Adrian Gostick Quotes

My parents were my first bosses - they gave me my moral compass, goals, and first recognition. My dad worked 25 years for Rolls Royce in England. He taught me the value of working someplace where you can make a difference - not chasing money but doing work that you found purposeful.

Great leaders in our study treated their people like partners in the organization. That meant they created for their people a sense of connection by teaching them how their jobs impact the larger organization. And they showed them growth opportunities, how they can grow and develop with the company.

I was able to study 50 years of leadership theory and practicum in my master's program at Seton Hall, and it has provided the backbone of the knowledge we use every day. My undergraduate work was in journalism, and my early work as a newspaper reporter taught me how to research, write, and rewrite.

As human beings we have a tendency to filter out information that does not match up with our preconceived beliefs, including the supremacy of our organization.

Every leader can get more passion, ingenuity and energy from their people, and every employees wants to feel connected to a great cause. When this works, it really is amazing to see.

Managers should understand there are some simple things they can do tomorrow that will make a big difference in their culture, but so few managers do them.

Some leaders want to jump right to planning and fixing their issues, without understanding exactly what the problems are. Others want to skip the training phase since it means pulling people out of their jobs. The point is, each phase is important to enhancing culture and driving real change.

We are hearing more and more from our clients, they want to know how to build not only a great corporate culture, but effective cultures in each of their smaller teams.

Managers focus on short-term goals versus opportunities or challenges coming down the road.

I think that many managers we meet do take their roles as leaders very seriously and do a lot for their people. And they try to hone their skills by reading books and attending training. But then again, the number one problem is we get busy. We tend to forget that collectively we can accomplish more than we could ever do alone, and we need our people to feel a part of a positive, productive culture.

The celebration of one success launches a thousand more.