What we believe about our people and what we know about them will often determine what we get out of them.

There’s no doubt we’re all different so getting the best out of others is most certainly not a ‘one size fits all’ exercise.

Getting know our people, their likes, their dislikes, their motivation, their personal beliefs and values will at least give us some clues as to how best we might interact with them and manage them. We also need to understand that different circumstances and different situations will often necessitate a different approach, so there’s another dynamic for skilful managers to get their heads round!

The expectations we have of others will also determine how much we get from them. Believe they’re limitations and guess what…they won’t disappoint! As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’ll be right”. Actually, we believe that all people are more capable than most people give them credit for; we just have to find the right keys to unlock that potential.

Oh, and one other belief about people; no-one comes to work deliberately to do a bad job. Unless, the ranks of the employed are riddled with people determined to carry out organisational sabotage then no. We think everyone actually wants to do a good job, find out what it takes and you can be sure they will. We all love showing off or put another way, doing the things we’re good at. It’s just that sometimes managers don’t take the time and effort to find out what that really is.

Exploitation can be a rather emotive word but just maybe we should be looking to exploit the strengths of our people rather than seek out their weaknesses?