The ABC's of Effective Leadership: Managing from the Heart (Gotta Minute?)

Tom Massey, Ph.D.
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2002)
ISBN 9781885003775
Reviewed by Dr. Michael Philliber for RebeccasReads (7/08)

To read a leadership book takes a lot of grit and guts. Many times they’re difficult to fathom because real leadership can be truly complicated. Or they’re cheerleading sessions marginally in touch with reality. Tom Massey has culled some basic principles of good leadership and piled them into a short 52 Chapter, 105 page book, “The ABC’s of Effective Leadership; Managing from the Heart.” Each chapter is short enough to get through at the beginning of a very busy day, yet substantial enough to give the leader something valuable to work through. Each chapter ends with a short, ‘Application’ section and a one-line positive affirmation.

Massey covers numerous subjects in a friendly, coaching style. Each chapter sticks to the point, and builds momentum toward the normally thoughtful conclusion. The topics cover loads of subject matter; for example, training, managing by mingling, how to valuably utilize time, delegation, conflict management, and how to keep your best people. For many readers these short chapters will be simple leadership reminders, for others they will be thought-starters toward better management.

On top of covering a breadth of helpful themes, “The ABC’s of Effective Leadership’ is also a quite useable manual. There’s rarely any pie-in-the-sky dreamy idealism. Instead, most of the chapters cover real issues with workable conclusions. Recently I was doing some marriage counseling with a young couple. They couldn’t seem to go a week without experiencing some argument that ended in tears, frustration, and complete communication shutdown. As they sat in front of me I gave them copies of Chapter 26 “Manage Conflict Creatively: Stay Cool and Think Win-Win.” After reading the slightly humorous story at the beginning of then chapter, we walked through Dr. Massey’s step-by-step application. They left with a useable game plan in their hand.

This book could be useful for corporate leadership team discussion starters. It can also be helpful for a one-woman small business leader who has hit a wall. Whether you’re leading a large company, or a small not-for-profit agency, this book has plenty to give and abundant ideas for managing from the heart. For a short, succinct, practicable handbook on sound leadership, I recommend Tom Massey’s “The ABC’s of Effective Leadership.”