Leading the Unleadable

How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People

By: Alan Willett

Narrated by: Tom Parks

The control-freak, the narcissist, the slacker, the cynic...

Difficult people are the worst part of a manager's job. Whether it comes from direct reports or people above, outbursts, irrational demands, griping, and other disruptions need to be dealt with - and it's your responsibility to do it.

Leading the Unleadable turns this dreaded chore into a straight forward process that gently, yet effectively, improves behaviors. Written by an insider in the tech industry, where personality issues routinely wreck projects, the book reveals a core truth: most people actually "want" to contribute results, not cause headaches. Once you realize the potential for change, the book's simple steps, examples, and scripts explain how to right even the most hopeless situations. You'll learn how to:

• Master the necessary mindset
• Explain the problem calmly in a short feedback session
• Get a commitment to change, and follow up
• Coach others to replicate the process
• Develop the situational awareness required to spot trouble even earlier in the future

Every manager has "problem people". What sets great managers apart is how they turn them into productive team players. Prepare to transform the troublesome into the tremendous.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Alan Willett. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good but not great

I thought it was an okay book. Had some insights that were new to leadership. Felt like it was aimed way more at corporate America and not as much small business owner leadership.

Good tips for all leaders

Being a project manager, I especially appreciated chapters 11 through the end talking about groups and meetings.

Good book

I liked it. Seamed a little bit entry level leadership training, but still helpful. Worth a read for sure.

Good points but not great

Some good points. It's a lot of common sense stuff.You can get something good out of it its just a long listen

very helpful advice

this book is very easy to follow. The examples given are very clear. you will enjoy listening to this book,

misleading

in my opinion the title is very misleading the information in the book is quite minimal and nowhere near the quality that I have come to expect from other books in this category

Proficient insight - yet not what I fully expected

This book is well written, and the audio version is nicely spoken. I highly appreciate the content and the tips provided for becoming a more effective leader (in fact I will listen to again in the coming week and spend more time on the self-reflective questions)

However, I felt that the content pivoted more to a core of ‘leading yourself’ than ‘leading the unleadable’. Obviously one cannot lead others effectively until they first get their own act together.... but I do wish that the content focused more on strategic actions for leading difficult persons. Also - I view that too much of the messaging was delivered through scenarios of particular examples. Case studies are often valuable for gleaning insight from, yet it would be useful to have walked away with a specific content related to the title.

Overall, I still do recommend the book - I just think that the title needs to be refreshed.

Not all books are audible

The book is not bad. Overall it’s good. Lots of good information.

It’s just that some books are meant or benefit more from old fashioned reading than an audible version of listing a series of lists of things to do. Not the performance fault, nor author, just the format of the book, I believe, is not the most suitable for this type of media. It was good. Not 5 star. 4 is good.

Really good!

Enjoyed it even though it was more about being a great leader than the Title

I found this book to bo very helpful.

I found this book made me consider things about myself I hadn't considered. . .