Sign-In
Cart
The Curious Manager
Paperback
Publisher Price: $56.99
ISBN13: 9780589055684
Publisher: Todd Larkin
Published: Sep 29 2026
Pages: 120
Weight: 0.38
Height: 0.25 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Ever notice how the first sentence out of your mouth after a mistake can either open a conversation or shut it down completely?
Most books on eliminating blame and building a learning culture are written for the boardroom - big rollouts, organizational change, executive sponsors. This one is written for the person actually standing in front of the team when something goes wrong: the frontline manager, supervisor, or team lead who doesn't control the org chart, but does control the next thing they say.
The Curious Manager is a practical, conversational guide to the small daily habits that quietly replace blame with learning - one ordinary conversation at a time. No frameworks with trademarked names. No slide decks. Just the four or five seconds between hearing bad news and deciding how to respond, and what to do with them instead of reaching for blame.
What's inside:
- Why the first question you ask after a mistake either opens people up or shuts them down - and exactly how to tell the difference
- The two-second habit that stops you from judging a situation before you've actually heard the whole story
- A simple, four-part structure for the conversation after a mistake that closes with a fix, not a punishment
- How to catch your own hidden bias toward the team members you already trust - and the ones you don't
- Feedback that actually teaches instead of quietly punishing
- More than twenty realistic, composite workplace scenes showing reflexive responses next to curious alternatives, side by side
- Fifty ready-to-use curious questions, organized by the exact situation you're facing
- A simple 30/60/90-day plan for turning one habit at a time into how you actually manage, plus a week-by-week practice journal
Perfect for new supervisors finding their footing, experienced team leads who want their people to actually bring them problems early, and any manager tired of conversations that end in defensiveness instead of answers. Makes a genuinely useful gift for anyone stepping into their first management role.
Also in
Management
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
Grenny, Joseph
Patterson, Kerry
Switzler, Al
Paperback
Quiet Girls Can Run the World: Owning Your Power When You're Not the Alpha in the Room
Holman, Rebecca
Paperback
Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging Across Differences
Winters, Mary-Frances
Paperback
The Art of Communication: How to Be Authentic, Lead Others, and Create Strong Connections
Apps, Judy
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen)
Gallo, Amy
Review, Harvard Business
Drucker, Peter F.
Paperback
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
Guidara, Will
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads 2027: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (Featuring the Hidden Beliefs That Hold Leaders Bac
Review, Harvard Business
Edmondson, Amy C.
Wilkins, Muriel M.
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How to Stop Worrying about What Other People Think of You by Michael Gervais)
Duckworth, Angela L.
Review, Harvard Business
Gervais, Michael
Paperback
Take Breaks, Work Better: Measure Impact, Not Hours, and Transform Your Profitability
Briggs, John
Paperback
How We Could: The Framework to Lead Without Drama, Build Alignment, and Call Teams to Greatness
Dorr, Alex
Hardcover
Surrender to Lead: The Counterintuitive Approach to Driving Extraordinary Results
Kriegel, Jessica
Terry, Joe
Hardcover
What Could Possibly Go Right?: The Essential Journey to Scale an Enduring Culture
Meyer, Danny
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Leadership, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Begin with Trust by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss)
Ibarra, Herminia
Review, Harvard Business
Edmondson, Amy C.
Paperback
Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit
Brown, Brené
Hardcover
The Year in Tech, 2027: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Davenport, Thomas H.
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
What the Heck Is Eos?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS
Bouwer, Tom
Wickman, Gino
Hardcover
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you
Fitzpatrick, Rob
Paperback
Get Scalable: The Operating System Your Business Needs To Run and Scale Without You
Deiss, Ryan
Paperback
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead Forever
Stanier, Michael Bungay
Paperback
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Workbook 25th Anniversary Edition: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
Maxwell, John C.
Paperback
Bookkeeping - Accounting for Small Business: A Quickstudy Laminated Reference Guide
Epstein, Lita
Other
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It
Voss, Chris
Raz, Tahl
Hardcover
Stop Asking for Referrals: Build a Magnetic Business Through Intentional Care & Real Relationships
McNally, Flor de Maria
Paperback
The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter
Watkins, Michael D.
Hardcover
Influence and Persuasion (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Review, Harvard Business
Morgan, Nick
Cialdini, Robert B.
Paperback
Building Great Businesses: Create Momentum, Overcome Setbacks, and Scale with Confidence
Becker, Scott
Hardcover
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in
Patton, Bruce
Fisher, Roger
Ury, William
Paperback
The Year in Tech, 2026: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Anthony, Scott D.
Webb, Amy
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsh*t and Transforming Our Lives and Work
Bethea, Aiko
Hardcover
Take It Personal: How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game
Grutman, David
Hardcover
The Algorithm: The Hypergrowth Formula That Transformed Tesla, Lululemon, General Motors, and Spacex
McNeill, Jon
Hardcover
Feedback That Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message, Second Edition
Center for Creative Leadership
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (Featuring the Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy by Michael E. Porter)
Porter, Michael E.
