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What the world's greatest managers do differently

19-Mar-2009

According to research in the book “First Break All the Rules” – by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, there is a difference between leadership and management:

Great leaders look “outward”.  The key role of a leader is to rally people to a better future.

Great managers look “inward”.  The key role of a manager is to find out what each individual’s strengths are, and capitalise on them.

Below is a summary of “common management myths” - And what the research revealed to be true:

• “Management is a stepping stone to leadership” - The core strengths of great leaders and great managers are very different 
   
• “A leader is a more advanced form of manager” – Both roles are vitally important  
   
• “Management is not as important as leadership” - Line managers are the prime catalyst for superior employee performance in an organization
   
• “The key to success is to fix your weaknesses” - The key to success is to play to your strengths
   
• “You can be anything you want if you work hard enough” - You are naturally ‘wired’ to be exceptional at certain things only.  The key to success is to understand what your core strengths are and spend more time playing to them
   
• “Spend time with struggling staff members” - Invest most of your time with your most productive staff members
   
• “Poor staff performance can be overcome with willpower and training” - Tough love.  Do not tolerate poor performance.  Find the person a role that matches their strengths or ‘free up their future’ as soon as possible
   
• “Treat people as you wish to be treated” - Treat each individual differently according to how they like to be treated 
   
• “Set expectations by defining the right steps” - Set expectations by defining the right outcomes
   
• “Develop people through promotion” – Develop people by helping them find, stay in, and specialise in roles that ‘fit’ their core strengths
   
• “Provide more pay, perks and prestige the further one climbs the corporate ladder” – Provide bands of pay, perks and prestige for higher levels of achievement in every role

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