Management isn’t just a job; it can be a style. The question is which style is the most effective in the workplace, not only for the individual, but across the board.
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Jaime Roca’s The Connector Manager takes this question to task, compiling findings from hundreds of sources around the world. As far as management styles go, being a “Connector” gets you the most mileage - but why? And what does being a Connector manager mean?
Roca writes that managers who focus on team efforts and the evolution of a worker’s skills are the ones whose companies have the most success and longevity. Like the “challenger” sales style in The Challenger Sale, the Connector manager goes against the grain. They focus on individual assets while keeping an eye on how their teams work as a whole. Moreover, they don’t think of themselves as the sole source of coaching or wisdom. Their goal is to keep their workers “connected” to their duties, to every resource they could possibly need, and to each other.
Want to explore the benefits of becoming a Connector manager? Look no further.
Here is the summary on Amazon:
“There are four distinct types of managers. One performs much worse than the rest, and one performs far better. Which type are you?
“Based on a first-of-its-kind, wide-ranging global study of over 9,000 people, analysts at the global research and advisory firm Gartner were able to classify all managers into one of four types:
• Teacher managers, who develop employees' skills based on their own expertise and direct their development along a similar track to their own.
• Cheerleader managers, who give positive feedback while taking a general hands-off approach to employee development.
• Always-on managers, who provide constant, frequent feedback and coaching on all aspects of the employee's performance.
• Connector managers, who provide feedback in their area of expertise while connecting employees to others in the team or organization who are better suited to address specific needs.
“Although the four types of managers are more or less evenly distributed, the Connector manager consistently outperforms the others by a significant margin. Meanwhile, Always-on managers tend to see their employees struggle to grow within the organization. Why is that?
“Drawing on their groundbreaking data-driven research, as well as in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with managers and employees at companies like IBM, Accenture, and eBay, the authors show what behaviors define a Connector manager, and why they are able to build powerhouse teams. They also show why other types of managers fail to be equally effective, and how they can incorporate behaviors of Connector managers in order to be more effective at building teams.”
