Managing Business Outside of the Box

Susan Boyle, a very ordinary, plain woman from Britain, landed a chance to show the world her incredible gift, and became an overnight singing sensation despite the odds stacked against her. The reason was not a lack of opportunities, a lack of education or a lack of motivation, it was the way she looked. When she walked out onto the world stage, everyone expected a voice that matched her appearance - plain, almost homely - and before she opened her mouth, the audience had already written her off. She proved them wrong, and to the shock of the world, belted out an intensely beautiful song.

There is a huge lesson here, right?

Peter Bregman, from Harvard Business Publishing thought so too. In April 2009, he published a blog post titled "Susan Boyle: A Lesson in Talent Management" in which he reviewed a study conducted by a couple of graduates from the University of Pennsylvania's Applied Positive Psychology Program. The study analyzed the effects of positive re-enforcement management techniques in business and found that managers who provided frequent recognition and encouragement to employees had a 31% increase in productivity. Pretty significant.

Harvard Business Publishing took the idea of positive re-enforcement a bit further by suggesting that the difference between good and great managers, is their ability to recognize the unique talents and abilities of an employee and harnessing it by creating a specific role for them to use it. Peter wrote, "Great managers remove the obstacles that prevent their employees from unleashing their talent. And they make sure each employee has the right opportunities, the right stage, the right audience, to be fully appreciated." In other words, they think outside of the box.

The Lesson? Don't judge a book by its cover and take the time to notice and encourage the talents of your employees, even if it doesn't fall within their "job description." Think outside of the box, and you may end up with a star-studded team.

How does this apply to email management? It doesn't - not really - but we were so inspired by the concept, we felt it necessary to share. How do you think outside the box?