3MF

The things i learned at lunch

Today at lunch, Rapidparts invited interested employees to watch a video which had previously show at a leadership meeting. The video featured Marcus Buckingham talking about how to foster an environment where employees can work at their best. The talk was based upon his book called The One Thing You Need to Know. Buckingham was an engaging and entertaining speaker. I thought i'd share some of his more interesting comments\observations.

He said that the most productive employees are 1) competent, 2) focused, and 3) confident. For a workplace to nurture these qualities, they much have great recruiters, great managers, and great leaders (respectively). In the video he talked mostly about what it takes to be a great manager and a great leader (which aren't the same thing at all). Managers must find ways to find what makes each individual employees unique and find ways to leverage their strengths rather than focusing on improving their weaknesses. Leaders must find what is universal and find ways to capitalize on it.

One of the differences a manager must learn to identify in their subordinates is the style in which they learn. Buckingham says there are three basic types of learners: analyzers, doers and watchers. Upon hearing the descriptions i found i was clearly an analyzer. This type of learner does a lot of preparing, researching, and practicing before jumping into a project. They hate mistakes and fear failure. I think that's why my library of technical manuals has grown so large. While doers just to jump in and and watchers learn by example, analyzers need to understand exactly what's going and why it works rather than just getting something to work. That pretty much describes how i do business.

When he switched to talk about leaders, he brought up Donald E. Brown's research on human universals. This is a list Brown assembled or characteristics that were common in all cultures throughout the world. It contains some interesting ones such as baby talk, oedipus complex, gift giving, sucking wounds, tickling, and a word for string. These universals aren't as important in the business world was the fear of the unknown. His point was that great leaders must find ways to turn fear into confidence by being clear. Clarity is more important than passion and consistency in a good leader.

Another thought he shared, which i found refreshing to hear, was that some of the qualities that make a great leader or great manager are innate. Some people simply do not have the ability to become "great" in either of these two areas. Most other people claim that any one can learn to be a manager but i never bought into that. I personally have no interest in being a manager. I enjoy focusing on pulling off technical magic myself rather than motivating other people to do things. And you know what? That's OK. At least now i know what to look for in a manager.

I'm sorry i'm a bit long winded on this topic but i found it interesting. I found it interesting in the same way i enjoyed my interpersonal communications at GRCC. Perhaps it's just the analyzer in me who is interested to learn what goes on in other people's head. Anyway, i'll leave with the same thought Marcus Buckingham did in the video. Failing to provide an environment where an employee can operate at his best, is like, as Ben Franklin said, putting a "sundial in the shade." What a cool phrase.

Posted by Matthew at November 12, 2004 11:47 PM