Highly Effective Human Service Professionals

“I have read the book “The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Professionals. It’s an easy read but engages some critical thinking as you read along. It’s clear about what your responsibilities are as a    Human Service professional to not only the client, but coworkers, supervisors and the organizations as a whole. Sometimes as reading it you may think this is “common sense” but in this era “common sense” is not so    common and sometimes you have to be direct in your explanation about what is or is not acceptable professional behavior. Your book is direct, clear and concise without being demeaning. It is general enough to be    able to be used in a wide array of human service fields but specific enough to get the worker to start to critically think. This is a handbook to read over and over again before you start to work and refer to during your career. It’s almost like a compass to always point you in the right direction.”

Cheri Richards, Regional Administrator

“I love that you put customer service first. If there’s one area that can easily be focused on and improved in this work it’s customer service. I also loved that you put so much emphasis on communications skills. I think that it’s one of most important, but also one of the most overlooked skills in our work. I like the area around asking people what drives them to the work. I see a lot folks in this business that are here because of their own experiences. Thanks again for letting me review the book…..nice work, Tim. I know folks will benefit from it.”

Bill Nunnally, Chief of Quality and Performance

Highly Effective Human Service Managers

“Tim Nolan is providing a resource for the human services field that is acutely needed. Leadership training and information designed specifically for our industry is often hard to come by and often incomplete. Not so with Tim’s work. I have had the pleasure of knowing and training with Tim during the past several years and I have become very familiar with the excellence of his work. This book is no exception. If every manager and supervisor in the human services industry would follow the clear precepts and practices laid out in this book, our entire industry would immediately be elevated to another level.”
William “Bill” Nunnally, Chief Quality and Performance Officer, Heartland for Children

“The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers is an important tool designed to teach concepts that provoke the development and improvement of well rounded human service managers. Each chapter provides the reader with a clear and meaningful understanding of both the value of the information and the guidance necessary to successfully implement it.”                                                                                                  Matthew Cordaro, Executive Director at Becket Family of Services

“I have read many books on leadership and management and this by far was the best, the book was simple reading and had practical and reasonable suggestions. I love the critical thinking and common sense approach. Managing child welfare in one of the largest child welfare agencies in the nation can be challenging, but this book was amazing and very helpful to me as a high level manager”
Jennifer Lopez, Regional Administrator, Los Angeles County DCFS

“I was very impressed with your book and would suggest this read for not only new managers, yet also managers who have been in a leadership role for several years.”
Terri Balliet, Chief Operating Officer, Gulf Coast JFCS

“I found this book to be an incredibly thorough, effective tool for any human service manager. For new managers, it’s a great handbook for leadership and management. For experienced managers, it’s an invigorating refresher that forces critical thinking and decision making. I highly recommend having this on the desks of every leader in your agency!”
Karen Butler, Director of Social Services at Howard County

“The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers is a thought-provoking, concise managerial guide that can be repeatedly used as a quick reference for basically any leadership dilemma/scenario. The material is presented in such a basic, straightforward manner that the reader is able to go easily from reading to implementing without seeking further research or independent clarification. Whereas many management books will remain on your desk without ever being read, you will find that this Handbook will be well worn by continued use throughout your years as a human service leader, as time and again it will build your confidence and capability as a leader. Having had the fortunate opportunity to work under Tim as a new supervisor, I can say without a doubt that the tools and knowledge contained in this book have been successfully demonstrated by Tim as a manager, and helped to shape by own success as a competent human service leader.”
Christina Bach, Foster Care Supervisor, GA Department of Family and Children’s Services

“This is an excellent book for anyone in a supervisory role. It captures the nuts and bolts of supervision without losing the “bigger picture” leadership tasks such as having a vision, self-reflection, creating a healthy culture, and fostering relationships. Solid, time-tested principles in concise, easy to digest chapters was a great choice for making this a usable book for personal reference or leadership training. I liked the critical thinking questions and the summary quotes at the end of each chapter.”
Kevin Winship, LMHC, Director of Program Operations, Children’s Home Society of Florida

“A year ago we purchased the book for all of our Managers and Supervisors, approximately 35 in total.  At our regular Supervisors meetings we had a report on one or two chapters. I think the book is an excellent source for Supervisors and it has been helpful to us.  It serves as a single point of reference, it is easy to read and use as a guide for discussion. I appreciate your time in writing it!”  Nancy Fennema, Deputy Director, Brown County Human Services

“The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers is an excellent resource for the human services field. What I like most about it is how comprehensive it is covering a wide range of topics in short chapters that provide the reader with specific skills to employ. Many human service agencies do not have formal training programs for managers nor the money for formalized training. This book is an excellent training resource. I plan to read it with our leadership team and develop a cohesive management style that promotes our agency mission and vision.”
Julia Roguski, Director of Child Protection Services at Savio House

“This book for managers should be required reading and utilized for reference material for managers. It is an exceptional read with relevant information in all 30 chapters. Love the thought provoking questions after each chapter. Love the book in its entirety.”
Julie Swindler, CEO, Families First of Palm Beach County

