Gartner ReimagineHR Conference

28 – 30 October 2019 / Orlando, FL

The Connector Manager:

Why Some Leaders Build
Exceptional Talent —
And Others Don’t
Jaime Roca
Sari Wilde

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Tectonic Shifts in How We Work Today

1 2 3

Organizational Work is more Work is

shifts interdependent less predictable

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Employees Missing Key Skills
Employee Proficiency in Most Important Skills for Their Current Jobs

70% have not mastered

their current role

42%

27%
20%
6%
3%
1% 2%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Lower Skill Proficiency Highest
n = 7,101 employees.
Source: CEB 2018 Shifting Skills Survey.
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Managers Wanted for Continuous Coaching

More than 70% of HR

Executives believe that
Millennials want feedback
managers should get more
50% more often than
involved in coaching
other employees.
employees compared to
three years ago.

n = 7,309 employees.
Source: “Millennials Want to Be Coached at Work,” Harvard Business Review.
Source: “Managers: Millennials Want Feedback, but Won’t Ask for It,” Gallup.
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Managers Failing

Confidence Crisis Time Crisis

45% of managers
lack confidence
36%
to develop the 9%
skills employees Percentage of their Percentage of their
need today time HR thinks time managers
managers should actually spend
spend developing their developing their
direct reports direct reports

n = 7,309 employees; 225 heads of L&D.

Source: CEB 2017 Head of L&D Manager Effectiveness Survey; CEB 2017 Manager Effectiveness Survey.
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It All Started With One Single, Simple Question

What are the best managers

doing to coach and develop in today’s
work environment?

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Our Two-Year Study in Brief

10,000+ Employees
10,000+ Employees

5,000+
5,000+ Managers
Managers

100+ Companies
100+ Companies

Two Major Findings

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Finding 1: Every Manager Falls Into a Profile

Teacher Always On Cheerleader Connector

“I develop my “I provide “I enable my “I introduce my

employees using continuous employees to employees to the
my expertise coaching and take their right people for their
and experience.” feedback across a development into development needs.”
breadth of skills.” their own hands.”

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 Poll: What do you
think is your
manager’s
typical approach?

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Finding 1: Every Manager Falls Into a Profile

Teacher Always On Cheerleader Connector

“I develop my “I provide “I enable my “I introduce my

employees using continuous employees to employees to the
my expertise coaching and take their right people for their
and experience.” feedback across a development into development needs.”
breadth of skills.” their own hands.”

Managers distributed almost

equally across the profiles

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Finding 2: One Harms, One Boosts Performance

Maximum impact on employee performance given manager

approaches to coaching and development

Improves Employee Performance 26%

7% 9%

Always On

Teacher Cheerleader Connector

8%
Connector managers triple the likelihood
Degrades Employee Performance that their direct reports are high performers
n = 7,309 employees.
Source: CEB 2017 Manager Effectiveness Survey.
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 Why Doesn’t the
Always-On
Approach Work?

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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers need to spend

more time coaching

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Reality: More Coaching Doesn’t Lead to
Better Performance
Employee Performance Versus Hours of Manager Coaching per Month

There is no significant relationship

between employee performance
and manager’s time spent
developing employees.
Performance
Employee

Trend Line

Hours of Manager
Coaching per Month
n = 7,309 employees.
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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers need to spend

more time coaching

Result:
Feedback Overload
Providing frequent feedback
can be disengaging,
disabling and hard to apply

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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers know best

Managers need to spend
what their employees need to
more time coaching
be successful

Result:
Feedback Overload
Providing frequent feedback
can be disengaging, disabling
and hard to apply

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Reality: Managers Don’t Always Know What
Employees Need
Most Managers Do Not Understand Employees’ Work

Only 18% of employees

think their manager
understands their work

n = 7,309 employees.
Source: CEB 2017 Manager Effectiveness Survey.
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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers know best

Managers need to spend
what their employees need to
more time coaching
be successful

Result: Result: Missing

Feedback Overload Employee Relevance
Providing frequent feedback Managers give feedback that’s
can be disengaging, disabling not relevant to employees’
and hard to apply real needs

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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers are always the

Managers know best
Managers need to spend best source to provide
what their employees need to
more time coaching coaching and feedback to
be successful
their employees

Result: Result: Missing

Feedback Overload Employee Relevance
Providing frequent feedback Managers give feedback that’s
can be disengaging, disabling not relevant to employees’
and hard to apply real needs

