HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers (with bonus article “How Managers Become Leaders” by Michael D. Watkins) Quotes

“Delegating, thinking strategically, communicating—you may think this all sounds like Management 101. And you’re right. The most basic elements of management are often what trip up managers early in their careers. And because they are the basics, the bosses of rookie managers often take them for granted. They shouldn’t—an extraordinary number of people fail to develop these skills. I’ve maintained an illusion throughout this article—that only rookie managers suffer because they haven’t mastered these core skills. But the truth is, managers at all levels make these mistakes. An organization that supports its new managers by helping them to develop these skills will have surprising advantages over the competition.”
― Linda A. Hill, HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers (with bonus article “How Managers Become Leaders” by Michael D. Watkins)

“But she would ask and ask and ask to get to the bottom of something. You would say something to her, she would say it back to you, and that way everyone was 100% clear on what we were talking about. Once she got the information and knew what you were doing, you had to be consistent. She would say, ‘You told me X; why are you doing Y? I’m confused.’” Although she was demanding, she didn’t demand that people do things her way. Her subordinates were committed to the team’s goals because they were empowered, not ordered, to achieve them.”
― Linda A. Hill, HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers (with bonus article “How Managers Become Leaders” by Michael D. Watkins)