Nine Lies About Work - A Book Review
The business world is full of literature. I would be hard pressed to know where to start if I set out to read a “work” book. “Nine Lies About Work – A Freethinking Leaders Guide to the Real World” came recommended. Out of intrigue for what these lies were, I dug in. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable and interesting this “work” book was. From their experience in business and psychology, using reliable data and real world examples, authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall explain that, “the world of work today is overflowing with systems, processes, tools, and assumptions that are deeply flawed and push directly against our ability to express what is unique about each of us in the work we do every day.” As a small business, we are cautious not to do any “make work projects” or processes that are inefficient and ineffective. While the focus is largely on large corporations, there are some great takeaways for business owners, team leaders and anyone who works with people. I even found some things relevant as a parent. Covering all nine lies in this article would be too lengthy, however the subjects that are woven throughout the book address teams, individuals and leaders.
Learning how to work with people to maximize their strengths and get the best results is a valuable pursuit. If we truly believe that people are our greatest asset, then we should be mindful of what motivates them and how to optimize their work experience. Buckingham and Goodall have narrowed down 8 specific statements to gauge employee engagement.
I am really enthusiastic about the mission of my company
At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me
In my team, I am surrounded by people who share my values
I have the chance to use my strengths every day at work
My teammates have my back
I know I will be recognized for excellent work
I have great confidence in my company’s future
In my work, I am always challenged to grow
These statements reflect individual performance and company satisfaction. Anything that negatively impacts one of these areas will lead to employee disengagement.
Companies are often too large and impersonal to affect the daily work experience of their employees. The authors explain that the closer community of a team is what impacts an employee’s engagement. “A team, at its finest, insists on the unique contribution of each of its members, and is the best way we humans have ever come up with of harnessing those distinctive contributions together in the service of something that none of us could do alone.” Often, managers want to define and measure certain characteristics and competencies to control and predict performance. However, “while the outcomes of high performance are visible and clear, the ingredients of high performance vary from person to person.” The authors reject the idea that “potential” is an inherent trait that can be possessed by some and not others. “To say that you have potential means simply that you have the capacity to learn, and grow, and get better, like every other human.” Everyone does so at different rates, by different amounts, in different directions.
The individuals who make up a team are unique in their strengths and motivations. Just as each part of the body serves a different, but not less significant, function, so do members of a team. “Diversity isn’t an impediment to building a great team – rather it’s the fundamental ingredient without which a great team cannot exist.” We often think that we need to identify our weaknesses and become more “well rounded” to perform better, however the opposite is true. “Excellence is not the opposite of failure: we can never create excellent performances by only fixing poor ones.” The most successful people are “spiky”, and they have identified their strength and focused their efforts on developing in that area. The authors also clarify that a strength is not simply something you are good at, but something that you love to do.
A good team leader can identify and encourage their people to work to their strengths. This is most effectively done by frequent check-ins. The authors find that once a week is the ideal frequency for a check-in. If you leave it too long, you begin talking in generalities. Along with check-ins to identify areas of struggle, people need positive attention rather than “feedback”. Catch your people doing something specific that was a win or that you want them to do more of. Communicate your expectations to your team and trust that they will be able to execute the outcomes.
The common practices of companies in strategic planning and goal setting are a way to make an organization feel like it has control over things that are fluid and abstract. The authors state, “if we then institutionalize this thinking in the name of bringing predictability and control to our organization, we find that we have sacrificed common sense and humanity at the altar of corporate uniformity…” Great workplaces, and great leaders, communicate the meaning behind the work, enable employees to work to their strengths, recognize when they have done well and encourage them to develop on the career path that is best for them as an individual.
I highly recommend this read to flesh out the nine lies and get out of any unproductive, inefficient people-management practices. Or, if you are already managing your staff along the best practice recommendations, this will be a pleasant and affirming read as you learn more about the wisdom of this approach.