Everyone Deserves a Great Manager

Have you ever had a boss who made you dread work every day—or one who inspired you to do your best? That contrast lies at the heart of Everyone Deserves a Great Manager by Scott Miller, Todd Davis, and Victoria Roos Olsson. Drawing from decades of leadership research at FranklinCovey, the authors argue that being a great manager isn’t about authority, charisma, or experience—it’s about mastering a set of simple but profoundly effective practices that help people thrive. In their view, management is one of the most noble professions because it puts leaders in a position to shape not only performance but also lives.

The book’s central claim is clear: every employee deserves a manager who helps them grow, supports them through challenges, and leads with empathy and accountability. Achieving that, however, takes more than good intentions. Most new managers are promoted for their technical success, not their leadership skill, and are thrust into roles with little training. Many flounder for years without guidance. The authors found that on average, people become managers at age thirty but don’t receive formal leadership training until their early forties. That’s a decade of unprepared influence—time that can discourage teams, stall productivity, and corrode culture.

The Six Critical Practices

To close this training gap, FranklinCovey distilled dozens of leadership frameworks into the Six Critical Practices for Leading a Team—simple, actionable habits that move leaders from uncertainty to mastery:

• Develop a Leader’s Mindset: Shift from achieving results alone to achieving results through others.
• Hold Regular 1-on-1s: Engage team members through meaningful conversations that build trust, not just status updates.
• Set Up Your Team to Get Results: Clarify goals, connect everyone to the “why,” and delegate wisely.
• Create a Culture of Feedback: Give and seek feedback to improve performance and strengthen relationships.
• Lead Your Team Through Change: Manage the emotional journey of disruption and guide your team to renewed performance.
• Manage Your Time and Energy: Model balance and productivity for sustainable excellence—for yourself and your people.

These practices build on timeless leadership principles championed by FranklinCovey and make them concrete for first-level managers—the people leaders who often have the most daily influence on employees but the least support.

Why First-Level Leaders Are the Linchpin

In today’s flattened organizations, first-level leaders have become the linchpins of culture and engagement. As information technology has removed layers of middle management, these frontline managers now juggle unprecedented scope and responsibility. They guide the majority of the workforce, shape people’s experiences daily, and directly affect engagement levels. Gallup data backs this up: managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement across organizations.

Yet most new managers feel unprepared and anxious. They’re expected to deliver results, motivate diverse people, and make tough calls—all with minimal training. The FranklinCovey authors empathize deeply here: each admits to having failed spectacularly early in their leadership careers. Scott Miller’s infamous story of being “un-promoted” after three weeks of tyrannical management serves as both a warning and a lesson. Leadership isn’t about control—it’s about connection, accountability, and continuous learning.

From Ego to Empathy

A major theme throughout the book is mindset transformation—the inner shift from seeing yourself as the hero to becoming a hero-maker. As Todd Davis puts it, the critical question is: “Do I want to be a great leader, or do I want my team to be led by a great leader?” The first focuses on self-image; the second on service. The best leaders see their role as multiplying others’ success rather than showcasing their own brilliance (echoing Liz Wiseman’s concept of “genius makers”).

This people-first philosophy carries through every practice. Whether you’re conducting a 1-on-1, setting goals, or giving feedback, the point isn’t to manage tasks but to manage meaning—to make people feel seen, heard, and valued. By combining FranklinCovey’s principle-centered approach with FranklinCovey’s hallmark tools—like the See-Do-Get model and the 7 Habits’ focus on influence and renewal—the authors show that great management is measurable, transferable, and profoundly human.

Why This Book Matters

In an era of burnout, disengagement, and constant change, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager is both a survival guide and a manifesto. It’s for the individual contributor suddenly promoted and terrified, the seasoned manager seeking renewal, and the executive hoping to cascade better leadership throughout the company. The message is clear: managers are culture-makers. When they’re supported, equipped, and intentional, entire organizations flourish. When they’re neglected, even the best strategies fail.

“Your people are your results.” That simple idea, repeated throughout the book, reframes leadership as not just getting work done but building capable, confident, purpose-driven people who do great work together.

