As extraordinary as everybody else...: January 2020

Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

According to the book following are the nine of the most prevalent lies about work and the truth behind them:
Myth #1 - Company culture impacts employee retention.

Research shows that employees actually care more about the
teams they belong to than the companies they work at.

Myth #2 - Planning is essential.

The world moves too fast for plans—a better strategy is to regularly provide teams with the best, most up-to-date information possible.

Myth #3- Goals stimulate better employee performances.

Instead of having employees set goals, companies must galvanize their workforce by having a meaningful purpose and shared values.

Myth #4- The best employees are well-rounded.

Employees who are encouraged to focus on their unique strengths are
more effective than those who try to be good at everything.

Myth #5- Constructive feedback is necessary.

Employees don’t need feedback—they need their team leaders to give
them frequent positive attention. ask them what strategies/activities works for them in the current/past work. and, there gut feeling about what will work in future.

Myth #6- Leaders should rate their employees’ performances.

The only things that human beings can accurately and
reliably rate are their own experiences and feelings.

Myth #7- Some employees have more potential than others.

Everyone has the ability to learn and improve.

Myth #8- Work-life balance is the key to happiness.

Rather than trying to balance out jobs they hate with personal time,
people must learn to focus on the positive aspects of their jobs.

Myth #9- Leadership is a set of predictable traits.

When it comes to effective leadership, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy.

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Creating Passion-Driven Teams: How to Stop Micromanaging and Motivate People to Top Performance by Dan Bobinski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Key Ideas -
• Great managers spend time being “Builders” who mentor the team members and build them up to become valued members of the company with a passion for their work.
• The Organizations need clearly defined job duties and responsibilities for all team members.
• Positions should be classified as either leadership, management, or front-line employees. Each classification should understand what its raw product is, what its process is, and what its outcome should be.
• Micromanagers are often front-line employees who are promoted to management and not given
the training needed to understand their new roles.
• Micromanagers thrive on hearing that they are doing a good job, and they often step in to fix things their employees should be responsible for.
• To stop micromanagement, managers should think differently about their roles and to understand that a new set of core competencies are expected of them.
• People with higher Emotional Intelligence scores are often better managers than people with lower scores.
• Regular communication, even casual “water cooler conversations,” are good opportunities for managers to keep team members in the loop and motivated.
• When managers delegate tasks, they should delegate responsibility, authority, and accountability.
• Meetings should always have a purpose.
• Good listening skills are essential in gaining the trust of team members.
• Conflict should never be allowed to fester; it should be dealt with quickly and openly.
• Good training programs can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars by reducing employee turnover rates.

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