From the Bookshelf This is a fortnightly review of bestsellers for business executives Unique abilities in alignment By Nicole Wong Individual and corporate success depends on recognising differences Whether as business leaders, department managers, salespeople or in public service, today's professionals are constantly searching for the key to sustained improvement and great performance in the workplace. In an era when we are frequently expected to adapt to new roles or acquire the additional skills needed for expanded job functions, many people are looking for clearer guidance on how to meet the variety of challenges now faced, and a better framework for dealing with them. Marcus Buckingham, one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of management and leadership, provides some relevant insights in his latest work, The One Thing You Need to Know. Focusing on the three fundamental areas of professional activity within the world of business – great managing, great leading, and sustained individual success – he offers readers some vital information and highlights what must be done to achieve continuous career advancement. Square peg By using the story of Michelle Miller, a store manager for Walgreens, he illustrates his view that the essence of great managing is to discover what is unique about each person and to capitalise on it (The One Thing p.83). One of Ms Miller's employees was a young man who insisted on dressing as a "Gothic rocker" and did not communicate well with customers. Rather than trying to get him to "fit", she realised he had an analytical mind and assigned him instead to the challenging project of overseeing in-store stock levels and the resupply of all products. This arrangement allowed other staff to concentrate on customer service, and the realignment of duties boosted sales and profit, as well as overall customer satisfaction. The young man's performance improved noticeably and he soon landed the position of assistant manager. While a manager's key task is to encourage individual excellence and align it with the company's goals, Buckingham believes the job of a great leader is to rally people towards a shared vision of a better future. This is exemplified by the way Rio Tinto Borax, which operates the largest open pit mine in California, was transformed by its president Preston Chiaro. He decided to make safety the company's priority and strength. He mobilised staff by introducing everything from signs proclaiming this mission to speed limits for vehicles on company premises and enforced a personal safety improvement plan for every employee. Staff were fully committed to the initiative, and the number of serious injuries dropped from 26 in 1999 to four in 2003. In Buckingham's view, this demonstrated the heart of great leadership which is to "discover what is universal" and capitalise on it (p.132). Individual success Clearly, the secrets to great managing and great leading depend to a large extent on the ability to tap into the strengths of others. For many people, however, who have not yet reached a leadership position, it is more important to know how to develop their own talents. In his discussion on sustaining individual success, Buckingham invites readers to recall a situation at work in which they struggled, and to identify the reasons for failure. Was it a lack of talent for the assigned roles? Was the work boring and frustrating? Did it demand too much energy? Would it have been better to reject some of the duties if there had been a choice? The answers will not change what has already happened, but they may show us the path to sustained individual success: to discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it (p.217). Readers may be surprised by the notion that we can succeed by rejecting or avoiding duties, since most of us are conditioned to accept frustrations and see them as part of any job. However, Buckingham says this is possible. His belief in maintaining an optimistic outlook should also offer inspiration for business leaders and managers in matters of staff motivation, and serves as a reminder that each individual is responsible for their own career moves. Content highlights: Great management is based on recognising and utilising the unique abilities of individual employees Great leadership is the talent to rally people towards a shared vision of a better future Individual success is sustained by developing one's strengths and by eliminating one's dislikes in any particular job About the authors Marcus Buckingham graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a Master's degree in social and political science. During his 17 years with The Gallup Organisation, he helped with research into the world's best leaders, managers and workplaces. A subject of in-depth profiles by The New York Times, Fortune, and Fast Company, Buckingham is now an independent consultant, author and speaker, and is considered one of the world's leading authorities on employee productivity and the practices of leading and managing. Buckingham drew on his research at Gallup and used it as the basis for two previous works with over 1.6 million copies in print: First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Best Managers Do Differently and Now, Discover Your Strengths. "Marcus Buckingham has a keen sense of what it takes to excel...This is an important book for anybody who aspires to effective leadership, managing, or any kind of enduring individual achievement" - Richard M. Kovacevich, chairman, president and CEO, Wells Fargo and Company. Taken from Career Times 10 June 2005 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]