Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to manage many people, and I’ve seen firsthand just how much a manager can shape someone’s experience at work. We spend a huge portion of our lives working, and for many people, they spend more waking hours with their coworkers than with their families. Good managers can make that time meaningful and rewarding. Poor managers can make it miserable.

The problem is that most people are never really taught how to lead others. They get promoted, try their best, and often rely on whatever examples they’ve experienced themselves, good or bad. Daniela and I wrote this book because we believe most people genuinely want to know how to be a good manager. Our goal is to help them become the boss they wish they’d had.

Not at all. While the book is structured around the journey of a first-time manager, the ideas, tools, and strategies apply at every stage of your leadership career. If you’re already managing a team, you’ll find practical guidance you can put to work right away.

I’ve been managing people for a long time, but from researching and writing the book, I continue to strengthen my skills. We can all get better.

Absolutely. Even experienced managers have opportunities to grow. The book includes chapters on preparing yourself for management and developing the mindset and habits necessary for yours and your team’s success. You may wish you’d read them years ago, but it’s never too late to reflect, adjust your approach, and become an even better manager.

If you’re hoping to become a manager someday, this book will give you a head start. Many of the management skills we discuss, like communicating effectively, building trust, giving feedback, influencing others, and developing people, are also valuable long before you take on the official title of manager. The better prepared you are, the smoother your transition into management is likely to be.

Yes. The challenges of managing people are remarkably similar across industries and sectors. If you’re responsible for helping other people succeed, this book is for you.

Definitely. You don’t need to manage a large team to benefit from this book. Whether you lead one person or twenty, the fundamentals of good management are the same.

Building trust, communicating well, coaching others, giving feedback, and helping people grow are just as important with a small team as they are with a large one.

Most leadership books focus on leadership in general or on executives leading entire organizations. This book is different because it’s written primarily for managers working directly with individual contributors.

We focus on the day-to-day realities of management and how to lead a team: building relationships, giving feedback, developing your team, handling conflict, hiring and firing, managing meetings, and creating an environment where people can do their best work. It’s practical, grounded, and designed for the work managers actually do every day.

“People-first” doesn’t mean putting results second. It means recognizing that the people are what drive those results. When you develop empathy, communicate effectively, and understand what motivates each member of your team, you’re far more likely to achieve outstanding performance.

Note that a “people-first” approach also includes you. Managers are people too, which is why we discuss topics like developing good habits and shifting your mindset, as well as issues such as burnout, imposter syndrome, pride, and similar. We believe better management of others starts with understanding and developing yourself.

Our philosophy is simple: if you take care of your people, performance will follow. Too often, managers become so focused on results that they forget the people responsible for achieving them. We believe the opposite approach works better.

When you invest in your team, communicate well, build trust, and help them succeed, better performance becomes the natural outcome.

The cover represents breaking the cycle of management mediocrity. We wanted an image that reflected the idea that you don’t have to be excessively loud or disruptive to succeed. The highlighted cube doesn’t stand apart because it’s completely different. It still fits within the pattern—but it shines.

That’s exactly what we hope this book helps you do. You don’t need to reinvent management, but you do need to consistently do the things that will make you a great boss: invest in people, communicate well, build trust, and help your team succeed.

That is, each day, choose to lead with empathy, humility, and intention. That’s what allows you to stand out, break the pattern, and become the boss you wish you’d had.

The ideas in this book are grounded in research, but they’ve also been tested in the real world through years of management experience (both mine and others’).

Throughout the book, Daniela and I share stories from our own careers to illustrate what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned along the way. We have also included a number of stories from others who graciously shared their journeys with us. Our goal is to give you practical tools you can start using immediately, backed by evidence but brought to life through real experiences.

We intentionally organized the chapters to build on one another, so if you’re new to management, we recommend reading the book from beginning to end the first time. After that, we hope it becomes a resource you return to whenever you need it.

Maybe you’re preparing for a difficult conversation, working through a challenge with your team, or simply looking to refresh a particular skill. Whatever it may be, the book is designed so that you can jump straight to the chapter that’s most relevant to your specific needs and circumstances.

We’ve also provided a significant library of supplemental resources that are available to readers of the book.

The book is roughly a 7-hour read for most people. Of course, there’s no rush. We encourage you to take your time, reflect on the ideas, and put them into practice as you go. Management is a skill that’s developed over time, not in a single weekend.

Here is a listing of retailers offering our book. It will also be available through local independent booksellers in the US, Canada, UK, South Africa, and Australia.

Yes! The audiobook will be released alongside the print and e-book editions, so you’ll be able to choose whichever format works best for you.

Yes. The book will be available internationally, including in Canada, Europe, South Africa, and Australia, in both print and digital formats. Availability may vary slightly by retailer, but readers will be able to access it.

We hope to release translated versions at some point in the future as well.

Not in the traditional sense. Throughout the book, we include reflection questions and practical exercises to help you apply what you’re learning.

In addition, readers will have access to bonus chapters, worksheets, and other downloadable resources through the PathWise Member Community to continue building their management skills. You can access those here.

We created the book to be the beginning of your journey, but you can continue refining your skills with additional resources at any time.

Consider joining the PathWise Member Community, where you’ll find a wealth of articles, tools, courses, worksheets, and other resources designed to help you continue growing as a manager. We have various membership tiers, including a free one.

Absolutely. We already offer online courses and plan to continue developing workshops, learning programs, leadership training for managers, and additional resources that build on the ideas in this book.

If you’re interested in our new manager training program, you can apply here.

We’re also working on future books, so stay tuned!

If you’re worried you’re working for a boss that has plenty of room for improvement, our quiz, “Do You Work For a Bad Boss?”, is coming soon! It will help you identify the signs of a bad boss or even a toxic boss.

As for how you tell them, it’s best to start with a foundation of trust, so that they know that whatever feedback you’re sharing is being offered with their interests in mind and not in a mean-spirited way. Share your thoughts in terms of observations about behaviors or actions, not as statements about their identity. Discuss the impact it is having on your or the team, and offer them a suggested alternative that would address your concerns.

If you feel uncomfortable having this discussion, you could “gift” your manager the book, and we have a means for you to do that anonymously, but a direct discussion should always be the first approach.

The best way to stay connected is through the PathWise Member Community.

You can follow JR Lowry on LinkedIn, listen to his Career Sessions podcast, and connect with PathWise on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook for new content and updates.

You’re also welcome to reach out to us directly at [email protected] or [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!