4 new books you need to know about

The Sponsor Effect: How to be a Better Leader by Investing in Others

Sylvia Ann Hewlett (Harvard Business Review Press)

Sponsorship is often misunderstood, so this book will go a long way to resolve that and demystify the topic. It is well structured and an easy read, taking you through the basics of sponsorship and its benefits for both parties, before launching into how you get it to work in reality. The book also provides some interesting metrics on the benefits of sponsorship to both parties alongside real testimonies that add a richness to the picture.

The Sponsor Effect does not shy away from the thorny topic of the #MeToo movement and the effects that this can have on people’s willingness to enter into sponsorship relationships for fear of how their actions might be misconstrued. Hewlett gives a clear set of practical actions for both parties to avoid this stumbling block.

If we are ever to gain true diversity in the workplace, we need more sponsorship to help under-represented segments gain access to the right opportunities. This book provides a great guide for individuals and companies on how they can make it happen, the pitfalls to watch out for and the criteria for success.

Review by Adeline Daly, programme director at Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, and chair of the APM Women in Project Management Specific Interest Group

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Everyday Chaos

David Weinberger (Harvard Business Review Press)

Everyday Chaos offers insight into how we manage complexity in a changing world that is laden with technology and artificial intelligence (AI). It’s a good read for those who are grappling with rapidly changing environments, markets and projects. It considers the balance between strategies that focus resources on careful planning versus the minimum viable products that emerge in response to the market.

“We are at the beginning of a new paradox,” writes David Weinberger. “We can control more of our future than ever, but our means of doing so reveals the world as further beyond our understanding than we’ve let ourselves believe.” Humans like to be able to understand cause and effect, and there is a need for us to develop models that can be explained. But AI is driving us towards black boxes rather than deterministic models.

The book covers a lot of ground, from agile to AI, but it lacks some of the frameworks and case studies that project professionals look for. For those wrestling with the topic, other authors offer better insights into AI, complexity theory and emergence.

Review by Martin Paver, project management consultant at Projecting Success

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Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix it)

By Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (Harvard Business Review Press)

Far from being a criticism of the male gender, as its title might suggest, this book is in fact an invitation to women to strengthen a problematic business model. It is timely and thought-provoking. Growing up in Argentina nurtured Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic’s interest in leadership, especially the problematic type. His book challenges the traditional perception of what a leader should be, examining the relationship between confidence and competence, and the link between perceived confidence and competence.

The book examines the disparity between the genders, suggesting the differences in behaviour arise not because of differences in how men and women are, but in how they are treated. Women have to be seen as confident, competent and caring – all three traits being inseparable. For men, confidence alone translates into greater organisational power. This book awakens the reader to the biases we know exist and have grown to accept, but which hurt competent women (and men).

Some references to leaders in well-known companies and in the public eye provide valuable real-life examples of bad leaders running financially successful companies. Chamorro-Premuzic draws from studies to present three evidence-based generalisations – intellectual capital, social capital and psychological capital – that should help companies choose better leaders. Any leader wanting to run a more effective organisation should read this book.

In Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?, the author thought-provokingly delivers on his promise of explaining ‘how to fix it’, while fascinating facts provide the reader with many light-bulb moments.

Review by Siobhan Delany, partner at CPC Project Services

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Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle

Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski (Vermillion)

I’m a bit of a self-help guide addict, but this book, written by two women, made me realise how a lot of self-help books are written by and cater for men, with their slightly different status in society. Burnout addresses stress generally, then focuses on the differing types of stress women and men have due to their expectations from society, as well as biological and learnt differences between male and female approaches to stress.

I found the chapter on the ‘stress cycle’ illuminating: differentiating between the cause of the stress and the actual stress. It argues that, unless your whole body realises that a stressor has gone away, you will continue to be stressed, and modern workplace stressors are much less obvious to your body than, say, escaping predators, meaning this is harder to achieve without deliberate de-stressing activities.

For those with a short attention span, the inclusion of a TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) at the end of each section makes this an easy book to navigate, allowing the reader to find the sections most relevant to their own personal stressors.

Review by Sorrel Gilbert, project manager at QinetiQ, and a trustee of APM

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My Bedside Books - Darren Ward, High-Speed Rail Team, Network Rail

The Tailor of Panama, John le Carré.
I have had this book for some time and bought it while waiting in a railway station when I was struggling to decide what to read next. The Times describes it as “a rare work of brilliance”, and this modern classic is a well-known story that I am sure many of you have heard of, if not read. Spies, espionage – what’s not to like? It is unfortunate that I have not found the time to start it yet…

Dream. Believe. Achieve. Jonathan Rea.
You can learn a lot from top-flight sportspeople, regardless of their sport. The most successful Superbike World Championship rider of all time, Jonathan Rea is the only one to win four championships back-to-back. When things go wrong, they can go badly wrong, but you win by working the margins in every area. Each one of his titles was a project in a new environment where risks and rewards were high, and which required total commitment from the team.

INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook.
I champion this book as a member of the APM Systems Thinking Specific Interest Group. It should be a go-to reference for both new and seasoned project managers. For me, systems engineering is about solving the right problem in the most efficient manner in any field. When the ideal cannot be achieved, it supports understanding of the next best alternatives, bringing confidence through analysis.