Organizational development professional and author of No Time to Waste: Microbehaviors: Leveraging the Little Things to Become a Better Leader (2023), Artell Smith returns with another slim guide to better management.

Intending to help readers learn “how to tune yourself up and connect deeply and effectively with the people on your team and in your organization,” Smith describes a “human interaction model” which is no more than it sounds like: a transparent, empathetic way for staff to communicate, in which managers can engage, coach and develop them to greater performance and happier work relationships.

Unfortunately, this all seems to simply be a way to lend more credence or business-sounding words to a basic admonition to treat people well. The majority of the advice centers around respectful discourse. He advises managers to maintain a positive mindset, to avoid dressing down employees in public, and to get to know staff as people: for example, to have conversations about movies they’ve seen recently and about their favorite restaurants, showing an interest in them as people and not simply as cogs in a machine.

The best of the book comes through in his sample scripts for speaking to employees who have whiffed a presentation or handed in substandard work, giving readers a place to start where they might feel stuck. Smith also relies heavily on quotes from other leadership experts— Steven Covey, Steve King, Peter Drucker— and discussions of their ideas to flesh out the book.

Readers might find a nugget or two of helpful advice they haven’t previously considered. But at a mere 94 pages, the book ends up feeling like a padded-out magazine article, with little new to offer.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.