Across its six practices, this book delivers what most managers wish they’d had from day one: a blueprint for turning confusion into competence, anxiety into confidence, and everyday management into meaningful leadership. The following key ideas unpack each practice with practical wisdom, heartfelt stories, and field-tested strategies for becoming the leader your team truly deserves.

When you’re promoted to lead others, something subtle and profound must shift inside you. What made you successful as an individual contributor—working hard, being the expert, owning your results—can easily sabotage you as a manager. The first critical practice, Develop a Leader’s Mindset, is about replacing old paradigms of self-reliance with a new lens: success now comes from what your team accomplishes, not what you do alone.

Understanding Your Paradigms

Scott Miller introduces the concept of paradigms—mental lenses shaped by upbringing and experience—that dictate how you see yourself and others. He shares how his childhood taught him to trust authority figures uncritically, leading him later to adopt flawed assumptions about leadership. Leaders must regularly examine their paradigms to ensure they reflect reality rather than bias. This begins by asking: *What do I believe about my team and my role?* If you see employees as lazy or incapable, you’ll manage through control. If you believe they’re capable and resourceful, you’ll lead through empowerment.

The authors propose the See-Do-Get Cycle as a model for change: how you *see* shapes what you *do*, which determines what you *get.* To truly improve outcomes, you must start by challenging how you see. Behavior tweaks alone are temporary; mindset change drives transformation (Stephen Covey emphasized this principle long ago in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

From Achieving Alone to Succeeding Through Others

Todd Davis and Victoria Roos Olsson illustrate this shift through vivid stories. One memorable example involves Carolyn, a record-breaking salesperson promoted to sales manager. Instead of coaching her team, she continued “saving the day” by closing deals herself. While her intentions were good, she stifled her team’s growth and burned herself out. Her turning point came when she realized that her job was not to hit the number herself but to help her team hit it—an entirely different game.

The authors compare this to tennis champions needing to adjust when switching surfaces: what wins on grass won’t win on clay. Likewise, the skills that earned you promotion may not serve you in leadership. Marshall Goldsmith captured it well in his book title: *What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.*

Letting Go of Your Old Identity

This mindset shift is emotional. Many new managers struggle to let go of the validation they once gained from being the star performer. Scott quips that sometimes you need to “hold a funeral for your old job”—box up the trophies, even burn them metaphorically, and embrace that your success now lives in others’ growth. A hospitality executive he describes demonstrates this perfectly: after years of personal recognition, he decided his new measure of success was his team’s achievements, not his own awards. This focus created a ripple effect of motivation and performance across the organization.

Getting to Know Your People

To manage with the right mindset, you have to really know your team. The authors recommend a structured exercise where everyone, including the manager, answers personal questions—about values, backgrounds, communication styles, and recognition preferences—to deepen connection and challenge assumptions. As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Learning these nuances humanizes relationships and helps you see your people—and yourself—more accurately.

The mindset shift at the core of leadership is simple but not easy: “I achieve results through others.” That redefinition becomes the foundation for every other practice in the book.

Developing a leader’s mindset is not a one-time decision but a continuous process of checking your paradigms, trusting your team, and redefining success. Once you’ve made that mental leap, you’re ready for the next crucial skill: building deeper engagement through regular, meaningful 1-on-1s.

The practice of holding regular 1-on-1s might sound basic, but it’s the cornerstone of engagement. “People don’t quit companies,” Todd Davis writes, “they quit managers.” Consistent, personal communication is how you keep them from quitting you. In this chapter, the authors show how 1-on-1s—done right—transform culture, engagement, and retention.

Engagement Is a Choice—Leaders Create the Conditions

At FranklinCovey, engagement isn’t just a buzzword. The authors describe it as a spectrum ranging from active engagement (“want to”) to mere compliance (“have to”). Leaders can’t force people to be engaged, but they can shape the environment so people choose to be. And the most effective lever for that environment is the 1-on-1 conversation.

Set the Frequency and the Tone

Too many managers either skip 1-on-1s or treat them as perfunctory check-ins. The authors recount Joanna’s story—a high-performing remote project manager who quit not for money but for meaning. Her manager met with her only long enough to rattle through project updates. When another leader joined who met weekly, asked about her goals, and showed genuine curiosity, her performance soared and her engagement returned. The lesson: the quality of your 1-on-1s mirrors the quality of your leadership.

