The Best and the Rest

For leaders, it's a perennial problem: Too much to do, too little time. Too many surveys citing poor management practices.

Often, the best outcome is incremental improvement, not the kind of jump in management effectiveness that agencies need. "If I fas a manager] don't know how to prioritize, if I don't know how to look beyond my nose ... I end up putting out fires and being reactive. I can't get to the proactive mode of planning ahead," says Jim Trinka, assistant director of training and development at the FBI.

To help managers set priorities, Trinka compiled the results of recent studies on management. His goal: To identify which characteristics separate the best managers from the rest of the pack. His conclusions probably will come as little surprise. It all comes down to employee development, performance management and communication.