Making Your Garden Grow

The jacket cover alone gave me enough inspiration so that if I had to tell you everything you need to know about Erika Andersen's new book, Growing Great Employees: Turning Ordinary People into Extraordinary Performers, I would have done my job. But since I also have the book the book as well (fortunately, that's standard practice when publishers, authors, and publicists send out copies . . . ) I can really give you the goods on this great new title.
    But first, the basics. Anderson tells us that "listening is your most powerful asset." Haven't I been preaching that for months? She admonishes, "Everything you know about interviewing is wrong." Anderson asserts that "Successful companies hire for keeps," and that "Great leaders surround themselves with the best." Pretty sound advice and information, but does her book offer the strategies and inspiration you'll need to achieve what she says can happen? I think so.
    One of the reasons people are unhappy at work (drum roll, please, because you've never heard about this, I'm sure . . . ) is not only that they may not like what they're doing but also they lack direction. When you don't know why you're doing something that, too, can be a source of frustration and worry. In some cases, it's demoralizing as well. But how hard could it be to give people direction? Many of the people in charge at companies report that managing people is the hardest parts of their jobs. We all know where that can lead, right? Either the manager becomes committed to learning how to manage or he/she ignores that part of the job altogether. The sad aspect of this is that the people reporting to the ineffectual manager often remain mum, reluctant to voice their need for direction for any number of reasons, one of which is fear of reprisal, but that's another post . . .
    So Andersen has some ways to combat this complaint by managers who may dream of people managing themselves but know better.
    Something tells me that in addition to consulting with companies on how to grow their businesses Andersen likes to garden. Indeed, she turns to a garden metaphor to demonstrate how a manager can be successful. If you're rolling your eyes, I'm going to guess (with all due respect) that you probably would learn something valuable here. Often, it is what bugs us the most that is requiring some attention in our own, right?
    So, as a manager, Andersen asks, "How do you make your garden grow?" Next time, I'll share her five essential strategies. In the meantime, ask yourself, first, if you consider it your job to help your employees develop. Next, think about just how much time you're willing to put into this effort. Next, determine whether or not you're getting enough direction. Often, if we're not getting what we need on the job, we're certainly not going to have what it takes to provide it to others.