Book SummaryThe Making of a Manager, by Julie Zhuo

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Making of a Manager

How do you become a great manager? Solving problems, facilitating meetings, delivering presentations, and issuing directives are all useful skills to have, but they won’t make you great. According to Julie Zhuo, great managers focus on achieving the ultimate goal of all managers: facilitating desirable outcomes by inspiring and coordinating the efforts of others.

In The Making of a Manager, Zhuo explains that great managers motivate people to work toward a shared goal by upholding an inspiring vision, establishing trust, and communicating clear expectations. Drawing on her experience as a design executive—going from...

The Making of a Manager Summary Understanding What Makes a Manager Great

Contrary to what many people think, being an effective manager entails more than completing a daily checklist of tasks and telling people what to do. In this section, we’ll first explore what management is, according to Zhuo. Then, we’ll discuss the qualities of a great manager.

The Definition of Management

Zhuo says that management is about facilitating desirable outcomes by inspiring and coordinating the efforts of others. Great managers build relationships, nurture collaboration, support an efficient workflow, and ultimately advance company goals.

In practice, a manager’s role is similar to that of an orchestra conductor. Just as an orchestra conductor inspires and leads musicians to deliver creative performances, a manager guides team members to combine their talents and deliver great outcomes.

Drawbacks to Zhuo’s Definition of Management

Although Zhuo’s definition has the advantage of focusing on the critical role of management to transform inputs into outputs of greater value, [some say her definition is too broad because it doesn’t clarify what outcomes are...

The Making of a Manager Summary Sharing and Reinforcing a Powerful Vision

You’ve learned what management is and what qualities make a manager great. Now, let’s look at one critical function managers must perform: sharing and reinforcing a powerful vision. In this section, we’ll first examine the features of a good vision statement. Then, we’ll discuss why a good vision statement matters, according to Zhuo.

Features of a Good Vision Statement

As Zhuo explains, a vision statement clearly states the end goal of your team’s coordinated efforts. Ultimately, a good vision statement tells team members what they’re working toward, not how they’ll do it. The vision should be ambitious, inspiring, and easy to remember. When people hear your vision, they should be able to picture a new and better future. Here’s an example:

Bad vision statement: To create the best pillows on the market.

Good vision statement: Create a pillow that earns 100,000 five-star user reviews.

When a Vision Statement Doesn’t Make Sense

Most business leaders agree that a good vision statement can be a powerful motivator. However, not everyone agrees with Zhuo that a vision statement is always appropriate. For example, Michael Watkins says to...

The Making of a Manager Summary Building and Nurturing a Team

We’ve looked at the importance of reinforcing a powerful vision to motivate your team to consistently perform at a high level. Now, we’ll examine another core function managers must perform: building and nurturing a team that works well together. In this section, we’ll review the two critical elements of team building that Zhuo identifies: hiring the right people and coaching and developing team members.

Hiring the Right People

Zhuo says great managers consistently hire people with the skills and commitment the team needs to advance company objectives. As the manager, it’s ultimately up to you to build a winning team, even if you have other staff members helping you. Therefore, it’s important to have a reliable process in place. Let’s first look at the steps for identifying and interviewing candidates. Then, we’ll cover the steps for evaluating and selecting candidates.

(Shortform note: The financial impact bad hires can have for a business underscores Zhuo’s emphasis on the importance of hiring well. According to research, a bad hire can cost a company up to 30% of the employee’s annual wages in added...

The Making of a Manager Summary Running Productive Meetings

By now, you know how to build and develop your team to support seamless collaboration and high-level performance and productivity. Now, it’s time to look at another core function great managers must perform to facilitate great outcomes: running productive meetings. As Zhuo says, meetings inevitably take up a large portion of company time, so it’s essential to extract maximum value when people come together.

(Shortform note: Research confirms Zhuo’s emphasis on the importance of running productive, efficient meetings, as poorly executed meetings waste valuable resources. Studies show that 70% of all meetings are a waste of time, yet meeting frequency has increased 69.7% since February 2020. Meetings take away valuable working hours from the team and often decrease productivity while contributing to stress and burnout. Also, [unproductive meetings take a huge financial toll on your...

Shortform Exercise: Build Trust With Your Team

Zhuo says building trust is crucial for your team to work together, resolve problems, and achieve stellar results.

Rank the level of trust between you and your team as a whole, and each member individually (1 = Excellent, but room for minor improvement, 2 = Pretty good, but a lot of room for improvement, 3 = Bad, desperately needs improvement). Why did you choose each ranking?