Chess Vs. Checkers Players In Management
Good management and managers are centric to business success. Successful people management is the core of managers' responsibility, and at the heart of that success lies the manager's appreciation. That doesn't mean it is the only skill a manager needs. They still need to hire well, set expectations, drive performance, and interact productively with their superiors, to name a few. However, they need to play chess instinctively.
Marcus Buckingham pictured the average manager as the checker player, a management style where all pieces look the same and move the same way, while a great manager is the chess player where each piece is different, and to win, you need to know how each piece moves. The ability to distinguish what is unique about each individual and capitalize on it to drive performance. It is what sets great managers from others.
The mediocre managers would paint all employees with the same brush considering them to be motivated by the same thing and driven by the same goals, that they'll desire the same kind of relationship and learn in the same way. It is a management style where a manager's role is to transform each employee into the perfect version of the function.
In contrast, great managers don't push the knight to move the same way as the bishop. They understand that individual traits are enduring and resistant to change. They invest their time knowing how to capitalize on employee's strengths and how best to incorporate them into the overall plan.
THEN, WHAT GREAT MANAGERS DO?
Marcus answered this question in his book The One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success. Great managers get to know individual strengths, triggers that activate those strengths, and the skill of understanding employee learning style.
