How To Become a Better Leader in 2016 (Free Copies of My New Book Now Available!)

The best-kept secret and hardest lesson that no one tells you when you become a manager of people is this: you don’t become a great manager overnight—you have to work at it just like anything else you want to excel at. You can’t expect to instantly know everything there is to know about managing people and being a great leader just because you were given a piece of paper, a title change, or a salary increase—and no one expects that of you right away.

Most experienced leaders understand that becoming a good manager of people takes practice, perseverance, and commitment. They know that it’s not about bossing people around all the time, nor is it about being everyone’s best friend. It’s not about being stuck in the back office crunching numbers all day (at least it doesn’t have to be), and it’s not about shucking all your responsibilities onto the people below you.

Managing people is about inspiring people to do their best work. It’s about being a good listener, an effective communicator, an idea person, an organized planner, a doer, a finder of great talent, and a person who knows how to make tough decisions when tough decisions need to be made.

I’m excited to let you know that I wrote a book on this subject, not because I’m perfect or because I have all the answers, but because I’ve learned a lot in my experience and time as a leader.

It’s called the People Management Handbook.

My hope is that you can use pieces of this book—the lessons I’ve learned along the way—to become a better manager and leader at your own business. I hope it inspires you to do more for your team, not because anyone tells you that you need to be better, but because it’s what your employees deserve.

The book just launched today on Amazon, and the digital version is completely FREE to download—but only for a limited time.

Here’s a short preview of a chapter in the book on how to boost employee engagement:

You wouldn’t be a company if you didn’t have employees. And, if you want to be successful in business, you need employees who are effective, engaged, and excited to contribute.

But how can you get your employees engaged? It’s not as simple as throwing a big party and asking employees to get pumped up about their projects. Employees are engaged when they feel fulfilled by their work, are well supported by the company and their team, and feel they are contributing to the company’s goals.

If employees feel like their main job is to grind out work, why would they feel engaged? As a business owner or manager, it’s your job to make them feel at home.

You can prioritize employee engagement by getting everyone on the same page, building a culture that puts employees first, and implementing company-wide programming that has engagement at its core.

Why Does Employee Engagement Matter?

You didn’t hire your employees because they’re great at ping pong. You hired them because they have skills you need to be successful.

But skills are one part of the puzzle. Disengaged employees are expensive– in 2012, Gallup found that low employee engagement could cost the U.S. economy about $370 million every year.

Not only are disengaged employees costing you money, but their counterparts result in higher profits, safer work environments, and increased productivity. Gallup’s study found that engaged employees have 37 percent lower absenteeism, 48 percent fewer safety incidents, 21 percent higher productivity, and 22 percent higher profitability.

The proof is in the pudding.

Get Everyone on The Same Page

Sure, employee engagement is something you want, but how do you get it?

To improve employee engagement, you need everyone on the same page. You need general agreement that employee engagement is important, which means buy in from leadership and middle management. If the company leaders are not engaged, it will be impossible to spread engagement through the rest of the company.

Even if some aren’t super psyched about spending resources and money improving employee engagement, make sure leaders know about any changes that will be happening. For most initiatives, they should be clued in before their staff.

But being on the same page is about more than getting employee engagement initiatives through– it also means making sure that everyone at the company understands the values and the culture that you’re trying to build. It means that people are aware of company goals.

You don’t need to change your entire business model to facilitate awareness– even monthly and quarterly emails can do a lot to clue people in. Just make sure they’re well-written, as transparent as possible, and interesting to read.

There are two main steps to effective employee engagement… [READ MORE]

Get Your Copy of the People Management Handbook Today

The People Management Handbook is free to download now until Saturday, January 16th. Get your copy before the price goes up! Take the first step toward building a better team, becoming a better manager, and strengthening your business!

ORDER YOUR FREE COPY NOW

Help Me Spread The Word

If you like the book, I’d really appreciate it if you’d take the time to share it with your friends and colleagues.

Here are a few pre-written updates you are welcome to use:

• Just got my copy of the People Management Handbook by @Chadworks! Excited to dive in and start learning! Get yours: http://j.mp/1ZgkSPo [TWEET THIS]
• The People Management Handbook just launched! I got my copy. Get yours for free now: http://j.mp/1ZgkSPo #business #books [TWEET THIS]

Thanks for your help!