Commit to a consistent schedule, preferably weekly or biweekly. Never cancel casually, as doing so signals that your employee is unimportant. The authors even suggest framing 1-on-1s as the employee’s meeting, not the manager’s. You listen 80% of the time, coach rather than dictate, and treat the session as sacred.

From Monitoring to Coaching

Many managers see 1-on-1s as opportunities to check progress, review to-do lists, and give instructions—the managerial equivalent of micromanagement. FranklinCovey distinguishes between *monitoring* (focusing on numbers) and *coaching* (focusing on the person). The goal is to have employees talk more than you do. You ask open questions like “What obstacles are getting in your way?” or “What’s energizing or frustrating you right now?” This approach builds ownership and self-confidence, the raw materials of engagement.

Mastering Empathic Listening

Empathic Listening—a signature FranklinCovey skill—means listening not with the intent to reply but to understand. Scott Miller admits how often he failed at this, interrupting to offer advice until a colleague finally snapped, “If you’d just shut up, I’d tell you.” That wake-up call drove home the discipline of silence: keep your lips together, wait through the pause, and let people talk themselves into insight. Victoria Roos Olsson calls this practice the “Queen of Silence”—a title she earned from her own team.

Empathic Listening doesn’t mean agreeing—it means fully understanding. When team members feel heard, they open up about real issues. And once true dialogue begins, coaching can create lasting development rather than temporary compliance.

Closing the Loop

Every 1-on-1 should end with concrete commitments—mutual next steps that build accountability. The manager might clear obstacles, connect resources, or follow up on previous goals. The employee articulates their next actions. Over time, this rhythm establishes trust and momentum.

“Never cancel a 1-on-1,” Miller insists. “You may not get credit for keeping it, but you’ll definitely be noticed for canceling it.”

Good 1-on-1s are less about mechanics than mindset: seeing your people as complete humans with dreams, frustrations, and untapped potential. Master this practice, and your team’s engagement and trust will skyrocket—setting the stage for the next challenge: helping them achieve clear and aligned results.

After mastering 1-on-1s, effective leaders turn to results—but the key insight in this third practice is that results flow from clarity, not control. The authors show how to create alignment by connecting everyday tasks to purpose and building accountability without micromanagement.

Aligning Goals to the Bigger Picture

As Scott Miller confesses, he once hoarded decision-making, dictating strategy behind closed doors. His successor reversed that by inviting the team into the budgeting process, building buy-in, and driving far greater engagement. The message is practical: people commit to what they help create. When you set goals, ensure your team knows not only *what* to do but *why* it matters and *how* it fits the company’s broader mission.

The authors recommend limiting focus to a few critical priorities—ideally no more than three—to avoid burnout and confusion. Borrowing from FranklinCovey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution, they stress visible scoreboards that track progress (“people play differently when they’re keeping score”). These can be simple dashboards or creative visuals—anything that keeps goals alive and public.

Working On the System, Not Just In It

Stephen Covey’s distinction between working “in the system” (doing the day-to-day tasks) and “on the system” (improving how work gets done) resonates throughout this chapter. Many new leaders stay trapped in doing; they need to step back and design smarter systems. This shift requires trust—letting go of old habits of control—and balance, alternating between short-term problem-solving and long-term development.

Delegation: Empower Without Abandoning

One of the book’s most memorable metaphors for delegation compares it to a road trip. The micromanager nags the driver from the passenger seat, the abandoning manager naps through the trip, but the empowering leader helps navigate and fuels the car. Effective delegation blends autonomy with support. The authors provide a clear process: define the project; decide whether and to whom to delegate; set expectations (state the why, what, how); and stay involved through guidance and resources.

A critical ingredient is what they call a “pre-forgiveness culture”—encouraging smart risks by letting people know mistakes are acceptable if owned and reported early. One leader in the book even told his team they were “pre-forgiven” for errors under $500, a policy that built trust and initiative.

Celebrate Wins and Reinforce Meaning

FranklinCovey’s culture of recognition comes alive in Scott’s famous “confetti cannon” story. At a company conference, he celebrated the 37 million lives impacted by the 7 Habits programs with a storm of confetti shaped like tiny people—each representing a life changed. What could have been mundane metrics became a vivid moment of pride and purpose. The takeaway: don’t just deliver results—help your people feel what those results mean.

