The Effective Manager

3Teachable and Sustainable Tools

You've probably noticed that I haven't talked yet about the core Manager Tools: One On Ones (O3s), Feedback, Coaching, and Delegation. That's because you don't need to use our tools to become a great manager.

You don't need to use our One-On-One, Feedback, Coaching, or Delegation Tools in order to achieve great results and retain your team. Our tools, delineated in this book, as well as our podcasts and our work with clients all over the world, aren't the only way to achieve the four critical behaviors: Know Your People, Talk about Performance, Ask for More, and Push Work Down.

Put differently, you may be able to achieve the four key behaviors in your own way, with techniques you've developed on your own over the course of your career. You don't “have” to use our One-On-One Tool to get to know your people. You don't “have” to use our Feedback Tool to talk about performance, and so forth.

If you've got your own way, and you're achieving the four critical behaviors, leading to great results and team member retention, you're good to go. Almost. Unfortunately, it's not quite enough to use the four critical behaviors and achieve your two fundamental responsibilities.

However you manage, your techniques, behavior, and philosophy must be both teachable to others and sustainable.

What does this mean? It means that you have to be able to teach others how to do what you do, and you have to be able to continue to apply those same teachable behaviors and ...