University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Creating Passion-Driven Teams
Book

Creating Passion-Driven Teams

How to Stop Micromanaging and Motivate People to Top Performance

Dan Bobinski
Career Press, 2009
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Don’t try to motivate your employees by manipulating them; be honest with them and you’ll discover that they motivate themselves. Don’t humiliate them when they make mistakes; instead, treat errors as valuable learning experiences. Don’t automatically tune staffers out when they speak; listen and you will discover a lot. Don’t hold meetings just to meet; make sure every conference has a purpose. And above all, don’t micromanage, because that drives good people out the door. This is an ample list of management “don’ts.” But what should you do to manage well? Training expert Dan Bobinski says the answer is simple: Provide the conditions that will spark passion in your people. Although his anecdotes are overly simplified and may seem contrived, getAbstract believes Bobinski presents his points persuasively. His colorful, elementary guide will give newbie supervisors and human resource managers much pause for thought.

Summary

Setting the Stage for Teamwork

Human beings have organized themselves into teams since squads of cavemen surrounded and killed wooly mammoths. The best teams are passionate about their work – and you can’t forge or force that kind of spirit. It bubbles up from within the hearts, souls and minds of team members. However, as a manager, you can create the emotional conditions from which passion will emerge. These include trust, sharing, camaraderie, commitment, common purpose and confidence. When you promote these conditions, you set the stage so that team members can work together with enthusiasm to accomplish their goals.

Every manager has a different style. Managers can be “charismatic, bureaucratic, Machiavellian, democratic, authoritarian [or] laissez-faire.” But basically, they fall into two categories: They are either “Builders” or “Climbers.” Builders want to develop the people around them, while climbers are out for themselves and don’t care what happens to others. Only builders can develop “passion-driven teams.” To become a builder, make these three commitments:

  1. Develop yourself personally and professionally.
  2. Never...

About the Author

Dan Bobinski is a training specialist, executive coach, consultant, columnist, author and keynote speaker. He is president and CEO of a leadership development and management training firm.

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