BY ALISON DAVIS @ALISONBDAVIS

The more you focus on what your team members need, the more successfully
you'll manage them

Shared: From your friends TechAutoCareers.com® the online resource for the
Automotive Sales Consultant

I'm sure you're a regular reader of Us Weekly, that important chronicle of culture
and celebrity. But in case you missed the last issue, I'll refresh your memory
about a feature called "Celebrities: They're Just Like Us!" The section shows
photographs of celebs doing ordinary tasks like walking the dog or shopping for
paper towels.

Or, as Us describes the section, "They may live in the spotlight, but stars like
Beyonce, Jennifer Garner and Drew Barrymore have no problem doing every
day tasks. In fact, they're just like Us!"

Sure they are. In any case, I was reminded of this when I received an email
offering a free download of a new ebook, "How to Think Like A CEO" by David
Grossman. The premise is that you can be more successful by understanding
how CEOs think and what they care about.

This may be true about some things, but not about motivating and engaging your
team members. On this point, CEOs are not "just like us" and if you try to CEO-ify
your engagement efforts, you run the risk of turning people off.

For example, because leaders deal with complex issues, they tend to advocate
for communication that's comprehensive and connects all the dots. Most
employees, of course, prefer simple, straightforward communication that quickly
conveys what's changing and "what it means to me."

In almost every other category, CEOs are very different from the rest of
employees throughout the organization, especially those who work in such
functions as manufacturing, retail, call centers and transportation.

Here's proof. Earlier this year, Harvard Business Review analyzed profiles of
leaders in the top 10 roles of Fortune 100 companies. Here are some of their
findings, which illustrate how CEOs

*30% are "lifers," meaning they've worked at the same company their whole
career.

*The average number of years they've spent with their current employer: 16.9.

*65% of leaders in 2011 held graduate degrees.

*24% of those with MBAs went to Ivy League schools.

*Despite efforts to diversify senior leadership, most executives (83%) are still
men.

*Average age? For male executives, 54.8. (51.6 for women.)

Fascinating, isn't it? Compare these demographics with those of your own
leaders--and with those of your team members. You'll see that, while it certainly
helps to understand the CEO in order to manage up, thinking like the CEO is not
helpful to motivate employees to do their best work.
Sorry, Beyonce.

What do you think? Is this something you can benefit from or do you have a few
tricks up your sleeve that are just as powerful? Make your voice heard by leaving
a comment below. Don’t forget to hit the share button if you know others who will
find this post useful.

I.C. Collins ~ Author, Educator, Trainer and President: Has One Simple Goal:
Improve a Million Automotive Sales Consultants Lives with our ebook "How to
Succeed in the Automotive Sales Industry"

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