Workforce Learning

On the anniversary of Abraham Maslow’s death (June 8, 1970), I revisited his classic book, Maslow on Management.

I return to it periodically because this transcription of the journals he kept while touring a factory in southern California in 1960, provides us with a unique view of management that applies today.

Best known for his theory of human motivation, centered on self-actualization and the phrase “hierarchy of needs,” Maslow maintained that the basic human drive is for self-actualization, and the need to fulfill one’s full potential. He was a master of the science of psychology, who broke from the early traditions of Freud and the behaviorists to devote his life to research into positive psychology.

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In my opinion, Dr. Atul Gawande is one of the most articulate and thoughtful authors currently writing about health care issues and the human condition. How he has time to write such well-researched and engaging books never ceases to amaze or impress me.

A little background: Dr. Gawande (pictured below) is a general and endocrine surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a staff writer for The New Yorker, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and also leads the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives program.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right is his third book, and by far his most applicable beyond the world of health care and medicine.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Clay Carr

This is one of the only books I’ve read that is specifically geared toward the new or aspiring managers.

The first few chapters of the book cover the fundamentals of managing: selecting, guiding, correcting, motivating, and delegating. Carr then devotes two chapters to communications and the three to developing successful teams. He wraps with an overview of “phase two management” or what needs to be the focus after the fundamentals are masters. Each topic is illustrated with case studies and most include mini self-assessment to guide the learning.

This practical, pragmatic guide to the basics will short-circuit many a new manger blunder and ease the learning curve of mastering the art of directing others.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Joan Magretta

I have read a lot of books on management theory but Magretta’s book is the one I most frequently recommend to new and experienced managers. As the former top editor for the Harvard Business Review, she has a wealth of insight to bring to the table.

In this book, Magretta presents a coherent look at general management which she describes as the genius in turning complexity and specialization into performance.

The book is divided into two parts: The first part deals with creating value, using it to drive strategy and developing sound organizations. Part two covers execution, why numbers matter, performance measures, innovation, delivering results and the intricacies of managing others.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell

Publisher: Career Press, 2008

One of the toughest jobs in the business world is that of the middle manager. Whether the job title is supervisor, team lead or director, these positions are sandwiched between the front lines, the people doing the work day after day, and the organization’s leadership, those looking ahead and giving direction. Too often, these two constituents do not see eye to eye and the middle management ranks need to buffer and cajole both upward and downward.

What makes the middle manager’s job even more challenging, is that many managers are promoted in to the position with little or not training or guidance on how to direct the work of others.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Douglas McGregor

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1960

When I was struggling as a manager many years ago, participatory management was considered a new and revolutionary way to manage people. A participatory manager served more as a partner and an enabler than a director of work and tasks. We were to “empower” team members and encourage all to be involved in what were formerly considered exclusively management’s decisions. High-performing work teams were the Holy Grail we all sought to create.

Then I read an old copy of Douglas McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise (McGraw-Hill, 1960.) This book made me realize that participatory management practices were not a new concept created in the 80’s and 90’s but were spelled out clearly by McGregor back in 1960. Indeed McGregor is considered the originator of employee involvement with his seminal Theory Y which in turn is based on the concept of a hierarchy of needs that was created by Abraham Maslow a decade earlier. McGregor takes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and applies it to the business enterprise.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Frederick Winslow Taylor

Every now and then, I enjoy mixing my two interests in history and business by rereading a book from the past. One great classic that is still an enlightening read today is The Principles of Scientific Management by Frederick Winslow Taylor – known as the inventor of time and motion studies.

In 1911, Taylor proposed a new and radically different approach to management, called scientific management. His work was an attempt to counter the adversarial struggle between labor and management which was prevalent in his day. As he saw it, workers used various methods to “under-work,” or deliberately work slowly, in order to protect their jobs and those of their co-workers. Management, driven by the need to increase productivity, relied on a series of positive and negative incentives to boost output. Taylor saw this system as flawed, and worked out his revolutionary theories as a positive alternative.

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