Managers Can’t Be Great Coaches All by Themselves →

There Are 4 Types of Managers. One Is More Effective Than the Others

For managers and subordinates, the research should redirect attention from the frequency of developmental conversations to the quality of interactions and the route taken to help employees gain skills. Says Roca: “The big takeaway is that when it comes to coaching employees, being a Connector is how you win.”

So what's a "Connector?"

Connector Managers give targeted feedback in their areas of expertise; otherwise, they connect employees with others on the team or elsewhere in the organization who are better suited to the task. They spend more time than the other three types assessing the skills, needs, and interests of their employees, and they recognize that many skills are best taught by people other than themselves.

All of that’s consistent with the management skills training I’ve been exposed to this year. Frequent, deeper 1on1s with Direct Reports FTW! We can – and do – have regular tactical or task-oriented 1on1s, and that’s good. But are we coaching, offering criticism and guidance, and discussing development? Are we mentoring and connecting?

Leadership Feels Squishy

I think of "management" and "leadership" as two different things that rarely exist simultaneously in the same person. Tom Peters thinks the two words mean the same thing. Part of the reason I disagree with him is that I don't think you need a management title or that kind of "power" to be a leader.

OTOH, I agree with Tom that talking about whether the two words mean the same thing is a totally, completely, 100 percent waste of time. There's no way to get universal agreement on the subject. That ship has sailed!

Peters does say that, "hard is soft, soft is hard", and on that we agree.

Leadership may look like the pyramid on the left. It feels all squishy-like because, you know, people are complicated! Dealing with that squishiness, getting results through people, that is what leadership is all about!

What do you think?