What Great Managers Do Differently

Great managers break every rule perceived as “conventional wisdom,” when dealing with the selection, motivation, and development of staff. Each “great” manager is identified based upon the performance results he produces in his organization. The insight most commonly expressed by mangers is the belief, “People don’t change that much. Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out. Try to draw out what was left in. That is hard enough.” The implications of this insight for training and performance development are profound.

This insight encourages building on what people can already do well instead of trying to “fix” weaker talents and abilities. The traditional performance improvement process identifies specific, average or below performance areas. Suggestions for improvement, either verbal or in a formal appraisal process focus on developing these factors. What great managers do instead is assess each individual’s talents and skills. They then provide training, coaching and development opportunities that will help the person increase these skills. They compensate for or manage around weaknesses. Does this mean that great managers never help people improve their inadequate skills, knowledge, or methods? No, but they shift their emphasis.

The Four Vital Jobs for Great Managers
It’s critical to know the four twists on conventional approaches which further define the differences in tactics espoused by great managers:
• Select people based on talent.
• When setting expectations for employees, establish the right outcomes.
• When motivating an individual, focus on strengths.
• To develop an individual, find the right job fit for the person.

Select People Based on Talent -Great managers usually select staff members based on talent, rather than experience, education, or intelligence. They define “talents” by studying the talents needed to achieve in different distinct roles. Talents identified are:
• striving (examples: drive for achievement, need for expertise, drive to put beliefs in action),
• thinking (examples: focus, discipline, personal responsibility), and
• relating (examples: empathy, attentiveness to individual differences, ability to persuade, and taking charge).

Setting Expectations & Outcomes-These great managers then assist each individual to establish goals and objectives that are congruent with the needs of the organization. They help each person define the expected outcomes, what success will look like upon completion. Then, they get out of the way. This is gets great results as most work is performed by people who are not under the constant supervision of a manager. At the same time, the manager will also establish the critical path and the check points for feedback, but at the same desist from to micromanaging the employee. This works as the manager can easily drive himself crazy while losing good people who feel he doesn’t trust them.

Motivating Individuals by Focusing on Strengths-Great managers appreciate the diversity of the people in their work group. They recognize that “helping people become more of who they already are,” since each person has unique strengths, will best support their success. They focus on an individual’s strengths and manage around his weaknesses. They find out what motivates each staff member and try to provide more of it in his work environment

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