The Next Level - Scott Eblin

This was a pretty good read for me. It crystallised many of the things I learnt and "somehow knew at the back of my head" as a middle manager during the past 1.5 exciting years, and also gave some new perspectives on things I thought I already knew.

I think that there are some books and training that work better when one already has some experience and can relate to it. This is one of them.

Here are my key takeaways:

1. Managers should stop doing what they had been doing best functionally (writing papers is one) and focus their energies on doing the things that really add value to their team and the organisation. This is the what got you here won't get you to the next level paradigm shift in thinking.
   
2. This is primarily the strategic work, i.e. looking at resource allocation, prioritisation, looking forward, understanding what people upstairs want, etc. Very importantly, this also includes looking around and constantly scanning for potential threats and opportunities.
   
3. Networking with one's peers, getting tacit information and bridging inter-functional gaps in the organisation becomes also a key value-add (which I often don't do because I'm too busy skipping lunches to do work!) That is why big-picture, integration and collaborative skills are paramount for managers.
   
4. To do this, one has to shift from the "how" to the "what". i.e. as one is held accountable to the results, one must define clearly what the strategic priorities are and what is the end goal for the team. BUT one should not be telling the team how to get there, i.e. this is where the full-stop should go to, this is how to do sales, etc. At least this should be the steady-state outcome when the team's capabilities are built.
   
5. This is stepping out of the way, being less fixated with how things are done (there are a million and one ways) and letting the functional talents have the joy of owning their work.
6. This also includes stepping aside and letting the team debate and decide on what is the best "how", without jumping in and taking the ownership out of their hands all the time.
   
7. At the same time, that means as a manager, one has to be very clear about what are the 1-2 things that you'd want to accomplish in your time here. Which helps focus your strategic plan.
   
8. Concomitantly, one will also need to learn how to put the best people into the best roles and groom them properly, so that one can focus on the more strategic roles, which includes this very one :)
9. Guide for how to present issues to your boss: what, so what, now what
10. Performance = potential minus interference. How true - I often get alot of interference, like lack of sleep.
    

Pretty valuable information that I think will serve me rather well for quite some time to come!