“If you tell them what to do, they’ll do it for a while. But if you show them why it matters, they’ll own it.”

When your team understands the purpose behind their work, participates in shaping goals, and feels empowered to act, results become a shared victory—not a managerial chore. That shared ownership sets the foundation for the next practice: building a culture where feedback fuels continuous improvement.

Feedback is the lifeblood of growth—both for individuals and teams. Yet few leaders deliver it well. Scott Miller admits that when he was young, he had too much courage and not enough consideration, giving feedback bluntly and often harshly. Others err in the opposite direction, avoiding tough conversations altogether. The goal, the authors argue, is to balance both: feedback must be direct enough to drive improvement and caring enough to preserve dignity.

Reinforcing vs. Redirecting Feedback

The FranklinCovey model distinguishes between two main kinds of feedback. Reinforcing feedback amplifies what’s working—specific, timely praise that tells people not just “good job” but *why* their behavior matters. Redirecting feedback, by contrast, identifies what’s not working and guides improvement. Both are essential; neglecting either weakens development.

The authors cite research showing that high-performing teams give nearly six times more reinforcing feedback than average ones (referencing Marcial Losada’s study on team positivity ratios). They encourage leaders to “vote for behavior” by praising the actions they want repeated—much like consumer purchases vote for which products stay on shelves.

How to Deliver Redirecting Feedback

Delivering difficult feedback requires intention and preparation. The authors offer step-by-step guidance: clarify facts, describe observable behavior (not personality), explain the impact, and craft a collaborative action plan. Always start by declaring your intent to help the person succeed. This lowers defensiveness and builds trust. They also classify typical responses—Excuse Maker, Overreactor, Perfectionist, Poser, Emoter, Mature Improver—and coach the reader on how to handle each one calmly.

One standout story recounts Victoria’s lesson from overwhelming a colleague with twenty points of critique when the person had only sought validation. The takeaway: pick one or two actionable areas and focus there. Overloading someone with feedback leads to paralysis, not progress.

Seek Feedback About Yourself

Feedback flows both ways. The best managers crave it and model humility. Scott tells how his wife’s critique of his heavy cologne became a metaphor for leadership blind spots—we can’t smell our own habits. He and the others encourage asking your team directly for input on your leadership behaviors, using neutral terms like “advice” or “input.” Listen with empathy, resist defensiveness, and decide consciously which suggestions to act on.

Building Psychological Safety

Ultimately, creating a culture of feedback means creating safety—the trust that truth can be told without retribution. When leaders both give and seek feedback regularly, they normalize it. Feedback becomes not a threat but a shared language for improvement. As Dr. Stephen Covey said, “One of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is honest feedback on a blind spot they never knew they had.”

“Care enough to tell the truth—and smart enough to tell it kindly.”

This practice reinforces that leadership is relational, not positional. When people feel heard, challenged, and supported, trust deepens—and so does performance. But feedback culture is most tested not in calm times but during upheaval, which leads us to the next practice: leading your team through change.

Change is inevitable, but transformation is optional. The fifth practice—Lead Your Team Through Change—equips leaders to handle uncertainty with empathy, clarity, and courage. Quoting Peter Senge, the authors remind us, “People don’t resist change—they resist being changed.” Great managers guide people through their emotional journey from fear to commitment.

The FranklinCovey Change Model

To make the chaos of change more predictable, the authors present the four-zone Change Model—Status Quo, Disruption, Adoption, and Better Performance. The goal is to move through each zone as “short and shallow” as possible: acknowledge emotions but don’t wallow in them.

• Zone 1 – Status Quo: Comfort and stability before change. Leaders prepare here by assessing their own tolerance for change.
• Zone 2 – Disruption: When change hits, emotions spike—fear, denial, frustration. Leaders must communicate openly, provide context, and listen empathetically.
• Zone 3 – Adoption: Teams start experimenting with new processes, making mistakes, and adjusting. Coaching and patience are essential.
• Zone 4 – Better Performance: The new ways begin delivering results and morale rebounds. Leaders capture lessons learned and celebrate success.

