A colleague of mine came across this article in the archives of Fast Company - Polly LaBarre July 31, 2001 and I love the confronting messages!

Marcus Buckingham (Gallup Consulting) describes his mission; "to create a better marriage between the dreams of workers and the drive of companies to win."  In this article he gives some insightful tips into how CEO's can get more from their people.  His hard hitting but effective style suggests giving the boss an attitude adjustment...

Attitude Adjustment #1
Measure what really matters. (By the way -- the numbers you're using now don't matter.)

Attitude Adjustment #2 
Stop trying to change people. Start trying to help them become more of who they already are.

Attitude Adjustment #3
You're not the most important person in the company. (Believe it or not, your middle managers are.)

Attitude Adjustment #4
Stop looking to the outside for help. The solutions to your problems exist inside your company.

Attitude Adjustment #5
Don't assume that everyone wants your job -- or that great people want to be promoted out of what they do best. 

The beautiful thing about a culture that is built by focusing on individual strengths is that no one can steal it. And any advantage that's hard to steal is an advantage that lasts.

With the support of 3 decades worth of data, Buckingham suggests; "The major challenge for CEOs over the next 20 years will be the effective deployment of human assets," he declares. "But that's not about 'organizational development' or 'workplace design.' It's about psychology. It's about getting one more individual to be more productive, more focused, more fulfilled than he was yesterday."   Read more...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010