Kim, W. Chan
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about It, Devops, and Helping Your Business Win
Kim, Gene
Behr, Kevin
Spafford, George
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on High Performance, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Nine Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Grant)
Goleman, Daniel
Review, Harvard Business
Grant, Heidi
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing People, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Are You a Good Boss--Or a Great One? by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback)
Hill, Linda A.
Review, Harvard Business
Goleman, Daniel
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads 2026: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (Featuring the Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift by
Flyvbjerg, Bent
Review, Harvard Business
Meyer, Erin
Paperback
Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World
Iansiti, Marco
Lakhani, Karim R.
Hardcover
Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation
Tedards, Emily
Wild, Jason
Hill, Linda A.
Hardcover
Getting You Ready for Power: A Woman's Guide to Building Confidence, Community, and Career Success
Meruelo, Alexis
Paperback
Generative Ai: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Review, Harvard Business
Mollick, Ethan
Cremer, David De
Paperback
The 360 Degree Leader Workbook: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
Maxwell, John C.
Paperback
The Way of the Shepherd: Seven Secrets to Managing Productive People
Pentak, William
Leman, Kevin
Hardcover
Inside the Owner's Box: Conversations on Power and Leadership in Sports
Rubenstein, David M.
Hardcover
Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away
Gelles, David
Hardcover
Demand-Side Sales 101: Stop Selling and Help Your Customers Make Progress
Moesta, Bob
Engle, Greg
Hardcover
The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Horowitz, Ben
Hardcover
The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability
Connors, Roger
Smith, Tom
Hickman, Craig
Paperback
The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team
Lencioni, Patrick M.
Hardcover
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Stone, Douglas
Heen, Sheila
Patton, Bruce
Paperback
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth about Extraordinary Results
Keller, Gary
Papasan, Jay
Hardcover
Indispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customers Can't Live Without
Calloway, Joe
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence, Updated and Expanded (Featuring What Makes a Leader by Daniel Goleman)
Ibarra, Hermina
Review, Harvard Business
Goleman, Daniel
Paperback
Biblia del Vendedor: Tecnicas Efectivas Para El Vendedor Competitivo
Dey, Alejandro
Dey, Alex
Paperback
Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life
Murphy, Jim
Paperback
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Updated for the Next Generation of Leaders
Carnegie, Dale
Hardcover
The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People
White, Paul
Chapman, Gary
Paperback
Playing to Win, Expanded with Bonus HBR Articles: How Strategy Really Works
Martin, Roger L.
Lafley, A. G.
Hardcover
The Heart Work of Modern Leadership: 6 Differentiators of Exceptional Leaders
Grossman, David
Paperback
The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People Who Treat You Like Dirt
Sutton, Robert I.
Paperback
Team Topologies, 2nd Edition: Organizing Business and Technology for Fast Flow of Value
Skelton, Matthew
Pais, Manuel
Paperback
The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation
Werner, Jana
Le-Brun, Phil
Hardcover
Say This, Not That: How to Master 7 Dreaded Conversations As a Leader in the Modern Workplace
Flickinger, Chris
Paperback
Never Settle: Persuasion and Negotiation Skills to Get What You Want
Richardson, John
Qureshi, Attia
Hardcover
You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference
Sanborn, Mark
Hardcover
The Things We Hide: A Guide to Identifying Hidden Barriers and Leading with Authenticity
Dickerhoof, Tyler
Hardcover
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Sullivan, Dan
Hardy, Benjamin
Hardcover
Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential
Wilkins, Muriel M.
Hardcover
The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth
Zook, Chris
Allen, James
Hardcover
The Adaptability Quotient: Rewiring Your Mind for Success in the Next Human Era
Litowitz, Alec
Hardcover
Be Our Guest-Revised and Updated Edition: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service
The Disney Institute
Hardcover
The Lean Six SIGMA Pocket Toolbook: A Quick Reference Guide to Nearly 100 Tools for Improving Quality and Speed
George, Michael L.
Rowlands, David T.
Price, Mark
Paperback
The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition
Green, Charles
Maister, David H.
Galford, Robert
Paperback
Rewired: McKinsey's Playbook on How Leading Companies Win with Technology and AI
Smaje, Kate
Levin, Robert
Lamarre, Eric
Hardcover
The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Michelli, Joseph A.
Hardcover
Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours
Chamine, Shirzad
Hardcover
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
Lencioni, Patrick M.
Hardcover
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World
Linsky, Marty
Heifetz, Ronald A.
Grashow, Alexander
Hardcover
The Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People
Willett, Alan
Paperback
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
Drucker, Peter F.
Paperback
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
Thorndike, William N.
Hardcover
Rollout: Get Your Entire Team Running on EOS to Achieve Your Vision
Smith, Marisa
Fahey, Beth
Hardcover
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a New Section: On Robustness and Fragility
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas
Paperback
Psychological Safety (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Auger-Dominguez, Daisy
Review, Harvard Business
Edmondson, Amy C.
Paperback
Leadership and Self-Deception, Fourth Edition: The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results
Arbinger Institute
Paperback
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
Maxwell, John C.
Hardcover