Managing the Emotional Journey

Victoria Roos Olsson shares a vivid story from the global financial crisis, when she had to participate in layoffs within forty-eight hours. Her guidance to other managers was to stay compassionate and present: “This is not about you.” Leaders must create safe spaces for people to grieve, vent, and then move forward. Empathy becomes not weakness but leadership strength.

Todd Davis and his coauthors warn against two common traps: shielding your team from corporate change (which leaves them unprepared) and joining their rebellion with an “us versus them” attitude. The healthiest path is transparency without drama—acknowledge what’s unknown, but project calm confidence. During disruption, your team measures your credibility by how you show up under pressure.

Driving Adoption and Building Momentum

When people reach the “adoption” stage, mistakes and setbacks multiply. Leaders help by resetting priorities and celebrating small wins. Short-term victories create momentum and belief. The authors advise recruiting “change evangelists”—early adopters who can model optimism and competence. This peer influence moves others faster than top-down orders.

Capture Lessons and Sustain Growth

Once the dust settles, the leader’s job turns to reflection: what worked, what didn’t, what to repeat. Even failed initiatives can strengthen resilience and prepare teams for future disruptions. As the authors note, 75% of organizational change efforts falter—but with empathy and consistent communication, leaders can dramatically improve those odds. “Short and shallow” becomes not just a model but a mindset of responsiveness and learning.

When change feels inevitable and overwhelming, great managers don’t just survive it—they humanize it.

This practice underscores that leadership matters most when things are uncertain. But even in calmer times, the pressures of leadership demand a sustainable rhythm. That’s why the final practice addresses the foundation that sustains all the others: managing your time and energy.

After all the skills for managing people, the final practice reminds managers that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Manage Your Time and Energy teaches that personal effectiveness fuels leadership effectiveness. FranklinCovey’s decades of research—from The 7 Habits to The 5 Choices—all converge here: the best leaders plan well, renew often, and model balance for their teams.

Energy Before Time

Victoria Roos Olsson, a certified yoga instructor, leads this chapter by sharing her own burnout story—working thirteen-hour days until illness forced her to stop. The revelation was simple but profound: working smarter means managing your energy sources, not just your schedule. She uses FranklinCovey’s Five Energy Drivers—Sleep, Relax, Connect, Move, and Eat—to help leaders self-assess and rebalance.

Each driver impacts the others: when you neglect one, all suffer. The authors recommend “energy audits”—rating yourself from 0–10 in each category—to identify weaknesses and commit to small improvements. Todd Davis humorously confesses his failed attempts at “relaxing” with junk food and TV, reminding us to choose activities that truly renew rather than numb us.

Time as Decision Management

Time management today isn’t about eliminating trivialities—it’s about choosing among equally important priorities. The authors call this “decision management.” Using Stephen Covey’s famous “Big Rocks” metaphor, they urge leaders to schedule strategic and personal priorities before the gravel of meetings fills the week. Weekly and daily planning protect what matters most—family dinners, focused work blocks, renewal breaks.

Victoria contrasts two weekly calendars: the typical one cluttered with meetings, and the intentional one that includes preparation time, travel buffers, exercise, and reflection. By visually claiming time for your values, you prevent burnout and set a healthy example for your team. As one CEO modeled, starting and ending meetings on time was part of her company’s respect culture—small disciplines that signal profound respect.

Coaching Your Team to Balance

Leaders don’t just manage their own energy—they influence their team’s well-being too. Todd shares a story of losing a valued employee to burnout because he ignored her unsustainable workload. The lesson: notice when high performers are overcommitting, and help them prioritize before exhaustion turns to resignation. Managing others’ energy starts with modeling your own boundaries and empathy.

The chapter also challenges traditional work norms. Victoria admits her early bias against “non-morning people,” later realizing productivity isn’t about uniform schedules but peak energy alignment. Great leaders manage to results, not hours.

“You don’t burn out without first being on fire.” Passionate people, the authors warn, are the ones most at risk of overextending. Leadership requires teaching them when to stop as well as when to push.

By mastering the rhythm of energy and time, you not only sustain yourself—you model a healthier, higher-performing culture. When your people see you protect focus, rest, and renewal, they’ll feel permission to do the same. And that, say the authors, might be the most significant leadership legacy of all.