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In Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall argue that many of our workplace norms and practices are flawed. As a result, a majority of workers aren’t engaged at work and productivity growth is lagging. Thus, these typical practices prevent people and organizations from flourishing. To build thriving organizations, they assert that today’s leader should be a freethinking leader, one who questions established systems and beliefs and who values individuality over conformity.

In this guide, we explore why people don’t need feedback, why organizations shouldn’t invest in people who have “potential,” and why we should forget about work-life balance. We’ll also compare the authors’ ideas with those of other leadership experts, discuss research that supports or counters their arguments, and include tips to help you replace the lies with truths.

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Lie #4: Performance Appraisal Systems Are Objective

The fourth lie (Lie #6 in the book) that’s pervasive in organizations is that performance ratings are objective. According to the authors, companies use these systems to grade people on specific competencies (such as “execution” and “initiative”), determine the top performers, and reward them accordingly. Companies also use these systems to pinpoint the low performers who will then be put on a performance improvement plan and eventually let go.

However, the authors state that these systems are flawed because of the human element: Raters can’t objectively rate other people’s competencies. Even with a numerical rating system, raters base their decisions on subjective rating scales (for example, two managers can have different ideas of what “collaborative” means) and unconscious biases, resulting in inconsistencies across the board.

(Shortform note: Even if you believe you can be objective when you evaluate your team members, you likely have a “bias blind spot.” Research shows that people tend to see other people as biased while being unable to see their own biases. This blind spot may lead to poor decision-making.)

The Truth: Subjective Evaluations Are More Useful

The authors recommend that you change the way you evaluate team members. Instead of rating them on their competencies, rate them based on your experience with them. For example, rather than rating them on “performance,” ask yourself, “Do I go to this team member if I want quick, reliable results?” Instead of rating them on “collaboration,” ask yourself, “Would I choose to work with this team member on a difficult project?” The authors contend that questions about your subjective experience with a team member can reveal far more about that person’s performance than a supposedly objective rating system.

(Shortform note: Consider using the Gallup Q12 for an indication of what you, as the head of a team, should keep doing and what you should work on—critical to gauging the strength of the organization. This tool, which Buckingham details in First, Break All the Rules, prompts employees to respond to statements such as “In the past week, I have been recognized for strong work,” and “My opinion matters,” on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).)

Lies About People

The previous set of lies uncovered the flawed systems and processes at organizations: an emphasis on corporate culture, a top-down approach to planning and goal-setting, and a reliance on seemingly objective performance appraisals. In the following set of lies, Buckingham and Goodall discuss the ineffectiveness of conventional approaches to people management and development, which seek to eliminate individuality so that companies can more easily control employees. The authors’ main argument is that individuality should be seen as the main feature of human beings, not as a glitch—recognizing and nurturing what makes people unique makes them perform better and feel more fulfilled.

Lie #5: People Should Work on Their Weaknesses

In the fifth lie (Lie #4 in the book), the authors describe how employees are typically evaluated on their core competencies, or specific skills required for the job. Those who are proficient at most or all of the competencies are given opportunities for advancement. Meanwhile, those who demonstrate weakness in some areas are held back from promotion, even if they have specific (though limited) strengths. These employees are then required to work on their weaknesses so that they become more well-rounded and, thus, have a chance to move up the ranks. However, the authors argue that focusing on improving weaknesses in this way erroneously equates excellence with well-roundedness.

(Shortform note: The authors write that well-roundedness isn’t something to strive for, but David Epstein champions its merits. In Range, he argues that generalists fare better than specialists in the modern world. This is because generalists can more easily pivot to keep up with rapidly changing times, while specialists have fewer transferable skills to allow them to adapt to an unpredictable world.)

Truth: People Should Develop Their Unique Strengths

The authors believe that excellence is not about becoming a jack or jill of all trades, but becoming a master of one (or a few). Thus, as a leader, you should help people develop the abilities they already have instead of forcing them to make up for what they lack.

While improving on weak areas can be helpful, the authors stress that there is much more to be gained by determining and nurturing people’s unique strengths. For example, a basketball coach won’t try to turn Steph Curry—one of the greatest shooters in NBA history—into an excellent defensive player; instead, he’ll make sure that Curry can make the biggest impact by giving him opportunities to shoot.

(Shortform note: In The 5 Levels of Leadership, John Maxwell writes that putting together people with complementary strengths can increase productivity. However, you can only do this if you know their strengths, and that comes from building a relationship with each team member. To do this, he says make the decision to like people, think of at least one positive thing about each person, and include them in your decision-making.)

As a leader, shift your mindset from improving weaknesses to prioritizing strengths by focusing on building a diverse team. To do this, the authors recommend determining what outcomes you want from your team, and then figuring out how each member can help your team achieve those outcomes given their individual strengths.

