Myths of Management

Stefan Stern writes for the Guardian and the FT, where he was the management columnist between 2006 and 2010. He is visiting professor in management practice at Cass Business School and is Director of the High Pay Centre. Sir Cary Cooper CBE is the 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester. He is President of the CIPD, President of the British Academy of Management and Editor-in-Chief of the Blackwell/Wiley Encyclopedia of Management.

Chapter - 00: Introduction;
Chapter - 01: Myth 1 - There is One Right Way to Lead or Manage;
Chapter - 02: Myth 2 - It’s Tough at the Top;
Chapter - 03: Myth 3 - Long Hours Will Lead to Success;
Chapter - 04: Myth 4 - It’s Important Not to Show Vulnerability or Doubt;
Chapter - 05: Myth 5 - It’s Lonely at the Top;
Chapter - 06: Myth 6 - You Need to be the Smartest Person in the Room;
Chapter - 07: Myth 7 - Hierarchy is Finished;
Chapter - 08: Myth 8 - Consistency is Essential;
Chapter - 09: Myth 9 - Only Hire People Who Will Fit In;
Chapter - 10: Myth 10 - Leadership is More Important than Management;
Chapter - 11: Myth 11 - You Have to Pay Top Dollar to Get the Right Person;
Chapter - 12: Myth 12 - Annual Appraisals Help You Manage Performance;
Chapter - 13: Myth 13 - Information Must be Controlled and Limited;
Chapter - 14: Myth 14 - … but Women Don’t Really Want Top Jobs;
Chapter - 15: Myth 15 - Leaders are Born Not Made;
Chapter - 16: Myth 16 - Your First 100 Days in a New Job are Make or Break;
Chapter - 17: Myth 17 - You Have to Know Everything that is Going On;
Chapter - 18: Myth 18 - Heroic Leaders Can Change Entire Organizations on their Own;
Chapter - 19: Myth 19 - The Boss with the Best Strategy Wins;
Chapter - 20: Myth 20 - It is Not Possible to Work Flexibly in Senior Roles;
Chapter - 21: Myth 21 - Pay Must be Kept Confidential;
Chapter - 22: Myth 22 - Psychology is Psychobabble and there’s No Need or Place for it;
Chapter - 23: Myth 23 - The Robots are Coming to Take Your Job;
Chapter - 24: Myth 24 - Leadership Must Be Transformational;
Chapter - 25: Myth 25 - Conformity Leads to Success;
Chapter - 26: Myth 26 - Feelings are Soft and for Losers;
Chapter - 27: Myth 27 - Keep Your Distance if You Want Respect;
Chapter - 28: Myth 28 - Be Yourself -- It’s All About Authenticity;
Chapter - 29: Myth 29 - Date of Birth is Destiny;
Chapter - 30: Myth 30 - People are Motivated by Money;
Chapter - 31: Myth 31 - Fear Works and ‘Engagement’ is Unnecessary;
Chapter - 32: Myth 32 - The Business Case Will Always Prove Persuasive;
Chapter - 33: Myth 33 - There’s Nothing Wrong with the Business, there’s just a Few Rotten Apples;
Chapter - 34: Myth 34 - We Have Woken Up to the Problems Caused by Prejudice;
Chapter - 35: Myth 35 - All the Power Resides at the Top;
Chapter - 36: Myth 36 - People Will Learn if you Explain Things to them Clearly;
Chapter - 37: Myth 37 - You Must Keep Up with all the New Management Ideas and Give Them a Try;
Chapter - 38: Myth 38 - You’ve Got to Talk Like a Real, Serious, Grown-Up Business Person. Learn the Jargon;
Chapter - 39: Myth 39 - You Can’t Manage People if You Can’t See Them;
Chapter - 40: Myth 40 - Who Needs Employees Anyway? Get With the Gig Economy;
Chapter - 41: Myth 41 - People Hate Change;
Chapter - 42: Big Data Will Fix Everything;
Chapter - 43: Myth 43 - A Cool Office Will Make Everybody More Creative;
Chapter - 44: Myth 44 - There are Only 44 Things to Get Wrong