The Connector Manager

Jan 12, 2025 7:39 AM

Author:Jaime Roca,Sari Wilde

The best managers work smarter, not harder

After conducting a unique global study of over 9,000 people, analysts at the world-leading sales research firm Gartner identified four distinct types of manager. Incredibly, they found one type consistently performs far better than the rest, and it wasn’t the one they were expecting.

Connector Managers understand that it’s not enough for managers to just encourage and teach employees themselves, and that providing constant coaching to employees can actually be detrimental to their independent development. Instead, by connecting employees to others in the team or organisation, Connector Managers can help their employees develop a range of skills beyond their own areas of expertise.

Although the four types of managers are more or less evenly distributed, employees with Connector Managers perform significantly better than others. Employees with Always-on Managers who provide constant feedback and coaching perform significantly worse.

Drawing on their ground-breaking data-driven research, as well as in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with thousands of managers, you’ll discover what behaviours define Connector Managers and how you can use them yourself to build brilliant, powerhouse teams.

Reviews

A compelling case for why old-school, top-down management simply doesn’t work anymore—any aspiring or seasoned leader can learn something from this book.

—— Laszlo Bock, Co-founder and CEO of Humu, Former SVP of People Operations at Google, Author of Work Rules!

This book shows how to get the most of your people by connecting them — to each other and to new opportunities. If you’re looking to do less and accomplish more, The Connector Manager is your roadmap.

—— Daniel H. Pink, author of When, To Sell Is Human, and Drive

A much-needed re-examination of management – every manager should read this aspirational and actionable book.

—— Amy C. Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, author of The Fearless Organization

Delivers a death blow to conventional management wisdom, arguing with convincing data that always-on feedback isn’t just unproductive, but counterproductive. The better approach? Diagnose team member needs and connect employees with experts and resources who can really deliver the targeted development they need to succeed. A hugely engaging book that will make even the most seasoned leaders and management gurus question what they preach.

—— Matt Dixon, Chief Product & Research Officer at Tethr, co-author of The Challenger Sale

A great boss recognizes that he's not the expert on everything, and that his team's skills and talents are often greater than his own. How can he harness and grow those talents for maximum effectiveness? The Connector Manager offers a compelling answer.

—— Sydney Finkelstein, Steven Roth Professor of Management at Dartmouth College, author of Superbosses and Why Smart Executives Fail

In today’s complex world, connections are more critical than ever. The Connector Manager uses data, insight, and stories to create a compelling case for why the best leaders leverage critical connections to build their teams. This book is a great resource to enable a high-performing team.

—— Michael Arena, former Chief Talent Officer at GM and author of Adaptive Space

We teach our students that management can be a noble profession, and The Connector Manager provides a road map to that ambition. By describing the ways that that such managers can have an outsize impact on their employees, their teams, and their entire organizations, the authors are really showing us how great managers can change the world.

—— Derek van Bever, Senior Lecturer and Director at The Forum for Growth & Innovation, Harvard Business School

The Connector Manager is a rare "Ah Ha" book. You'll be privy to the surprising practices of a small pool of managers who are exceptional talent developers. What's more important is that you will learn the steps to becoming one yourself...and with remarkable efficiency in your busy day.

—— Jay A. Conger, co-author, The High Potential's Advantage

The Connector Manager teaches leaders how to use the power of connections for development. It’s a fantastic read that is both aspirational and actionable for leaders today.

—— Rob Cross, Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership at Babson College, author of The Hidden Power of Social Networks

This witty, timely book reminds us that every industry is human-made and for all our faults -- the ability to bullshit being one of them -- we are an incredibly innovative, diverse, collaborative and sociable species, capable of amazing things when we work together. This is a reassuringly optimistic message and a counterpoint to the fear that machine intelligence will dehumanise business.

—— Grow Magazine, Facebook

This is truly life changing. It should be standard issue to every teenager

—— Tamsin Blanchard, The Guardian

A handy guide

—— Financial Times Business Book of the Month

How to successfully apply for a job

—— The Times

Valuable advice in this challenging time to be starting out in the world of work

—— Sarah Brown, host, Better Angels

Succinct and topical advice

—— The Mancunion

Enriching on a personal level as much as a professional one. Honest, humorous, and humbling

—— Pi

Witty moments of funny personal stories and serious helpful tips

—— Epigram

Exhaustively reviews the research not on how to influence others but on how to make people ready to be influenced . . . Compelling.

—— Wall Street Journal

Robert Cialdini is perhaps the foremost expert on effective persuasion . . . The book provides a vast catalogue of research and techniques, many of them marketing related.

—— Harvard Business Review

[Both a] work of cutting-edge scholarship and an insightful guide to the strange working of the human mind, Pre-Suasion packs a good punch for business leaders who want to understand their customers.

—— Belfast Book Review

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