As we saw in the first few chapters of Buckingham and Coffman’s “First, Break all the Rules”, it is the managers who can make or break a business. They articulate this by saying, “it is better to work for a great manager in an old-fashioned company than for a terrible manager in a company offering an enlightened, employee-focused culture” (34). This is further evidenced by looking at the top four companies on the “2020 Fortune Best Companies to Work For” list. Employees at all four companies reference people and culture as some of the main perks of working there while only one mentions the benefits offered as one of the top reasons.
Thinking back to the interview with Michael in the introduction of “First, Break all the Rules”, I really enjoyed the idea of getting to know all of your employees personally and encouraging them to feel comfortable being themselves. I think this will be a challenge for me because I am a naturally guarded person and I prefer to keep my professional relationship professional. I worry that building personal relationships with people who report to me will make it more difficult to take disciplinary action when it is necessary and thus I have a tendency to avoid building such relationships. However, after going through the reading and lectures of the week I am beginning to see how important it is to employees that they feel seen, understood, and appreciated for the work they do. In addition to making them feel appreciated I want to make sure my employees feel heard. I know my own knowledge and experience has limits and, much like they do at Google, I want to give others the opportunity to provide feedback and imput. As Garvin said, “Google gives its rank and file room to make decisions and innovate. Along with that freedom comes a greater respect for technical expertise, skillful problem solving, and good ideas than for titles and formal authority”. I think the key to being a good manager is finding a balance between listening to your employees and taking their wishes into consideration and doing what is necessary to keep the business running smoothly.
Citations
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, break all the rules : what the world’s greatest managers do differently. Simon & Schuster.
Garvin, D. A. (2013). How Google Sold Its Engineers on ManagementLinks to an external site.. Harvard Business Review, 91(12), 74-82.