Learn what makes people tick to get the best from them
Tony Arnel believes it is important for leaders of a high-performing organisation to understand not only themselves but also what makes others tick. In one of his first roles, he encountered a boss with a fierce temper who ran an unhealthy command/control-style organisation. That style resulted in people being unwilling to take risks or exercise their initiative because they feared the repercussions of making a mistake.
The workplace lacked creativity, and people did not operate at their best. His bad-tempered boss did not understand how his behaviour affected people around him or that he could get more rewarding results if he invested in people.
As his career advanced, Tony moved into a much larger organisation and to his delight, he found an active HR department that invested in developing people. He became fascinated with the idea of personality types. It was not something he had encountered when studying architecture at university. Recognising that every person is unique, understanding the differences in the way people perceive and judge the world, excited him.
Tony completed an advanced leadership program at Oxford University that exposed him to examples of leaders who inspired people to greater performance. He observed that these successful leaders practised a more empathetic approach. They were self-aware in the sense that they understood the impact of their behaviour on the people surrounding them. He developed his own leadership playbook, which started with selecting the best people with which to work. Then he needed to help develop people and take a personal interest in their career if he wanted to keep them. Over time Tony became convinced that leading people required an understanding of each person.
Tony has learned through experience that understanding people is critical to success. He knows one size does not fit all. Figure out what works for this individual and the next one . . . and so on. That is how you bring people along.
These leadership insights from Tony Arnel are outlined in more detail in the new book, which Dean Phelan and I co-authored – The Gentle Art of Leadership. The perspectives we gathered from our interviews with 50+ leaders from around the globe and the original research we drew on, form the basis of the book. Purchase your copy using the link in the comments below.
🙋♀️ How important is to discover what makes people tick in your experience? 🙋
Best regards, Brian
PS: If you would like to learn more about what makes people tick then please get in touch to see if the next Personality and Behaving Transactionally Program could be right for you. https://donovanleadership-8164591.hs-sites.com/discover-your-inner-superhero-in-2025