“The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers is an important tool for middle managers, supervisors, and those who are striving to deliver high quality services while supporting their teams. Tim Nolan provides a clear and comprehensive guide to the many facets of leadership, management, and service excellence. The book reminds us of the importance of compassion, culture, and critical thinking. This easy read is packed with so many important messages for the human services field.”
Pam Alvarez, Executive Director of Bay Area Youth Services

“This is a book that should be on every manager’s desk. I found the book to be very insightful and right on point from the first chapter to the last chapter. I appreciated the fact that the chapters are short and that each one ended with critical thinking activities. As a long time manager, I found very useful techniques that I will employ in my every day work. There are practical applications that can be used in every situation. As I was reading, I was thinking, “I do that or I need to do that.” The book is an affirmation of what a highly effective manager needs to be and that we can’t work in isolation. Tim has nailed it! I will use this as a reference tool from this day forward and will also want to see that not only current managers but future managers have the opportunity to read the book.”
Lucretia Sanders, NE Regional Administrator

“Your book is directly on target and is a valuable tool for both new and seasoned managers. From the beginning chapters the book is filled with well written and easy to understand principles necessary for engaging staff to perform at their highest level to meet the needs of clients. Many points noted made me reflect on times in my career where I had to learn these points through experience. I would recommend this book to any new manager as part of their development.”
Clete Winkelmann, Senior Vice President at Aunt Martha’s

“The book is great. I love the way the chapters are laid out and the topics continue to be relevant. It’s set up like a workbook where you can access information on whatever the issue of the day may be.”
Gloria Brown, Social Services Director for Prince George County

“In the not for profit sector, agencies often lack funding and resources for leadership development. The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers equips managers with the most critical information needed to be effective leaders. The salient information is structured in short, easy to read chapters with critical thinking exercises. It is a great tool for self-study, group work, or in classroom settings.”
Jerrie Kenner, President and CEO, Missouri Alliance for Children and Families

“I found it to be an excellent resource for any supervisory career, whether it reminded me of techniques I should reconsider implementing or more novel ideas. The addition of the critical thinking questions at the end of each chapter kept me focused on the topic and encouraged reflection of my philosophy and the philosophy of my department. It provides clear, insightful, and easily applied strategies and techniques to further develop one’s unique and effective managerial style.”
Mark Lichtenberg, Clinical Program Manager Administrator at Seminole Tribe of Florida

“The Essential Handbook for Highly Effective Human Service Managers provides a common sense approach to professional growth for managers and highlights the importance of employee retention. Too often, in human services, significant employee turnover has negatively impacted the quality of services provided to our clients. This book provides some suggestions to handle preventable employee turnover from the beginning of the interview process and effective orientation to the support and commitment of employee development. I’m of the opinion that one of the greatest investments you could have in an organization is its people. Likewise, Tim appears to have captured the ‘pulse of the industry’ by reminding us that regardless of our positions, especially managers, within an organization, leadership is everyone’s responsibility.”
Larry West, Chief Operating Officer at FSSNF

“I recently became an Executive Director for a social services agency with 5 departments under me. This was a big change for me coming from a program I helped formulate. One of the challenges I was faced with at my new agency was staff moral. This book helped me by providing a step-by-step outline of things a leader should do to take themselves and their employees to the next level. As the book suggests, I wrote out a vision, discussed it at our All Staff meeting, discussed it at the manager and supervisor meetings, and I discuss it in some form with staff even in one-one one conversations. I ensure that I constantly give positive feedback to staff and I let them know I value them, their time, and what they do for the children and families we serve, even in times where caseloads are high and there has not been salary increases. I encourage staff to be creative and to try new things. This book further made me aware of the organization’s culture and gave me some ideas to help make the culture more positive. If you want to be highly efficient as a leader, read this book!”
Kimah Burrell, Executive Director at Brevard C.A.R.E.S.

“The book, in my opinion is really good. It speaks to some very important points in leadership development.
Chapter 8 was really good and something that we need to work on as leaders. Sometimes it’s so much easier to give someone the answer or directive without explaining our rationale or letting them seek the answer and making it a learning experience.
The chapters really speak to the areas that we are working on to strengthening and develop our current and next leadership.
Bottom line I really enjoyed the book and have been referencing the chapters depending on what I am dealing with at the time.”
Diana Barajas, Regional Director, Department of Family and Protective Services

“You provide a diversity of best practices and ideology relevant to our contemporary workforce’s greatest challenges and its attempts at balancing quality and compliance while developing individuals both personally and professionally. Kudos to you!”
Philip Scarpelli, Director of Professional Development and Talent Management

“Tim’s newest book explores critical information for human services managers. Important topics such as visioning, maximizing performance, developing employees and collaboration are discussed. It is insightful and helpful even as a seasoned manager.”
Kathy Oliver, Seneca County JFS Director