Don't Kill the Bosses!

Don't Kill the Bosses!

Released January 2001
Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 9781605098067

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Book description

The boss/subordinate relationship is an age-old problem cited in almost every management book and on-the-job survey as an area rife with dishonesty and inefficiency. All too often, subordinates spin the truth for those above while bosses fail to establish the conditions required for subordinates to tell it to them straight. The end result is warped communication, corrupt internal politics, illusionary teamwork, pass-the-buck accountability, and personal dispiriting-and the company is always the big loser.

Don't Kill the Bosses! reveals the "trap" created when people fail to differentiate between the positives of hierarchical structure and the negatives of hierarchical relationships. Far from being opposed to hierarchy, the authors believe strongly that an accurate and cleanly defined organization chart is vital. But they show how to implement an alternative model of hierarchy: two-sided accountability. Drawing on case studies from their consulting practice, Culbert and Ullmen show how this new model leads to a freer flow of information, more creative problem-solving, and quicker response to changing conditions.

Unlike other books that acknowledge boss/subordinate relationships as a systematic, continuing problem and offer skill development suggestions for dealing with it, Don't Kill the Bosses! tells how to think about the problem in a way that will enable readers to understand the steps they need to take to change things. It diagnoses what's missing in boss/subordinate relationships, connects what's wrong with them to personal and organizational outcomes, and defines the whole new mentality required to make them work successfully.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Praise for Don’t Kill the Bosses!
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction and Executive Summary: Why Not Kill the Bosses?!
  8. 1 Recognizing the Hierarchy Trap
    1. HIERARCHY IS AN ORGANIZATION TRAP
    2. TWO-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERING IS THE ALTERNATIVE
    3. SUMMARY
  9. 2 The Core Problem Is One-Sided Accountability
    1. CASE 1
    2. CASE 2
    3. SHORT CASE
    4. SHORT CASE
  10. 3 Transformation 1: You’ve Got to Use What You Know about Human Nature
    1. FALSE OBJECTIVITY IS A HURDLE TO OVERCOME
    2. WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN THE CLASS
    3. CHANGING THE PARADIGM
    4. IMPLICATIONS FOR HIERARCHICAL RELATIONSHIPS
    5. WE TAKE THE TEST
    6. CONCLUSION
  11. 4 Transformation 2: Politics As Usual Won’t Get You There
    1. YOU NEED TO PRACTICE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF POLITICS
    2. TWO-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY LESSONS
    3. CONCLUSION
  12. 5 You Need a Two-Sided Accountability Mind-Set
    1. PUTTING IT TOGETHER: ACHIEVING TWO-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY
    2. PRINCIPLE 1: INEVITABLE SUBJECTIVITY
    3. PRINCIPLE 2: PRACTICE WIN-WIN-WIN POLITICS
    4. PRINCIPLE 3: PUT TWO-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY INTO ACTION
    5. SUMMARY
  13. 6 Team Effectiveness Requires It
    1. SNAP-TOGETHER TEAMWORK RESULTS FROM ONE-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY
    2. THE TWO-SIDED ACCOUNTABILITY APPROACH TO TEAMWORK
  14. 7 Top Levels Need to Support It
    1. WHO OWNS THE COMPANY, ANYWAY?
    2. CONCLUSION
  15. 8 Changing the Structure to Encourage It
    1. CONNECTING THE LAST THREE REFERENCE POINTS
    2. OUR BACK-POCKET PROPOSAL FEATURES TWO-STEP-UP EVALUATION
  16. 9 What Don’t Kill the Bosses! Can Do for You: Who Benefits and How?
    1. HOW TOP-LEVEL EXECUTIVES CAN USE THE DON’T KILL THE BOSSES! PERSPECTIVE
    2. HOW EXECUTIVES CAN BENEFIT
    3. WHAT MIDDLE-LEVEL BOSSES HAVE TO GAIN
    4. WHAT PEOPLE STARTING OUT AND LOWER DOWN IN THE COMPANY HAVE TO GAIN
    5. CONCLUSION
  17. Index
  18. About the Authors
  19. Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Product information

  • Title: Don't Kill the Bosses!
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: January 2001
  • Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • ISBN: 9781605098067