Tim Quigg, Associate ChairmanDepartment of Computer Science

UNC at Chapel Hillwww.cs.unc.edu/~quigg

NIEHS FellowsCareer Development

November 12, 2003

Characteristics of a Great Manager

Keys To Success In Management:

• Pride In One’s Organization

• Enthusiasm For Its Work

Tom PetersA Passion For Excellence

Peter Drucker Likens Managers To Conductors Of Symphony

Orchestras“A Great Orchestra Is Not Composed Of Great Musicians But Of Adequate Ones Who Produce At Their Peak”

Why Does The Same Group Of Musicians Perform Poorly Under One Conductor

And Superbly Under Another?

“The Great Leaders Are Like The Best Conductors – They Reach Beyond The Notes To Reach The Magic In The Players.”

Blaine LeeThe Power Principle

Drucker Says: “The Key To Greatness Is To Look For People’s Potential

And Spend Time Developing It”

Great Managers Do This Instinctively, But What Do They Do?

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique

We are a blend of skills, knowledge, experience and talents!

Evaluating an applicant/employee’s skill, knowledge and experience is relatively straight-forward. Evaluating for talent is much more challenging!

What Do We Mean By Talent?

Conventional wisdom – rare ability pertaining to sports or the arts!

What Do We Mean By Talent?

Myth – with enough hard

work, we can

accomplish anything!

X X

What We Have Learned From Neuro-Science

Born with 100 billion neurons• synaptic connections form by age 3

• strong ones grow/weak ones wither away

• may be genetics or Darwinian pruning

• by mid-teens – unique set of synapses (about half the number as at age 3)

• these synapses define our talents!

Simply put – the behaviors you find yourself doing most often are your talents.

“A Recurring Pattern Of Thought, Feeling Or Behavior That Can Be Productively Applied.”

Marcus Buckingham & Curt CoffmanFirst, Break All The Rules

Talents Can Be Defined As

“No Matter How You Total Success In The Coaching Profession, It All Comes Down To A Single Factor – Talent … Although Not Every Coach Can Win Consistently With Talent, No Coach Can Win Without It.”

John Wooden, UCLA Coach

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success

• Every role, performed at excellence, requires talent

• Determine what talents are associated with excellence in every role

• Key – find match between person’s talents and role

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success

• Study your best• Conventional wisdom – good is opposite of bad,

so if you want excellence, investigate failure and invert it.

• Excellence and failure are often surprisingly similar

• Danger of “Averages”

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success3. Treat people differently

Break The Golden Rule“Don’t Treat People As You Would Like To Be Treated. This Presupposes That Everyone Breathes The Same Psychological Oxygen As You”

Buckingham & CoffmanFirst, Break All The RulesFigure out what motivates each person and

devise a system of appropriate rewards

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success3. Treat people differently4. Focus on the desired outcomes, not the

process

Characteristics of Great Managers:

DANGER – “One Best Way” Approach

• Frederic Taylor: time-and-motion studies

• Madelaine Hunter: seven basic components of an effective lesson plan

• Expert Systems

Remember, unique people with different combinations of knowledge, skill, experience and talent will determine their own way to achieve the desired outcomes!

“The Best Executive Has The Sense Enough To Pick Good Men, And The Self-Restraint Enough To Keep From Meddling.”

Theodore Roosevelt

“Never Tell People How To Do Things. Tell Them What To Do And They Will Surprise You With Their Ingenuity.”

General George S. Patton

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success3. Treat people differently4. Focus on the desired outcomes, not the

processPrimary Management Role

• Set expectations• Motivate performance• Evaluate performance

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for success3. Treat people differently4. Focus on the desired outcomes, not the

process5. Foster an environment that allows people

to fail intelligently

“Failure Is The Opportunity To Begin Again, More Intelligently.”

Henry Ford

“I Have Not Failed. I’ve Just Found 10,000 Ways That Won’t Work.”

Thomas Alva Edison

“The Only Man Who Makes A Mistake Is The Man That Never Does Anything.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Failure–Tolerant Organizations• Encourage Intelligent Risk Taking• View Failure As A Pre-Requisite For

Invention• View Failures As Outcomes To Be

Examined, Understood, And Built Upon• Focus On Increasing Their Organization’s

Intellectual Capital • Create A Culture Of Collaboration Rather

Than Competition.Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes

The Failure-Tolerant Leader

• Jack Welch, Former Head Of GE“We Reward Failure.”

• Charles Kettering, Former Head Of GM“A Good Researcher Failed Every Time But The Last One.”

“Failing Is One Of The Greatest Arts In The World. One Fails Forward Toward Success.”

• Thomas Watson, Sr., Former Head Of IBM“The Fastest Way To Succeed Is To Double Your Failure Rate.”

• Spencer Silver’s “Failure” Imperfect Adhesive resulted In 3M’s Post-It Notes

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for

success3. Treat people differently4. Focus on the desired outcomes, not the

process5. Foster an environment that allows

people to fail intelligently6. Encourage the development of

effective teams

“Individual Commitment To A Group Effort – That Is What Makes A Team Work, A Company Work, A Society Work, A Civilization Work.”

Vince Lombardi

• Teamwork – A Worthy Goal!

• But Not All Groups Become Teams

• What Makes A Group Become A Team?

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

“A Team Is A Small Number Of People With Complementary Skills Who Are Committed To A Common Purpose, Set Of Performance Goals, And Approach For Which They Hold Themselves Mutually Accountable.”

Jon R. Katzenbach And Douglas K. SmithThe Discipline Of Teams

Characteristics of Great Managers:1. Recognize that people are unique2. Identify talent and reposition for

success3. Treat people differently4. Focus on the desired outcomes, not the

process5. Foster an environment that allows

people to fail intelligently6. Encourage the development of effective

teams7. Have a clear sense of organizational

mission

Harvard Parking Story 1950’s – 2 UNC Grads To Harvard One in Wheel Chair

Arrived In Boston One Evening•No Parking By Dorm•Parked By Front Door To Unload

Campus Police Came•Returned With Workman – Painted Yellow Line

Understanding Mission:

“As Long As You And Your Roommate Are Students In Good-

Standing At Harvard, This Parking Place Is For

You!”

Key To Becoming A Great Manager

• Integrate these insights/approaches into your own style

• There is no “one size fits all” model of management

• But if there was, I believe that at its core we would find:

Drucker Says: “The Key To Greatness Is To Look For People’s Potential

And Spend Time Developing It”