When Joe Whittinghill came into his role as general manager for talent, learning, and insight at Microsoft, the tech giant’s leadership model was characteristically thorough. There were eight competencies leaders needed to succeed, 10 behaviors that marked inclusive diversity, five things employees had to do in order to flourish, and over 100 skills you needed to train on, depending on your profession. These components “were not memorable,” Whittinghill said. “They were exhaustive.”
Tell Employees What You Want Them to Strive for (in as Few Words as Possible)
Pithy priorities are more memorable.
February 22, 2018
Summary.
In 2016, Microsoft revamped their comprehensive leadership priorities into a simple, six-word phrase: Create clarity, generate energy, and deliver success. This short, memorable list turned out to be far more effective than their previous endless lists of competencies, behaviors, and skills for leaders to focus on. In this piece, the author discusses the advantages of developing a memorable, pithy set of guidelines, arguing that the more concise your leadership principles, the more effectively your people can put them into action.
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New!
HBR Learning
Leading People Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Leading People. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
What you need to know about being in charge.