The Truth About Getting the Best From People

by Finney, Martha I.

• ISBN13: 9780137080571
• ISBN10: 0137080573
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-20
• Publisher: Ft Pr

Summary

Praise for The Truth About Getting the Best from People #xA0; "Finally, a no-nonsense primer for leaders on how to build...and keep...extraordinary talent. This book should be in the briefcase of every exec in the world and should be pulled out every day for a refresher on how to be a realleader." Dan Walker, Former Chief Talent Officer for Apple, Inc. #xA0; "A fun and easy-to-read blueprint on understanding and creating engagement within a team. No high falootin'business jargon here--Martha Finney tells it like it is. She helps supervisors and managers uncover the secrets of employee engagement through behavioral examples, successes at top companies, and her charming storytelling." Kirsten Clark, Senior Director, Organizational Capability Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts #xA0; "Martha succeeds in reducing one of the business world's most sought-after but amorphous concepts--employee engagement--into 49 digestible truths." Christopher Rice, President and CEO, BlessingWhite #xA0; "A must-read for new supervisors and managers, with lots of essential lessons and tips." Tom Mathews, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Time Warner Cable #xA0; "Easy-to-read stories and useful truths about leading. I wish I had this book when I first became a manager. I had to learn some of these truths the hard way!" Scott Shute, Senior Director, Xilinx #xA0; "The book is outstanding! Very easy to read....great examples, great advice, and the corporate world would be a better place if just 50 percent of the managers would follow your advice!" Peg Wynn, Former SVP/HR, Adobe #xA0; "I started reading and found myself grabbing for a highlighter. I got to the following line 'Getting the best is about building a culture of trust, connection, growth, and service.'I had to drop a box around that one." Tiane Mitchell Gordon, Senior Vice President, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, AOL #xA0; "Finney has gifted us an important compendium of accessible and eminently actionable insights about employee engagement. Using 'The Truths'as a guide, generations of managers will find infinite opportunities to unleash, inspire, and leverage the inherent talent in their people. My advice? Seize it! It will enable you to dramatically affect the future of your team, your organization, and your own career." #xA0; Jane Creech, Founder and Principal, Strategic Business Systems (Organization Consulting & Leadership Coaching), Former Sr. Director, OD, eBay #xA0; "If you are looking for a great way to deliver Management 101, just distribute this book. It has everything that someone new to management needs to know. Savvy, and sassy, and smart, this is an easy but important read!" Beverly Kaye, Coauthor, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em #xA0; "Just when I thought one truth was as good as it could get, the rest lived up to it! I loved the anecdotes and the final truth, 'You're still the Boss.'" Ed Martin, Vice President, Global Human Resources, Atheros Communications #xA0; "The subject is important, pragmatic advice told in an entertaining way. Front line managers need this for perspective. This book has some great 'keys'to bringing out the best in people!" Jim Wiggett, President & CEO, Jackson Hole Group #xA0; #xA0; Build a culture of engagement...one person, one interaction at a time You canbuild and lead teams full of self-motivated, innovative contributors: people who love their jobs, believe in their mission, and perform with focus, enthusiasm, and creativity! This book reveals 49 PROVEN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLESfor getting the best from everyemployee, everyteam, everyorganization!#xA0; The truth about building a self-driven workforce that#x19;s positive, committed, passionate The truth about what reallymotivates people--and what doesn#x19;t The truth about leading with authenticity, clarity, consistency, and inspiration You canbuild and lead teams full of self-motivated, innovative contributors: people who love their jobs, believe in their mission, and perform with focus, enthusiasm, and creativity! Top leadership consultant Martha Finney reveals 49 proven leadership principles for getting the best from every employee, every team, every organization. She shows how to build a workforce that#x19;s positive, committed, passionate...how to reallymotivate people, even on a tight budget...how to lead with authenticity, clarity, consistency, and inspiration. These skills offer powerful, quantifiable business value. They are completely learnable--and this book is the fastest way to master them. It distills the world#x19;s best thinking on getting the best from people: the truth, and nothing but the truth!

Author Biography

Martha I. Finney is a management consultant executive interivewer, speaker, and columnist specializing in leaders communications and employee engagement. The producer of the Web-based journal, Working from the HeartLand, she has written or coauthored many books, including HR from the Heart (with Libby Sartain). Finney has appeared on CNN and NPR's Morning Edition, and has worked with executives from Afiac to Yahoo! the CIA to the New York Phitharmonic, and Caterpillar to Starwood Resorts and Hotels.

Table of Contents

Introduction  ix

Part I         The Truth About Employee Engagement

Truth 1       You don’t need the carrot or the stick  1

Truth 2       You get the best by giving the best  5

Truth 3       It’s not money that motivates  9

Truth 4       Employee engagement isn’t for sissies  13

 

Part II        The Truth About Yourself

Truth 5       Your behaviors are your brand  17

Truth 6       You can’t give what you don’t have  21

Truth 7       “Best” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone  25

Truth 8       Think you’re a great leader? Think again  29

Truth 9       You could be your own worst employee  33

Truth 10     Visionary or beat cop? Your choice  37

Truth 11     You don’t have to be perfect  41

 

Part III       The Truth About Engaged Cultures

Truth 12     Employee happiness is serious business  45

Truth 13     Authentic is better than clever  49

Truth 14     Retention begins with hello  53

Truth 15     The bad will do you good  57

Truth 16     You can sell an unpopular decision  61

Truth 17     Flex is best  65

Truth 18     Nobody cares that you don’t mean to be mean  69

 

Part IV       The Truth About Motivation

Truth 19     Engagement happens one person at a time  73

Truth 20     If you’re a manager, you’re a career coach  77

Truth 21     Ask for cheese—you might get the moon  81

Truth 22     If they aren’t buying it, they aren’t doing it  85

Truth 23     Focusing on what’s right can help solve what’s wrong  89

 

Part V        The Truth About Performance

Truth 24     Compassion promotes performance  93

Truth 25     B players are your A team  97

Truth 26     High performers have enough coffee mugs  101

Truth 27     Discipline deepens engagement  105

Truth 28     You don’t have to inherit the problem employee  109

Truth 29     Performance appraisals are really about you  113

Truth 30     New hires can inspire current employees  117

 

Part VI       The Truth About Creativity

Truth 31     Innovation begins with y-e-s  121

Truth 32     Everyone can be creative  125

Truth 33     You stand between inspiration and implementation  129

Truth 34     Failures promote progress  133

Truth 35     Extreme pressure kills inspired performance  137

Truth 36     Creativity is a balancing act  141

 

Part VII      The Truth About Communication

Truth 37     Open questions ignite inspiring answers  145

Truth 38     Serving your employees means managing your boss  149

Truth 39     Bad news is good news  153

Truth 40     Trivial conversations are essential  157

Truth 41     The way you listen speaks volumes  161

Truth 42     Crap happens  165

Truth 43     Engaged employees need to know more  169

 

Part VIII     The Truth About Teams

Truth 44     Your team has untapped talent  173

Truth 45     People need to fight their own battles  177

Truth 46     Games don’t build teams  181

Truth 47     Answers build teams  185

Truth 48     Your team can lead you to greatness  189

Truth 49     You’re still the boss  193

 

References  197

About the Author  198