Totally Not Ready

You got the job before you felt ready. You're not alone.

Totally Not Ready is a business novel and practical guide for new and first-time managers.

Maren is smart, capable, and good at her work, which is exactly why she has just been handed a team. Now the people who used to be her peers look to her for answers, and she doesn't have them.

Follow Maren through her first year managing people and leading a team as she runs into the moments no one trains you for: a friend who now reports to her, a strong performer who becomes a bottleneck, a question she can't answer, a conversation she keeps putting off. With the help of a seasoned mentor, Sylvia, she learns what really matters, how to make good decisions without certainty, and how to become a good manager, one real situation at a time.

Between chapters, short practical lessons turn the story into a manager's guide you can use on Monday morning. Decision-based "Your Call" pages ask you to commit to a choice before you see what happens, so you practice judgment instead of just reading about it.

Inside you'll learn how to:

• Lead people who used to be your peers or friends
• Delegate without disappearing, and without doing it all yourself
• Say "I don't know yet" and keep your credibility
• Hold difficult conversations and give clear feedback before a problem becomes a surprise
• Decide when you don't have all the information
• Stay calm for your team, and handle imposter syndrome, when you're not certain yourself

Whether you've just been promoted, you're new to managing people, or you don't know how to run a team yet, this book will help you move from anxious and overwhelmed to confident and effective.

Nobody feels ready to manage. The goal was never to feel ready.

Scroll up and click "Buy now" to start Maren's story, and yours.