As I read the well-defined descriptions of Toxic Managers, I couldn't help but recall the many faces of those difficult people that have crossed my own work path over the past 24 years, and how I might have dealt with them differently under Roy Lubit's construct. Surely you'll experience similar learning and benefit, as you hear what the author has to say about how to deal with the difficult people that you encounter in your work life.
This book does a tremendous service by reminding us that work IS personal after all; that organizations are organic systems made up of human beings with personalities, traits, and problems that we cannot simply turn off or leave at home, like robots. These toxic behaviors and managers, as defined by the author, represent the hard HARD work that organizations must do to fix the illusive and, often substantially, costly problems.
I am delighted to add a practical approach and book to my toolbox to help executives and managers take compassionate, actionable steps toward solving issues that typically impede business performance and progress. This book, I project, will help heal the hearts and performance of many organizations and professionals who seek a cure for whatever ails them.
If that were all Dr. Lubit did that would be enough to distinguish this book, but he also gives detailed prescriptions for dealing with every type of behavior discussed in the book. These are often presented in the context of case studies and examples that make fascinating and satisfying narratives in themselves and allow Dr. Lubit's insights to really sink in.
Dr. Lubit, an experienced and recognized forensic psychiatrist and holder of an MD and a Ph.D. from Harvard, does an outstanding job of marshalling an array of toxic behaviors and codifying it in a manner that is understandable enough to be mastered by a college student yet profound enough and broad enough to be of great value to other professionals and to his peers. This book is scientific yet should prove of practical value to anyone who needs to manage, understand or otherwise deal with any business organization or, indeed, almost any human group in modern America. It does so in terms that anyone can understand and put to use. "Coping with Toxic Managers . . ." is one of those truly rare books which combines accessibility with depth, and I recommend it highly. Ronald Blum, Ph.D.