The Secret Sauce

I was conducting interviews for a 360 Feedback Report, and I was struck by the deep loyalty and commitment that shown through them all. While the manager was not perfect (I had things to write about in the Improvement Section), it made no difference.  Her people said they had and would happily work for her for their entire careers.  And her organization got results.

What was her  “secret sauce?”  To answer this I went back to one of my go-to books: Marcus Buckingham’s “The One Thing You Need to Know … About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success.” I won’t be giving away the punch line if I tell you that he believes the key to great leadership is providing clarity – clarity about who the organization serves, its core strength, how success will be measured, and what actions must be taken.

As I re-read the interviews, the manager’s ability to provide this clarity was her “secret sauce.”

And why is this so powerful?  Because one of things we all share as human beings is a fear of the unknown. And a leader who can transform our fear into confidence in the future is great indeed.

So in the end, she made her people feel more secure.  How simple.  How powerful.  How lucky for them.