Ben Means Business

Recently I was able to do some reading and came across an excellent book. It is about the factors that affect the effectiveness of leaders. I found a lot of very interesting points in this book. However, I will only give small bits of the content so as to allow the authors to receive their due.

Nonetheless, one of the main points of The Carrot Principle was to identify which factors actually affect employee performance, engagement, and satisfaction. The authors believe that all leaders should strive to create what they call a "carrot culture." In a "carrot culture" all employees should first be able to answer the following questions:

1) What's important around here?
2) How can I make a difference?
3) What's in it for me when I do make a difference?

This kind of culture only becomes possible if management is leading in a way that is conducive to that type of environment. Of course, we all know that this very rarely happens. Unfortunately, for every good manager there is a bad one (See post titled "Managing By Force"). But there are four factors of leadership that all good managers apply very well. They are:

1) Goal Setting

2) Open Communication

3) Trust

4) Accountability

After showing some pretty in depth research as proof, the point was made that "recognition" is the accelerator to these four factors. The book's explanation of how the accelerator should be applied to these basic factors is absolutely brilliant. They supported their application theory with a metaphorical graphic that I will not duplicate here on this blog (for sake of infringement) but will share with other managers every chance I get.

If you are serious about becoming a great leader, this is definitely a book worth reading. Check out The Carrot Principle. I want to hear your feedback on the book also. Leave your comments...