I’ve known Lara for years and have also been part of her organization for a bit when we worked at Etsy together. And over the years we have talked extensively about management and leadership. So I’ve had a certain idea of what I could expect from her book. And the book absolutely delivered!

As a manager, one of your primary jobs is to foster a foundation of trust on your team

In the book Lara gives invaluable insights about the human side of management. About the fact that as a manager you are tasked with making a group of humans work together. And that only works if you understand what humans value, how they tick, and if you’ve put the work in to build and foster a foundation of trust on your team.

This common thread of understanding humans and using that to be effective at work (and to be honest also outside) guides you through the whole book . Be it mentoring, coaching, sponsoring, providing (and receiving) feedback, or communication. Every chapter is written with humans in mind. And that is what makes this such an outstanding book. Throughout the chapters you will learn how to meet your team, grow your team, set expectations, communicate effectively, and build resilience. Every chapter is to the point, clearly written, and extremely actionable.

This book is a must have regardless whether you are a manager, want to become a manager, reporting to a manager, or just in general work with other humans. Lara Hogan puts down so much useful insights and wonderfully helpful guiding questions and suggestions that I don’t think there is anyone who wouldn’t benefit from reading it. Plus it’s about 100 pages long. You can literally start reading this book on Friday and will be better equipped to do your job on Monday.