The FINANCIAL — Rob Goffee, a professor of organizational behavior and Gareth Jones, a visiting professor at Insead and a fellow of the Centre for Management Development at London Business School have been awarded second prize at the prestigious McKinsey Awards.
"In every company there exists a handful of employees whose ideas, knowledge, and skills give them the potential to produce great value. In an economy driven by ideas, attracting these smart, creative employees and leading them to achieve their fullest potential is crucial. Therein lies the problem: If these "clever people," as Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones call them, have one defining characteristic, it's that they do not want to be led." London Business School reports.
In interviewing more than 100 leaders and their highly creative employees, Goffee and Jones found that the psychological relationships between them are very different from the ones leaders have with traditional followers. Those relationships can be shaped by several characteristics that clever people share: They know how much they're needed, they are indifferent to corporate hierarchy but love intellectual status, they are well-connected, and they expect instant access to top management. Clever people flourish under benevolent guardians who understand them, not traditional bosses who try to tame them. Leaders who recognize this will watch their companies thrive.
Goffee and Jones are also the founding partners of Creative Management Associates, an organizational consulting firm in London. This is their fifth article for HBR and their second McKinsey Award.
Discussion about this post