Do Corporate Leaders Have It All Wrong Wrong When It Comes to People? Gallup’s Marcus Buckingham thinks that corporate leaders have it all wrong when it comes to fostering talent within their organizations. It may sound like common sense, Buckingham says, but if you are going to succeed, you have to play to your strengths. “It is intriguing,” he says. “All of the best managers we have studied say focus on your strren st engt gths hs an and d ma mana nage ge yo your ur we weak akne ness sses es.. It se seem ems s so cr crus ushi hing ngly ly obvi ob viou ous. s. An And d ye yett al alll of th the e co comp mpan anie ies s we we’v ’ve e lo look oked ed at sa say y th the e opposite. It’s not like they are slightly wrong—they are totally off. They say maintain a person’s strengths and focus all of your time on fixing the weaknesses.” For the past 15 years, the 35-year-old Buckingham has studied the connection between workplace performance and bottom-line results for many of Gallu Gallup’s p’s clie clients, nts, incl including uding Toyota oyota,, Wells Fargo argo,, and Disne Disney y. Recently, Buckingham completed a Gallup study that helps corporate America measure a culture’s impact on company performance. For the study, stu dy, Buc Buckin kingha gham m fir first st ide identi ntifie fied d 12 cor core e tra traits its of a he healt althy hy wor work k atmosphere (dubbed “Q12”) such as workers feeling actively engaged in their work or whether workers have had the opportunity to learn and grow. Then, using more than 30 years of corporate data collected at Gall Ga llup up,, Bu Buck ckin ingh gham am me meas asur ured ed ho how w th thes ese e fac facto torr co cont ntri ribu bute ted d to a company’s success. So far, corporate America is failing the test. On average there is an inverse correlation between length of service and a positive Q12 score, according to the study study.. “What it means is the longer you stay in your job with a company, the less engaged you become,” Buckingham says. “So [this study] makes it very specific. Desp De spit ite e al alll of th the e mo mone ney y th that at we ar are e sp spen endi ding ng on le lead ader ersh ship ip an and d management development, we actually depreciate our human capital. “We all say that human capital is one of the few assets that a company has that can generally appreciate,” he says. “And yet, according to the humans within that human capital, over time they actually become less clear about their expectations, less cared about, less well-cast in their job. ” Cor Corpor porate ate Am Ameri erica ca is fou founde nded d on thr three ee fla flawe wed d ass assump umptio tions, ns, say says s Buckingham. First: Everyone who excels at a particular job does it in the same way. A good example of how this assumption is wrong, says Buckingham, is the founding fathers of America, each with their own personal style. “It would have been ludicrous to say, ‘John Adams, you need to be less belligerent and calmer like Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson, you are a terrible public speaker; you need to become like John Adams,’ Adams,’ ” he says. “The only thing those leaders leaders had in comm common on was they created the same sa me outcome. People followed them.”
The The sec second ond fla flawed wed ass assump umptio tion: n: Eve Everyt rythin hing g can be le lear arned ned.. “If you thin th ink k abo bout ut it, on one e of the reas ason ons s th that at cu currren entt pe perrfo forrman ance ce manage man agemen mentt sys system tems s ar are e so pop popula ularr is bec becaus ause e of the success success of process proc ess impr improvem ovement ent initi initiative atives s lik like e Six Sigma Sigma,” ,” Bucki Buckingham ngham says. “And if you play this out, Six Sigma has a very good reputation because you can take a process and endlessly rework it until all of the kinks are gone. Because a process is endlessly malleable, you can keep playing around with it. The problem p roblem is we have become so enamored with that, we’ve we’ ve app applie lied d it who wholes lesale ale to peo people ple.. And we hav have e for forgott gotten en tha thatt people and process are made of different things. You aren’t endlessly malleable. There are some things about you that you can change, but there are some things about you that you are never going to change.” The third flawed assumption is that corporate America believes fixing weakne wea knesse sses s wil willl lea lead d to suc succes cess. s. “F “Fixi ixing ng wea weakne knesse sses s wi will ll pr preve event nt failure,” Buckingham says, “but that’s a different thing; it’s damage control, not development. It gets you from minus six to zero.” Buckingham hopes that his projects will be a call to arms for CEOs to begin beg in act active ively ly me measu asurin ring g wha whatt real eally ly mat matter ters. s. “W “What hat we ar are e giv giving ing CEOs is a way for them to shine an accurate light within their company to say, ‘How strong is our culture? Where is it getting stronger? Where is it getting weaker? What’s the range?’ ” Buckingham says, “If you want to build a stronger culture, you had better answer one question right: What is the best way to improve one person’s performance? If you can answer that question, it will inform everything that you do.”
