I've been gradually sliding a supervisory role in my job (mainly by dint of everyone else with similar levels of seniority not being interested) and it's been a bit of a challenge because I'm an academic and a research nerd and not a manager. My supervisees are all good folks but they haven't been getting important parts of their jobs done and it's negatively impacting the org. I need to learn how to get them finish their crap but the descriptions of most management books stick to my skin in a way that feels hard to wash off. Does anyone know of good books/etc that won't make me talk like an MBA program replaced my soul with foam packing peanuts?
Edit: Thanks for all the really thoughtful responses, it's a huge help.
I think Al Capone seemed like a pretty decent manager of his outfit. There was an incident where a competitor made fun of one of Al's supervisees. Al listened to this story and interpreted it as bullying, and felt obliged to address the issue as it happened in the course of his colleague's duties. Al went directly to the competitor to resolve the situation and nip that bad behavior in the bud to set an example that this is unacceptable professional behavior by beating the man to death. This may seem extreme by some theories of management, but a blood sacrifice, especially a righteous one, can be an opportunity to reinforce team bonds and increase workplace morale by rallying around a shared mission, one that makes them feel secure in their work and gives the whole rat race a little meaning.