19 Top Takeaways from “It’s the Manager”

The workplace has been going through extraordinary historical change over the last few decades. So why hasn’t management kept up? Why has the role of managers remained largely unchanged over the past 30 years?

One of the most impactful books I’ve read, It’s the Manager: Moving From Boss to Coach, aims to answer these questions. The book delves into how leaders and coaches can successfully adapt their organizations to keep up with the rapidly changing nature of work.

This renowned book is based on the largest ever global study on the future of work. It covers over 30 years of research on 60 million workers across 49 industries and 73 countries. The book answers questions like: How can our workplaces successfully adapt to manage remote employees, an increasingly diverse workforce, and the rise of AI and gig workers, all while attracting and maintaining top talent? And who is the most important person in your organization that can lead your team through all of these challenges? Hint: The answer to that one can be found in the book’s title.

It’s the Manager is written by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter. Clifton is the Chairman and CEO of Gallup, a bestselling author, and the creator of the Gallup World Poll, which is designed to give the world’s 7 billion citizens a voice in every key global issue. Dr. Harter is the Chief Scientist at Workplace for Gallup, and a bestselling author who has led more than 1,000 studies of workplace effectiveness. Clifton and Harter are experts on all things future of work, and they know how to give employees what they want most: a great job and a great life.

One of our fundamental beliefs at 1Huddle is that a job is about more than just a paycheck. A job is about dignity, self-respect, and a sense of purpose. And young workers entering the workforce today value one thing above all else: finding a job with a clear mission and purpose. They want to be coached by mission-driven managers who inspire them and help develop them both personally and professionally. It’s the Manager is a great book because it does more than just talk about how to improve our workplaces. It shows us how managers can take steps towards become great coaches and how organizations can increase employee engagement by defining their mission and purpose.

Ready to find out the keys to success in the future of work? Read on for my top highlights from It’s the Manager. It’s packed millions of studies into one book, and I’ve managed to turn it into 19 top highlights every leader needs to know.

Here they are:

My top three highlights: 

1. The single most profound finding in 80 years is that 70% of a team’s engagement is determined solely by the manager.
2. Only 15% of employees are engaged at work.
3. If an employee gets daily feedback from their manager, they are three times more likely to be engaged.

All of my highlights:

• The most serious short-term problems in our workforce today are: Declining economic dynamism and declining productivity per capita.
• Our failure is in failing to maximize human potential.
• Only 22% of people strongly feel that their organizations have a clear direction.
• 27% of employees believe in their company’s values.
• If you were to double the percentage of employees who believe in their company’s values, then you would drop absentee-ism by 34%, you would drop safety incidents by 42%, and you would increase overall quality of work performed by 19%.
• 21% of people strongly agree their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do great work.
• The cost of poor management and lack of productivity by disengaged employees is $1.2 trillion in the U.S. and $7 trillion globally.
• Organizations overlook established scientific findings. They appear to be swept away by performance management fads. Only 26% of employees say manager feedback helps them work better.
• “If leaders were to prioritize one action, Gallup suggests they equip managers to become coaches.”
• Only 1 in 3 managers strongly agree they had opportunities to learn and grow in the last year, despite billions being spent on manager development.
• 75% of full time employees say the ability to check in on their mobile phones outside of working hours has proved to be a positive development.
• 61% of people think companies should be responsible for re-training their workers.
• “Jobs of the future require creativity and the ability to learn quickly. Organizations need to get much better and fast at developing people.”
• Only 3 in 10 U.S. workers strongly agree that there is someone at work who encourages their development.
• When customer engagement increases, so do sales.
• Engaged customers buy more frequently, spend more per transaction, and pay a higher margin.

These are my top highlights from It’s the Manager, which is also one of the most popular games in 1Huddle’s on-demand Game Shop.

If you don’t have access to the Game Shop but still want to play the game, then email me at sam@1huddle.co. Tell me your favorite highlight from this article and why, and I will send you access to the It’s the Manager Game.

Already a client? Then just head over to the Game Shop to add It’s the Manager to your game library today. Once it’s added, your team can be playing in minutes!