The Making of a Manager

What to Do When Everyone Looks to You

By: Julie Zhuo

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Julie Zhuo

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Congratulations, you're a manager! After you pop the champagne, accept the shiny new title, and step into this thrilling next chapter of your career, the truth descends like a fog: You don't really know what you're doing.

That's exactly how Julie Zhuo felt when she became a rookie manager at the age of 25. She stared at a long list of logistics - from hiring to firing, from meeting to messaging, from planning to pitching - and faced a thousand questions and uncertainties. How was she supposed to spin teamwork into value? How could she be a good steward of her reports' careers? What was the secret to leading with confidence in new and unexpected situations?

Now, having managed dozens of teams spanning tens to hundreds of people, Julie knows the most important lesson of all: Great managers are made, not born. If you care enough to be reading this, then you care enough to be a great manager.

The Making of a Manager is a modern field guide packed with everyday examples and transformative insights, including:

• How to tell a great manager from an average manager
• When you should look past an awkward interview and hire someone anyway
• How to build trust with your reports through not being a boss
• Where to look when you lose faith and lack the answers

Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you wish you had.

©2019 Julie Zhuo (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I've seen so many people thrust into management in high-growth companies with so little guidance. From now on, I will hand them this book. Its practical wisdom is immediately useful for the newly minted manager - and us old ones." (Ev Williams, CEO of Medium and cofounder of Twitter)

“Julie Zhuo had to learn to be a manager fast, as her role kept expanding in the hyper-growth environment of a successful Silicon Valley start-up. In The Making of a Manager, she shares what she learned - often, the hard way. She combines cutting-edge analysis of how organizations work with engaging and accessible examples of how theory plays out in real life, with stories of what she did right and wrong.” (Gretchen Rubin, New York Times best-selling author of The Happiness Project)

“I wish I'd had this book when I started managing a team at Instagram. Julie covers the full range of becoming a manager, from your first meetings with your team to accomplishing huge goals together.” (Mike Krieger, cofounder of Instagram)

Fantastic playbook for managers

Great book with a lot of actionable takeaways. I finished in 3 days inspired to be in my new role. Did not find it too “Facebook cheerlead-y” at all as other reviews said. Highly recommend!

excellent listen

This book allows you to reflect on your leadership style and also do a great deal of self reflection.

Nice read

it was nice to listen to it.
the voice was relaxing and made it easy to understand the content.
The content was very complete and provided a lot of value for a new manager

Good introduction to the development of managers

Always curious about this and finally a chance to learn about this. Julie Zhuo does a great job of explaining and describing the job of managers, and which way to turn at many decision points. I really enjoyed it and put the information to work.

great for first time and experienced managers

as someone considering going into management, I found it very insightful. provided a realistic description of what being a manager is. I appreciated the actionable advice and candid perspective.

practical, useful but a bit too long

I found myself hard to focus on this book because it spends too much time on one single point and sometimes back and forth a few times to illustrate one single idea.

For new managers.

I would recommend this for any new manager. I just moved into management and have been nervous about doing the best job I can. The info provided will help make me better at my job and hopefully be the best general manager my store has ever had.

Should be Required Reading

This book is perfect for aspiring or current managers. The author does a masterful job of showing the typical issues with management.

Required handbook for every Manager

I enjoyed every line and advice in this book. Julie hits to the heart of what managing people is all about. With actionable examples, she describes her experience through different phases of her career from individual contributor, Manager of a small team and Leader of a large group.

Zhuo relates to all, not just managers

I'm not a manager (yet), but gained so much insight from this book. I found myself thinking at least once each chapter, "I wish MY manager did that." It's full of tips and ideas for navigating corporate structure and remaining helpful, especially to your direct reports. My only complaint was the narrator, who read as if she was ... desperate to convince me of something? I wish her delivery matched the genuineness of the author.