What Great Managers Do?

What Great Managers Do?

Penulis: Muhammad Idham Sofyan, S.E., M.M.

What Great Managers Do? By Marcus Buckingham

You’ve spent months coaching that employee to treat customers better, work more independently, or get organized – all to no avail.

How to make better use of your precious time? Do what great managers do: instead of trying to change your employees, identify their unique abilities (and even their eccentricities) – then help them use those qualities to excel in their own way.

You’ll need these 3 (three) tactics:

• Continuously tweak roles to capitalize on individual strengths. One Walgreens store manager put a laconic but highly organized employee in charge of restocking aisles – freeing up more sociable employees to serve customers.
• Pull the triggers that activate employees’ strengths. Offer incentives such as time spent with you, opportunities to work independently, and recognition in forms each employee value most.
• Tailor coaching to unique learning styles. Give “analyzers” the information they need before starting a task. Start “doers” off with simple tasks, then gradually raise the bar. Let “watchers” rise shotgun with your most experienced performers.

A closer look at the three tactics:

Capitalize on Employees’ Strengths

First identify each employee’s unique strengths: walk around, observing people’s reaction to events. Note activities each employee is drawn to. Ask: “What was the best day at work you’ve had in the past three months?” Listen for activities people find intrinsically satisfying.

Watch for weakness, too, but downplay them in your communications with employees. Offer training to help employees overcome shortcomings stemming from lack of skills or knowledge. Otherwise, apply these strategies:

• Find the employee a partner with complementary talents. A merchandising manager who couldn’t start tasks without exhaustive information performed superbly once her supervisor (the VP) began acting as her “information partner.” The VP committed to leaving the manager a brief voicemail updates daily and arranging two “touch base” conversation weekly.
• Reconfigure work to neutralize weaknesses. Use your creativity to envision more effective work arrangements, and be courageous about adopting unconventional job designs.

Activate Employees’ Strengths

The ultimate trigger for activating an employee’s strengths is recognition. But each employee plays to a different audience. So, tailor your praise accordingly.

Tailor Coaching to Learning Style

Adapt your coaching efforts to each employee’s unique learning style:

 Source: HBR’s ten must reads on managing people (2011)