The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership, Management and Team Working

With all that’s been (and continues to be) written on management and leadership of all types, it’s difficult to come up with anything radically new or different to say about either topic. Luckily, that does not seem to be the purpose of this title. Allan (The No-Nonsense Guide to Project Management; Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning) provides concise, well-ordered guidance to get those newly appointed to management or leadership positions in libraries up and running quickly. The 12 chapters cover an array of topics, from the basics of getting to know your team, communicating effectively, and managing a budget, to the complexities of leading change, managing conflicts, and building consensus. Each section includes multiple entries that Allan refers to as case studies, which might be better labeled as examples or “from the literature” since they are quite short and generally refer to outside sources. But the advice is solid, and seeing how concepts play out in the real world is helpful.