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Reality: Managers Unequipped to Coach
on Key Skills
Managers Not Developing Employees for the Right Skills

36% of employees
agree their manager helps
them develop the skills they
need for their future career

n = 7,309 employees.
Source: CEB 2017 Manager Effectiveness Survey.
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Management Myths Misleading Us to Always On

Managers are always the

Managers know best
Managers need to spend best source to provide
what their employees need to
more time coaching coaching and feedback to
be successful
their employees

Result: Result: Missing Result:

Feedback Overload Employee Relevance Inaccurate Guidance
Providing frequent feedback Managers give feedback that’s Managers give feedback on
can be disengaging, disabling not relevant to employees’ topics they’re not familiar with
and hard to apply real needs and lead employees astray

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 What’s
Different About
Connectors?

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Connectors Make Three Connections

The Employee The Team The Organization

Connection Connection Connection

Really get to know Make development Ensure better — not just

your employees a team sport more — connections

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Connectors Make Three Connections

The Employee The Team The Organization

Connection Connection Connection

Really get to know Make development Ensure better — not just

your employees a team sport more — connections

Coach the person,

not the problem.

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An Almost Impossible Role

Ali Kaplow

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Action: Ask Powerful Connector Questions

Building Trust: Developing Solutions:

• How can I support you? • What could we have
done differently?
Understanding the
Employee Context:
• What is your perception of [X
Understanding an Employee’s
situation, problem] and how do you
Readiness (Ask Yourself)
think that differs from
others’ perceptions? • To what degree has the employee
mastered their role?

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Connectors Make Three Connections

The Employee The Team The Organization

Connection Connection Connection

Really get to know Make development Ensure better — not just

your employees a team sport more — connections

Ritualize peer-to-peer
development.

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Kitchen Nightmares

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Connector in the Kitchen

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Action: Each One Teach One

Teammates share skills they would be willing to teach to others

Name Skill to be shared Who would like to learn this skill?

John Developing Budgets Kathryn, Adam

Kathryn Effective Power Point Presentations Adam, John
Adam Data Communication Paula
Paula Building Excel Spreadsheets Kathryn, John

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Connectors Make Three Connections

The Employee The Team The Organization

Connection Connection Connection

Really get to know Make development Ensure better — not just

your employees a team sport more — connections

Help employees
connect to and learn
from the right individuals
for their development.

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Benevolent Outsiders

Pranav Vora

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Network Connection vs. Connector Connection

Good Better

I have let Alex know you may reach out

to learn about X. In advance of your
Why don’t you reach out to Alex —
meeting, let’s discuss what questions
I think you could learn a lot …
you plan to ask and let’s reconnect
afterward to discuss what you learned.

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Action: Identify Warm-Up and Cool-Down Questions

Warm-Up Questions Cool-Down Questions

• What was your biggest take-away

• What is the goal of this connection?
from the experience?

• What thoughtful questions have • What will you do

you prepared? differently tomorrow?

• How will you keep track of what

• What surprised you most?
you’re learning from these sessions?

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Who Is the Connector
and What Do They Do?

Source: Gartner.
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The Rescue of the Wild Boars

Asking Powerful
The Employee
Questions of Thai
Connection
Navy Divers

The Team Building a “Dream

Connection Rescue Team”

Connecting
The Organization
Dr. Richard Harris
Connection
With Rescue Team
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Better Questions for HR Leaders

How much time should managers How should managers

spend coaching and providing reprioritize their coaching and
feedback to employees? development behaviors?

How do we get managers to

How do we get managers to provide targeted coaching and
provide continuous coaching? connect employees with better
coaching connections?

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Recommendations

Assess current manager population against Connector

manager behaviors.
Ensure that manager communications and solutions do not promote the
Always-on approach.
Identify ways to build Connector manager’s behavioral indicators into
hiring guides, development programs and communications.
Set expectations for managers, senior leaders and employees about their
roles in creating a Connector company.
Identify ways that you can change your own approach to become a
Connector manager.
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Gartner Recommended Reading

 Quiz: What Type of Manager Are You?

 Infographic: Meet the Connector Manager
 Business Case for Building Connector Managers
 Pre-Management Experiences Matter: Preparing Managers to be
Connectors
(190168)
 Are Some Managers More Inclusive?
(705947)
 The Connector Manager Genome: 9 Data-Driven Findings on the Connector
Manager Approach
(706746)
For information, please contact your Gartner representative.
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