Case Summary Buckingham says, but if you are going to succeed, you have to play to your strengths. It means that you have to go to your strengths rather than fixing just weakness. Normally it is said that focus on your strengths and maintain your weaknesses but what is practiced is that companies do opposite to it by maintaining their strengths & giving their all focus on fixing weaknesses 35 year old Buckingham observed the impact of the culture on the performance of corporate America by studying the performance and bottom-line results for many of Galup’s clients, like Toyota, wells forge, Disney. What is the Q12? The Gallup Q12 is a survey designed to meas asu ure employee enga en gage geme ment nt.. Th The e in inst stru rume ment nt wa was s th the e res esul ultt of hu hundr ndred eds s of fo focu cus s group gr oups s and int interv erview iews. s. Rese esear arche chers rs foun found d tha thatt the there re wer were e 12 ke key y expe ex pect ctat atio ions ns,, th that at wh when en sa sati tisf sfie ied, d, for form m th the e fo foun undat datio ion n of st strron ong g feel fe elin ings gs of en enga gage geme ment nt.. So far 87 87,0 ,000 00 wo work rk un unit its s an and d 1. 1.5 5 mi mill llio ion n employees have participated in the Q12 instrument. Comparisons of engage eng agemen mentt sco score res s reve eveal al tha thatt tho those se wi with th hig high h Q12 sco score res s ex exhib hibit it lower low er tu turrno nove ver, r, hi high gher er sa sale les s gr grow owth th,, be bett tter er pr prod oduc ucti tivi vity ty,, be bett tter er customer custom er loyal loyalty ty and other manifestations manifestations of super superior ior perfo performa rmance. nce.
The Gallup organization also uses the Q12 as a semi-annual employee enga en gage geme ment nt In Inde dex x – a ra rand ndom om sa samp mpli ling ng of em empl ploy oyee ee ac acro ross ss th the e country. The engagement index slots people into one of three categories. • Engaged em empl ploy oyee ees s wo work rk wi with th pa pass ssio ion n an and d fe feel el a pr prof ofou ound nd connec con nectio tion n to the their ir com compan pany y. The They y dri drive ve inn innova ovatio tion n and mov move e the organization forward. • Not-Engaged employees are essentially “checked out.” They are sleepwalking through their workday. They are putting in time, but not enough energy or passion into their work. Actively vely Disen Disengage gaged d em • Acti empl ploy oyee ees s ar aren en’t ’t ju just st un unha happy ppy at wo work rk;; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish. The Q12 Index 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials and equipment that I need in order to do my work right?
What do I get?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the past 7 days, have I received recognition recognition or praise for doing good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
What do I give?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 8. Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel that my job is important? 9. Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work?
Do I belong here?
11. In the past six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? 12. This past year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
How do we all grow?
Study re Study reve veals als tha thatt the there re is inv invers erse e re relat lation ionshi ship p bet betwee ween n le lengt ngth h of service and Q12 score, means longer you stay less you are engaged. Acc ccor ordi ding ng to Bu Buck ckin ingh gham am he do does es no nott wan antt to in inve vest st mo morre on leadership leade rship and manag managemen ement, t, and says that length of serv service ice makes a human careless about a job. The corporate America is based on three Assumptions these are: 1. Everyone who excels excels at a particular job does it in a same way. way.
Everything can be learned by taking help of six sigma’s which improve their management performance performance.. 3. Th The e co corp rpor orat ate e Am Amer eric ica a be beli liev eves es th that at fi fixi xing ng we weak akne ness sses es wi will ll prevent failure. Buck Bu ckin ingh gham am di disa sagr gree ees s to th the e as assu sump mpti tion ons s wh whic ich h ar are e fol follo lowe wed d by corporate America. Buckingham hopes that his research will be guideline for managers if they follow his research they can shine. 2.
Questions for Discussion 1. Whi Which ch of the sev seven en peo people ple-ce -cente ntere red d pra practi ctices ces dis discus cussed sed at the beginning of this chapter play a role in this case? Explain. 2. For managers who want to do a better job of managing people, what learning points and action items emerge from Buckingham’s findings and beliefs? 3. On whi which ch poi points nts do you mos mostt str strong ongly ly agr agree ee wi with th Buc Buckin kingham gham? ? Why? 4. Any points of disagreeme disagreement? nt? Explain. Question #1: Whi Question Which ch of the sev seven en peo people ple-ce -cente ntered red pr pract actice ices s discussed at the beginning of this chapter play a role in this case? Explain. The The fol follow lowing ing sev seven en peo people ple-ce -cente ntere red d pra practi ctices ces ar are e def define ined d for the succ su cces essf sful ul co comp mpan anie ies s le lets ts ha have ve a lo look ok at th thes ese e wi with th ref efer eren ence ce to Buckingham’s resear research: ch: 1. Job security (to eliminate fear of layoffs). Job security means that if any organization reduces the fear of layoff or fire from job for its employees this reduction of fear of being fired from job is job security. This can be done through giving considerable salary, bonuses, gifts, etc. As Q12 tells us that what do I get, what do I give, do I belong here, and how do we all grow. These are the four questions (comprising 12 questions described earlier) which Mr. Buckingham asked from the employees of the organizations which he st stud udie ied. d. Th The e an answ swer ers s to th thes ese e qu ques esti tion ons s pl play ays s vi vita tall rol ole e fo forr mana ma nage gers rs to be best st gi give ve jo job b se secu curi rity ty to em empl ploy oyee ees. s. If yo you u gi give ve jo job b security to any employee he will be highly high ly engaged in the organization.
