University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
It’s the Manager
Book

It’s the Manager

Gallup Finds that the Quality of Managers and Team Leaders Is the Single Biggest Factor in Your Organization’s Long-Term Success

Jim Clifton and Jim Harter
Gallup Press, 2019
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

Gallup CEO Jim Clifton and Gallup chief scientist Jim Harter’s extensive best-selling manual is a solid reference work on “burning issues” in HR and a worthy introduction to concerns in modern-day personnel management. New HR leaders, executives and, especially, frontline managers will benefit most from this tight, if somewhat repetitive, overview of eight decades of Gallup research. A well-organized, readable reference, it offers 200-plus pages of appendices, including access to strengths-assessment tests, adding value for those interested in a strengths-based approach to engagement and performance.  

Summary

Workplace productivity has declined.

Since 1990, new discoveries have emerged on enlightened management. Unfortunately, only a small minority of firms put these insights into practice. New techniques for developing and engaging each worker must spread widely to revitalize the world of work and the economy.

Among about 18,000 large firms in the United States – those with 500 or more employees – only about 20 practice modern personnel management. If thousands more CEOs and chief human resources officers (CHROs) developed their workers using contemporary methods, companies could put the economy back into growth mode and improve peoples’ lives.

People worldwide traditionally have sought to satisfy their primary needs for food, shelter, a good family life, and law and order. Gallup research shows that the “great global dream is to have a good job,” an ambition that surprisingly surpasses even the desire to meet primary needs – except food. Workers universally want committed leaders, decent pay, continuous learning and purpose. When companies meet employees’ needs, people become engaged...

About the Authors

Jim Clifton is chairman and CEO of Gallup and the best-selling author of Born to Build and The Coming Jobs War. Jim Harter, PhD, is a chief scientist for Gallup and has led more than 1,000 studies of workplace effectiveness. 

Comment on this summary