Review: Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World

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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