2. Careful hiring (emphasizing a good fit with the company culture). It is th the e se seco cond nd Peo eopl plee-ce cent nter ered ed pr prac acti tice ce.. Ca Carref eful ul hi hiri ring ng me mean ans s recruiting those people, who best fulfill the needs of the company and its environment. Mr. Buckingham’s research tells us that organization need ne eds s th thos ose e pe peop ople le wh who o ar are e st stre reng ngth then ened ed an and d we well ll tr trai aine ned, d, th they ey shou sh ould ld no nott be we weak ak.. Th They ey sh shou ould ld no nott be we weak ak if th they ey ar are e we weak ak organization have to focus on their weaknesses which is too costly in many dimensions.
3. Pow ower er to th the e peo eopl ple e (via dece decentral ntralizat ization ion and self self-mana -managed ged teams). The group and team power is recognized in the modern world and management styles. If you look at the last fourth question of the Mr. Buckingham, how do we all grow tells us about the team spirit which is well gained through giving power to the people. 4. Generous pay for performance. This factor comes under job security and tells us that how much a person is engaged in and organization varies with salary he/she gets. 5. Lots of training. Training is necessary factor. Training means equipping employees with late la test st tr tric icks ks an and d to tool ols, s, wh whic ich h ar are e var ary y ne nece cess ssar ary y fo forr pr prop oper er job job perf pe rfor orma manc nce, e, If yo your ur or orga gani niza zati tion on wi will ll no nott pr prov ovid ide e yo you u to tool ols s an and d equipment you will be less engaged in the job. 6. Less emphasis on status (to build a “we” feeling). Stratification is an idea which means that some groups in the society have different status. The power is defined with status. So if you want to engage your employees you have to build the “we” felling which reduces the felling about status. 7. Trust building (through the sharing of critical information). If you are well at trust building you have the power to manage the people. Do I belong here? In the Q12 tells about the trust building. Importantly, these factors are a package deal, meaning they need to be installed in a coordinated and systematic manner—not in bits and pieces. Question #2: For managers who want to do a better job of mana ma nagi ging ng pe peop ople le,, wh what at le lear arni ning ng po poin ints ts an and d ac acti tion on item items s emerge from Buckingham’s findings and beliefs? Strengths refer to the competitive advantages and other distinctive competencies that a company can exert in the marketpl marketplace. ace. Weaknesses ar are e co cons nstr trai aint nts s th that at hi hind nder er mo move veme ment nts s in ce cert rtai ain n directions. Mr.. Buc Mr Buckin kingha gham m tel tells ls us tha thatt “F “Focu ocus s on you yourr str streng engths ths rat rather her tha than n fixing your weaknesses.” Fixing weaknesses will make you 0 from -6 but focusing on and developing your strengths will made 6 from 0. The stud st udy y of Mr Mr.. Bu Buck ckin ingh gham am at Ga Gall llup up te tell lls s us th that at th ther ere e is In Inve vers rse e relationship between the length of the service and Q12 Score. It means that th at exp xper erie ienc nced ed an and d ol old d em emplo ploye yees es of an any y or organ ganiz izat atio ion n ar are e le less ss engaged in the matters of the organization.
Question Question #3: On which points do you most strongly agree with
Buckingham? Why? The strengths are one of the world’s most powerful tools that one can feel proud of. Mr. Buckingham says, but if you are going to succeed, you have to play to your strengths. This is the main point on which I strongly agree with Buckingham because weaknesses can prevent the failure and playing to strengths makes you success.
Question #4: Any points of disagreement? Explain. Length of the service having inverse relationship with performance as Q12 score of the Buckingham’s research tells us. I do not agree with the Buckingham on this point of case. Length of the service gives us the most experienced people which are the appreciated asset of the organization the negative Q12 score tells us that the employee is less engaged but does not tell that he/she is totally not engaged. This Q12 score sco re can be mad made e pos positi itive ve by app applyi lying ng the sev seven en peo people ple-ce -cente ntere red d practices, defined earlier in the case study. Strengths and weaknesses are two simultaneous processes if you leave weaknesses you can not overcome the strengths. It means you have to eradicate the weaknesses with playing to your strengths.
