Igniting the Passion Within
What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
We studied 250,000+ managers and discovered a few things about what distinguishes the best from the rest. Great managers break the rules of conventional wisdom. They select people based on talent rather than experience, skills, and knowledge. They focus their people through clarity of desired outcomes rather than steps and processes. They motivate people by discovering strengths rather than fixing weaknesses, and they create growth by finding the right fit between a person’s talents and a role’s demands. Great managers get really close to people and recognize that relationship drives performance, and they play favorites, spending most of their time with their most productive people.
Culture as Competitive Advantage
Top organizational cultures in every size and industry, from Google, Zappos, and Nordstrom, to the local grocery store, restaurant, or coffee shop, share these key characteristics: They get specific about the practices, rituals, and quirks that distinguish their culture. They have sticky values that drive innovation and frontline decision-making. They examine and move from excellence rather than average. They define their religion and their science and the relationship between the two, and they see how each individual’s contributions attract and keep customers.
From the study of 1 million + employees and what attracts, retains, and energizes them
Having a clear focus, great manager, proper talent, and quality relationships are the keys to personal and professional success. Individuals want to contribute to a team that has high standards and expectations that enable success they never thought possible. They constantly raise the bar for themselves and others by tracking personal bests and encouraging pressure to perform from team members. People leave managers, not companies. Great managers, therefore, are the foundation of great organizations. How we select, focus, and recognize managers can be the best predictor of business results. Great people managers have strange practices: playing favorites among their direct reports, getting very close to their employees, firing people quickly, and customizing roles to fit the unique needs and talents of their team.
Gail S. Williams
Emeritus, Leadership Colloquia Series, NASA
John Timmerman
Vice President - Quality, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Ronald Balmer
Principal & Clobal Practice Leader - Client Experience, Greenwich Associates
Matthew F. Gonzales
Corporate Manager- Organizational Development, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A