Page 139 - HBR's 10 Must Reads 20180 - The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review

GINO

Give employees opportunities to identify their strengths. In a
research project I conducted with Dan Cable, Brad Staats, and the
University of Michigan’s Julia Lee, leaders of national and local gov-
ernment agencies across the globe reflected each morning on their
signature strengths and how to use them. They also read descrip-
tions of times when they were at their best, written by people in
their personal and professional networks. These leaders displayed
more engagement and innovative behavior than members of a con-
trol group, and their teams performed better.

Tailor jobs to employees’ strengths. Facebook is known for
hiring smart people regardless of the positions currently open in
the company, gathering information about their strengths, and de-
signing their jobs accordingly. Another example is Osteria Frances-
cana, a Michelin three-star restaurant in Modena, Italy, that won
first place in the 2016 World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards. Most
restaurants, especially top-ranked ones, observe a strict hierarchy,
with specific titles for each position. But at Osteria Francescana,
jobs and their attendant responsibilities are tailored to individual
workers.
Discovering employees’ strengths takes time and effort. Massimo
Bottura, the owner and head chef, rotates interns through various
positions for at least a few months so that he and his team can con-
figure jobs to play to the newcomers’ strengths. This ensures that
employees land where they fit best.
If such a process is too ambitious for your organization, consider
giving employees some freedom to choose responsibilities within
their assigned roles.

Step 3: Question the Status Quo, and Encourage
Employees to Do the Same
Although businesses can benefit from repeatable practices that en-
sure consistency, they can also stimulate employee engagement and
innovation by questioning standard procedures—“the way we’ve
always done it.” Here are some proven tactics.

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