How to Turn Team Members Into Team Players

The authors stress the importance of building a team whose members have complementary strengths. However, strengths alone aren’t enough to make a team successful—cooperation is important too. To build a strong, collaborative team, Patrick Lencioni says that you should coach your team members to become team players who embody three essential qualities: humility, drive, and people skills.

In The Ideal Team Player, he gives tips to help team members develop these qualities:

  • Humility: Encourage them to compliment their coworkers and to admit when they’ve made a mistake.

  • Drive: Set specific performance goals that push them to either step up or leave.

  • People skills: Make them more conscious of their behavior by immediately pointing out when they did or said something that negatively affected others.

Lie #6: “High-Potential” People Will Perform Better in the Long Run

Lie #6 (Lie #7 in the book) shows how one lie can build on another lie to create an unfair, inefficient system.

In Lie #4, we discussed how companies use performance appraisal systems to gauge employees’ competencies. From there, well-rounded team members—those who are proficient at more skills—are classified as “high potential,” while team members who exhibit weaknesses are classified as “low potential.” The authors explain that companies use this segregation as a shortcut to gauge which employees to invest in. They reason that high-potential employees, who make up about 15% of employees, will give the highest returns, so they should be rewarded with more opportunities such as training, promotions, and pay increases compared to their low-potential peers.

However, the authors argue that since performance appraisals are flawed, then the practice of classifying employees as high potential and low potential based on those appraisals is also flawed. To Buckingham and Goodall, “potential” is an abstract concept that means nothing more than the ability to learn and grow, which means that everyone has potential. Furthermore, each individual learns and grows in different areas, at different speeds—nuances that the high potential/low potential labels completely ignore. As a result, companies miss out on the unique strengths and possibilities that the so-called low-potential individuals have to offer.

(Shortform note: Classifying people as high potential and low potential not only keeps the majority of employees from learning, growing, and advancing their careers, but it may also promote unhealthy competition. In Leadership and Self-Deception, the Arbinger Institute explains that employees who are pressured to prioritize their own results may sabotage others, take satisfaction in other people’s failure, and resent other people’s success. This ultimately derails an organization’s success.)

The Truth: Everyone Has Something to Contribute

The authors say that you should stop segregating your team members based on potential and instead look at their “momentum”—their inherent strengths, what they’ve learned, and how they’ve been using these to propel them forward. By paying attention to each team member and understanding where they’re picking up speed, you can then find a way to maximize all your team members instead of just a chosen few.

Doing this requires that you throw out the appraisal form and have regular conversations with your staff to help them identify what they’re good at and what else they want to learn. From there, find ways to make those skills part of their job, so that you help them become the best professionals they can be and build a stronger team in the process.

(Shortform note: To get even more out of your team members, become a multiplier, or someone who uses their intelligence to bring out the intelligence and abilities of the people around them. In Multipliers, Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown write that such leaders are able to tap into 70-100% of their team members’ capabilities because they assume that everyone is talented (versus assuming only some employees are highly competent), full of good ideas, knowledgeable, capable of making decisions, and smart enough to work on their own. In contrast, leaders who are diminishers assume most people can’t get things done and thus end up accessing only 20-50% of their teams’ capabilities.)

Lie #7: Corrective Feedback Leads to Better Performance

As Lie #5 reveals, leaders traditionally believe that working on weaknesses leads to excellence. This means that they focus on giving team members corrective feedback to help them improve their performance. However, in this lie (Lie #5 in the book), the authors contend that negative, corrective feedback puts people on the defensive by activating their fight-or-flight response, which inhibits learning. While research suggests that negative feedback is 40 times more effective than giving no feedback at all, the authors say that delivering positive attention is much more powerful.

(Shortform note: Buckingham and Goodall address the feedback fallacy in an article for the Harvard Business Review. However, in response to this article, other experts argued that: 1) The fight-or-flight response is temporary, and recipients become more receptive to the feedback after reflection, and 2) The problem isn’t corrective feedback itself but how it’s delivered—when giving this kind of feedback, you should show empathy and a genuine desire to help team members flourish.)

The Truth: Encouragement Stimulates Learning and Growth

Buckingham and Goodall advise acknowledging what your team members are already doing well instead of pointing out how they should improve. Doing this stimulates brain growth, greater learning, and thus, better performance. Research also shows that it’s 30 times more effective than giving corrective feedback and 1,200 times more effective than giving no feedback at all.

However, giving positive attention doesn’t mean heaping on empty praise; rather, you should make it a point to observe team members to see when they produce great results, and then immediately acknowledge the specific actions that led to great outcomes.

(Shortform note: In The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath write that recognizing people in this way gives them a sense of pride, which then injects more meaning and motivation into their day-to-day life. You can motivate your team members and give them brain-stimulating positive attention by consistently recognizing their progress and celebrating their small wins.)

