Play Your Best Hand: How to Manage the Four Types of Knowledge Workers--and Stack the Odds for Maximum Success

by Ralston, Faith

• ISBN13: 9781593376857
• ISBN10: 1593376855
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781440517303
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Adams Media Corp
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Do you know how today's employee wants to be managed? The number of knowledge workers has doubled in the last decade. Unlike yesterday's workers, their value is not measured in hours logged, but in how much quality and innovation they create for your organization. Talent is the new wildcard in today's competitive marketplace. If you want to tap your employee's full potential you have to manage differently.

Author Biography

Faith Ralston, Ph.D., was the manager of organizational development for a multi-national corporation

Table of Contents

Learn the New Game	p. 1
Lead the Wild Card-Managing Knowledge Workers	p. 3
Customers Want More	p. 3
Leaders Want More	p. 4
Employees Want More	p. 4
The New Game of Business	p. 5
Knowledge Workers Are the Wild Card	p. 6
A New Approach to Leadership	p. 7
Focusing on Strengths Yields Benefits	p. 7
Getting Started	p. 9
Are You in or Out of the Game?	p. 10
Employees Have a Choice	p. 10
It's Now a Take-Charge World	p. 11
The Seven Deadly Sins of Leading Knowledge Workers	p. 12
What Knowledge Workers Really Want	p. 15
Get in the Game	p. 18
Learn the Rules	p. 19
We're in This Together	p. 19
Leverage Individual and Team Talents	p. 20
Manage Personal Attributes	p. 23
Build Trust with Others	p. 25
Seek Feedback from the Customer	p. 26
How to Play	p. 28
Focusing on Talents Brings Success	p. 29
The Play-to-Your-Strengths Principles	p. 30
Recognize That Every Person Has Unique Strengths	p. 30
We Are Often Blind to Our Strengths	p. 32
Strive to Maximize Strengths-and Minimize Weaknesses	p. 32
Strengths Can Also Be Weaknesses	p. 33
Seek Feedback to Leverage Strengths	p. 33
Maximize Employee Talents	p. 37
Discover the Four Talent Types	p. 39
Efficiency Programs Miss the Mark	p. 40
The Four Distinct Talent Types	p. 40
Summary of the Four Talent Types	p. 42
Leverage Diamond Talents	p. 43
How to Lead Diamond Talents	p. 46
Maximize Club Talents	p. 47
How to Lead Club Talents	p. 50
Energize Spade Talents	p. 50
The Spade-Type Organization	p. 53
How to Lead Spade Talents	p. 54
Value Heart Talents	p. 54
Recognizing Heart Talents	p. 55
How to Lead Heart Talents	p. 58
Appreciate Each Employee's Unique Talent	p. 58
Deal With Talent Differences	p. 60
Set Others Up for Success	p. 61
Strive for the Right Mix of Talents	p. 61
Recognize Too Much of a Good Thing	p. 62
Notice When Talents Are Either Under- or Overplayed	p. 63
Eliminate the "It's Not My Job!" Mindset	p. 65
Ensure Accountability	p. 65
Stay Involved in Project Handoffs	p. 66
Value the Kaleidoscope of Talents on Your Team	p. 66
Mesh Talents and Organizational Culture	p. 67
Help Employees Sell Their Value	p. 70
Leverage Personal Attributes	p. 73
Attributes Enhance Talents	p. 74
Attributes Can Be an Asset or a Liability	p. 74
Create Your Personal Brand	p. 75
Manage Attributes As Well As Talents	p. 77
Easy Ways to Discover Your Attributes	p. 78
Solicit Peer Feedback on Attribute Strengths	p. 79
Develop a Powerful Contribution Statement	p. 80
Speak Up about Your Value	p. 82
Ensure Employee Talents Are Visible	p. 82
Discover Your Success Pattern	p. 84
Everyone Has a Success Formula	p. 85
Lay Out Your Success Pattern	p. 86
Success Patterns Operate Behind the Scenes	p. 87
The Sequence of Your Talents Is Crucial	p. 88
People Can Misunderstand Your Success Pattern	p. 89
Success Patterns Don't Change	p. 90
Recognize Your Failure Pattern	p. 91
Ask Employees to Share Their Success Patterns	p. 93
The Leader's Success Pattern Dominates the Group	p. 94
Play to Win	p. 97
Create Awinning Team	p. 99
Find a Shared Purpose	p. 100
Key Questions to Discover Your Purpose As a Team	p. 102
Meet Regularly	p. 103
Identify Key Initiatives	p. 104
Assess What a Project Needs	p. 104
Leverage Team Member Talents	p. 105
Help Each Other Succeed	p. 106
Maximize Talent Differences	p. 108
Enjoy Your High-Performing Team	p. 109
Develop Employees-The Right Way!	p. 111
The Talent and Viability Approach	p. 112
Align Talents with Priority Business Needs	p. 114
Promote Networking with Peers	p. 114
Turn Frustration into Opportunities	p. 115
Proactively Contribute Ideas	p. 115
Help Employees Take Charge	p. 116
Stay True to What You Do!	p. 116
We're All Learning	p. 119
Address Performance Issues	p. 121
Stop Blaming the Forms	p. 122
Don't Ignore a Weakness	p. 123
Tackle the Tough Stuff	p. 124
Find the Strength in a Weakness	p. 126
Five Strategies to Manage a Weakness	p. 127
Succeed with Core Competencies	p. 130
Ensure Key Competencies Are Achieved	p. 131
Challenge Yourself	p. 133
Build Trust to Succeed	p. 134
Trust Is Good Business	p. 135
Don't Assume Trust Is Present	p. 136
What Exactly Is Trust Anyway?	p. 136
The Competence Trust Factor	p. 137
The Commitment Trust Factor	p. 139
The Conflict Trust Factor	p. 141
The Communication Trust Factor	p. 142
The Caring Trust Factor	p. 144
Use Trust Factor Language in Conversations	p. 146
Conflict-Call It Off	p. 147
Talent Differences Cause Tension	p. 147
How and When to Get Involved	p. 150
Reduce Conflict Between Different Talent Types	p. 152
Make It Safe to Address Issues	p. 154
Action Steps to Resolve Conflicts	p. 155
Know the Score!	p. 157
The Value of Strength Feedback	p. 158
Feedback Is a Powerful Tool	p. 158
Teams Benefit from Strength Feedback	p. 159
Give Strength Feedback	p. 160
Create a Feedback-Rich Culture	p. 161
Leaders Benefit from Feedback	p. 162
Use Different Feedback Methods	p. 163
Take the Lead	p. 167
Play Your Trump Wisely	p. 169
Become a Strength Coach	p. 170
Watch from the Sidelines	p. 170
You Are Both a Manager and a Coach	p. 171
Recognize Your Coaching Strengths	p. 172
Ask Great Coaching Questions	p. 173
Listening Skills Help You Stay on Track	p. 174
Follow Guidelines for Coaching	p. 175
Opportune Times for Coaching	p. 177
Coach Others to Win	p. 179
The Employee Has a Role in Coaching	p. 179
Bring Out the Best in Others	p. 180
Develop a Coaching Contract	p. 181
Learn the 5 Step Coaching Process	p. 182
Keep Your Eye on Success	p. 186
The Benefits of Coaching	p. 187
Up the Ante!	p. 188
Do Things Differently	p. 189
Track Progress and Results	p. 190
Learn from Experience	p. 191
Don't Leave It to Chance	p. 192
Get Ready to Play	p. 192
Play Your Best Hand	p. 195
Play Your Best Hand Tool Kit	p. 197
Great Resources	p. 204
Index	p. 208
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