George Langelett

This is a very helpful guide with many explanations and great ideas that every manager can put them into practice.
Using the methods that the author suggests, every employee will feel secure, will be motivated and give the best results. Also, the company will register better productivity too.
The secret for all of this to happen is the empathy-based management. The key is to understand the employees and help them achieve success.
Thank you for the great book and priceless practical ideas!

Here are some quotes I like and would love to share:
“Without our emotions, we cannot make decisions.”
“What is important is that your employees identify with you as their boss and as close friend who sincerely cares about their well-being.”
“Thus, as a manager, it is your nonverbal message, rather than your spoken words, that will have a greater impact on the long-term behavior of your employees.”… (mais)

I received this book free for review but despite that kindness I give my candid thoughts below.

So firstly, what is this book exactly? In a nutshell, it's a semi-practical guide to achieving emotional connectedness with one's employees. It is evenly split between clinical concepts (What part of my brain becomes active when I'm stressed?) and practical advice (What do I do when my employee is angry with me?)

On the positive side, the author has a very important message to convey. Many times in today's working world we're focused so much on results-based management that we forget that the people we're squeezing for results are real people. Langelett's book reminds us that the people we manage are, first and foremost, people with real feelings that need to be taken into consideration. Further, the author conveys this idea in a readable and erudite manner and gives countless examples of how to be more empathetic in our day-to-day interactions. Lastly, the book is deeply technical enough that if you wanted a jumping off point to dig in to some hard neuroscience then this book would be a great place to start.

To the negative, the problems I perennially have with such books is that they encourage rehearsed behavior. For example, if your employee is a fan of sport and you're not, simply peruse the sports page so you have some common ground, the book suggests. As an employee, I would be incensed if I found that my boss "studied" so that they could conduct small talk with me. In the same breath, the book admonishes us to be "authentic" while we dish out our suggested words and phrases designed for various situations. In this same vein, the text at times seems to encourage an almost pandering level of behavior towards employees rather than one that is properly realistic and representative of the way real people interact.

In summary, this book has as its heart and motive some great ideas. However anyone who tries to use these recommendations verbatim will likely be revealed as a charlatan in short order. The concept of engaging emotionally with employees is a highly valid one but such connections cannot be woven entirely from whole cloth or eked from the insipid dredging of the sports page. Connections must be real and heartfelt or they become meaningless. No table of rehearsed responses can take the place of genuine empathy for others in the workplace.… (mais)

When I first started this book I thought, "Ugh". It all sounded so academic and I thought it would be impossible to apply in a real-life setting. Then the author started describing how the brain works and why this is important in management and, although I just made it sound boring, it really was interesting. The book then goes on to describe different strategies and plans for how to deal with all different situations in the workplace and I found myself underlining and starring sentence after sentence. Toward the end it even addressed the extremely difficult to handle "manipulative employee" that everyone sees every so often. It also wraps everything up in the end and goes over what should be your overall plan as an "empathetic manager" and invites you to discuss your ideas and outcomes with the author. Excellent book. Very useful. I will be recommending it to lots of people. Thank you Good Reads for a First Reads copy of this book!… (mais)

Classic management theories and practices put emphasis on the "sticks & carrots" approach. Punishment of bad behaviours without a grain of sympathy or engagement, and compensation by salary only. Based in thinking of employees as production factors, like capital, fuels or machinery, you can't keep knowledge workers motivated this way. George Langelett answers the question How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? with the explanation and practice of empathy. No, you won't be on the soft skills side only. Empathy is different from sympathy, and can be learned to practices step by step in crucial conversations. Every person in your organization desires to be understood and accepted, even if mistakes are made, stress levels are high or involvement of external mentors or professionals is needed. You are the manager and can empathize with each of your employees, and create a better work environment for you and the people that collaborate with you. Though in sync with Dan Pink's thoughts on motivation, Langelett takes a different route with lots more attention for the neurological aspects of stress, decision-making and empathy. After five chapters explaining the core message, the author provides a series of appendices with historical backgrounds of each of the major thinkers on management and motivation, recommended titles for further reading, etc. Empathy could be your most important attribute to the work environment these days.… (mais)