While I was exploring the Harvard Business Review, I
came across an article that caught my attention. The article was titled, “What
Great Managers Do” by Marcus Buckingham. The author conducted research by using
a study of 80,000 managers, the survey asked various questions regarding the manager’s
management styles. Buckingham said that he found an abundance of different
management styles, however he said there was one quality that truly sets great
managers apart from the rest. This is that great managers discover what is
unique about each person and then capitalize on it. He says that verge managers
play checkers while great managers play chess. He goes on to explain that in
checkers all the pieces are uniform and move in the same way and are ultimately
interchangeable. In chess, there are many different pieces and each type of piece
moves in a different way. You can’t play if you don’t know how each piece
moves, but more importantly you won’t win if you don’t think carefully about
how you move the pieces. In the business world great managers know and value
the unique abilities and even the irregularities of their employees, and they
learn how best to integrate them into a coordinated plan of attack. Capitalizing
on a person’s uniqueness also builds a stronger sense of team. By taking the
time to understand what makes each employee tick, a great manager shows that he
or she sees their people for who they are. This personal investment not only
motivates individuals but also galvanizes the entire team. To take great
managing from theory to practice, the author says, you must know three things
about a person: their strengths, the triggers that activate those strengths,
and how they learn. By asking the right questions, squeezing the right
triggers, and becoming aware of your employees’ learning styles, you will
discover what motivates each person to excel. I believe this was a very
educational article for future managers like myself and fellow classmates, and I
will always remember the Checkers vs. Chess analogy.
This reminds me of something I have learned in one of my business management classes which comes from David Drukker which is that people should focus on their strengths rather then having an even set of skills. I personally think having all around skill set works well but It makes sense that if you are already good at a something why not focus on that one thing since it will make your life easier and you will most likely enjoy what you do in life a little more.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very cool metaphor and there's definitely truth to it. This is also part of why "fit" is so important, particularly as you move up the ladder.
ReplyDeleteA counter point to this idea is the fact that large organizations have to have a degree of uniformity (checkers) in their systems. Managers often have to work within a system that demands uniformity while trying to bring out hte uniqueness of each of their individual contributors. The Army is a classic example. The organizaiton is designed to function in a modular way, with people trained to a common standard so that they can be substituted as needed. Furthermore, frequent rotation of talent forces managers to learn to form and reform teams rapidly.
I really like this analogy. It really puts taking the time to understand your employees in perspective and relates back to our first topic, the importance of understanding people's different personality types.
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