If a team member still insists on hearing corrective feedback, the authors recommend that you avoid defensiveness and prep their brain for learning by first asking them about what they think they’re already doing right.

(Shortform note: Take care not to fall into the trap of the “feedback sandwich”—bookending your corrective feedback with compliments. Experts say that this comes off as insincere and dilutes your message. If you’re worried about making the other person defensive, focus on the outcomes that you want from them rather than on what they’re doing wrong.)

Lie #8: Work-Life Balance Leads to Fulfillment

Another pervasive lie at work is that people should strive to attain work-life balance—to toil enough so that we can have the money to support the people and the activities we love, but not too much that we burn out. Buckingham and Goodall argue that this mindset is flawed because it implies that work drains our energy and is therefore bad, while life outside of work replenishes our energy and is therefore good.

(Shortform note: Experts contend that work itself may not drain our energy, but rather three problems at the organizational level: 1) excessive collaboration, 2) limited time-management abilities, and 3) the tendency to overload the most capable workers. Streamlining organizational structures and routines can keep employees from multitasking, help conserve their energy for the most productive tasks, and prevent burnout.)

The Truth: Doing What You Love Leads to Fulfillment

The authors say that you should change your mindset from seeking work-life balance to deliberately doing work that you love over work that you hate. This means that you should spend more time doing work that invigorates you and that gives you a sense of purpose, instead of toiling just so you can enjoy life outside of work. The authors stress that this doesn’t mean looking for a job that you love completely but incorporating what you love to do into the job you already have—they cite research that says devoting just 20% of your time to tasks that you love greatly decreases the risk of burnout. It also makes you more productive and increases your sense of purpose and fulfillment.

(Shortform note: Others contend that loving your work doesn’t make you immune to burnout—in fact, some experts say that an all-consuming love for work can lead to burnout. Those involved in purpose-driven, mission-focused work, such as non-profit employees and health care workers, are especially prone to letting their passion take over their lives. One way to prevent this from happening is to set up boundaries, making a conscious decision to switch off from work mode and resisting the urge to check your email past a certain time.)

To help you and your team members find love for your work, the authors recommend that you track the work that you do. Twice a year, spend a week categorizing your tasks into two groups: The first group should consist of the tasks that you look forward to, that you enjoy doing, that energize you, and that make time go by quickly; the second group should consist of the tasks that you tend to put off or pass on to someone else. Deliberately incorporate the tasks in the first group into your work so that they take up at least 20% of your time. Then, manage the tasks that you hate by avoiding them (if possible), combining them with something you enjoy, or working with someone to make a task less burdensome.

(Shortform note: The authors recommend evaluating what you love and what you hate twice a year, but other experts say that you should engage in continuous self-reflection and improvement. When you don’t evaluate regularly, it’s easy to fall back into old habits. Aside from taking the time to logically sort through your priorities, you should pay close attention to your emotions—negative emotions like resentment are a powerful indication that you need to make changes.)

Lie #9: Strong Leaders Follow a Leadership Formula

The last lie that the authors address is that strong leaders possess a common set of attributes, including being inspirational, strategic, and decisive. Employees who’ve shown that they have these attributes and have demonstrated well-roundedness and high potential are typically put on the fast track to leadership roles. However, the authors say that some of the greatest leaders actually lack some of the textbook leadership traits—for example, Apple’s Steve Jobs was driven, innovative, and focused, but he was also known to be impatient, petulant, and controlling. On top of that, they write that no two leaders lead the same way.

(Shortform note: Leaders may lack some abilities and qualities, but Jerry Porras and Jim Collins write in Built to Last that leaders of enduringly successful companies have one thing in common: They aren’t concerned about building their own personal brand but are instead focused on building an organization that will endure even after they’re gone.)

The Truth: Leaders Use Their Unique Strengths to Gain Followers

In reality, the authors say that leaders are simply those who have followers. They write that followers don’t follow well-rounded people who’ve acquired all the leadership traits. Instead they put their faith in someone who, though imperfect, has demonstrated mastery—an outstanding grasp of their unique strengths—who knows what they’re doing and where they’re taking the team, and who builds relationships with people to understand how to improve their day-to-day experience within a team. To this end, the authors offer only one piece of advice: Know who you are, know your strengths, and use these strengths to inspire your team to achieve greater heights.

(Shortform note: John Maxwell has a similar view, writing that leadership equals influence—having the ability to get people to follow you. In The 5 Levels of Leadership, he provides a roadmap for leadership that will enable you to increase your influence, gain more followers, and develop other leaders. He stresses that you have to move beyond “positional leadership”—being a leader only in name—by building relationships, producing results, empowering people, and finally, establishing a reputation for developing other leaders and strong organizations.)

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