The Myth of the Well-Rounded Employee

In my experience, we spend too much of our time hunting for the "well-rounded" employee. This is the idea that your direct report must be reasonably solid at every task attempted, from time management and public speaking, to team building and subject matter expertise. The problem with this approach is that many managers often lose focus of the real goal -- driving value to the business.

Of course, I'm not saying that you turn away from the candidates who can do it all, who are able to demonstrate professional competence, emotional maturity, and whatever skill is necessary to get it done. There are amazing employees out there. I've managed some of them, and within some past roles, I've even been able to fit that description (usually just in short bursts, though).

But think about this from a different perspective for a moment: think of your business activities as a manufacturing process. Within the manufacturing space, there are different machines for each specialized task. Individually, these machines are not expected to accomplish every task, because that would be both inefficient and expensive to stop the manufacturing cycle after each component to setup and retool for the next component. You would never be able to scale. Instead, each machine works together to accomplish the shared goal.

[If you've never read The Goal by Eliyahew Goldratt, it does a much better job of describing the similarities between well-functioning team dynamics and the manufacturing process -- and it’s a great read]

Let's be clear: I'm comparing employees to machines as an allegorical point, not because I actually believe people to be machines. However, it is rare for people to excel in every category, and having a clear understanding of each individual's strengths, and then building your organization or team in a way that leverages those strengths, is a better way to build that team. This allows you to use the strengths of some to mitigate the weaknesses in others.

Another great book that touches on this topic is First, Break All the Rules by Buckingham and Coffman, which shares research and examples of organizations that have improved employee morale and retention by focusing on strengths and talent.

From a leadership standpoint, the risk (or fear) of this strategy is that you will hire two-dimensional employees who are then unable to scale and grow and retool for the next project. But that's why the other aspects of a "good manager" still apply. A manager's job is to constantly restructure and refine the team based on the business needs, and find people who are smart and capable -- and who have strengths you can use. And when people are productive and successful in their roles, they tend to learn more and grow, building onto that success.

Instead of trying to force-fit your employees into an unrealistic ideal, my advice is to get to know your direct reports individually and personally, and be very transparent with them about what the business needs and how to help them be more productive. To this end:

1. Be clear on what is to be delivered, and what is expected.
2. Hire the best people you can. Don't rely just on pedigree, but put an emphasis on experience, passion, out of the box thinking, and results.
3. Manage to people's strengths, and make it part of your team and corporate culture.
4. Augment their weaknesses by using the strengths of others. That's what a team is all about, anyway.
5. Stretch them, but don't punish them for not fitting your ideal.

At the end of the day, management is about interpreting signals, making decisions, and setting direction based on the data you have and the resources available to you. One defining trait of a great leader, however, is the ability to go beyond simply managing these pieces and utilize the full capability of your team. That's been my experience, anyway.

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