He dissects which anxieties drives our behavior to listen or not to listen etc. without coming of as a know it all.

Probably not for everyone because of the psych framing. But if that speaks to you, give it a try.

Overall: five out of five toasters.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#17

Post by avgcorrection »

squadleader wrote: post #7

Just a meta-comment - if you're new to all this, it's good to know that management != leadership. If you're starting out, you'll want to learn both, and you'll need both. More practically, here's a fun blog where you can ask specific questions: https://www.askamanager.org/

In corporate rhetoric, all management is becoming leadership. Turning from the concrete X, Y, and Z of managing to the abstract ball of feels that is “leadership”.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best articles on managing people?

#20

Post by AJ007 »

I had a lot of trouble with this in my early 20s. Everything I read was bullshit.

There are two important distinctions: how you manage mediocre workers you didn't hire, and how you manage good workers. The former will require 98% of the effort of the latter, and will give you a fraction of the same results. If you are running a tech company, the former will probably prevent you from ever running things well or smoothly. The former can include people who don't show up for work, but it can also include high IQ people who are constantly screwing around and coming up with elaborate excuses. The best way to manage those people is to fire them as fast as possible.

For managing the former, let them get their work done and don't do stupid shit that impairs it. If you can't figure that out yourself, you shouldn't be a manager.

There, I just saved you 10,000 hours of reading.

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