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The Effective Executive
Read in 18 min.
Listen in 22 min.
Learn the key ideas of the book by Peter Ferdinand Drucker

The Effective Executive

How to become an effective executive and guide your team to success

Executives are directly responsible for the success of their team and it is important to remember that management is achieved by example, rather than through words. So an executive must become an effective executive in order to improve team performance. Peter Ferdinand Drucker explains how in his book, “The Effective Executive: the Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done”. Drucker is widely considered the original world leader in management theories, and has written 30 books on the subject.

The Effective Executive
Read in 18 min.
Listen in 22 min.
IDEA CHIAVE 1/8

Executives are directly responsible for their team’s performance. So they must first become effective executives if they want to improve team results

While management books usually explain how to manage people, in The Effective Executive, a classic in its field and first published in 1966, Peter Drucker explains how executives should manage themselves. According to Drucker, management is by example rather than through words; so effective executives will be more likely to inspire effectiveness in the people working under them. He defines effectiveness as the art of “getting the right things done”, which means taking suitable action that will allow staff to perform at their best. 

Taking on a role that puts us “above” other people in terms of a professional position means, first and foremost, that we must accept responsibility for our team’s performance. When we are a team leader, we can no longer make excuses such as: “Sorry, but my colleague made a mistake”. From the moment we are given the role of executive, it is up to us to find a way to make things work, and if one of our employees does make a mistake, it won’t help to blame them anyway. In fact, it will make matters worse as this attitude psychologically robs us of control over the situation and leads us off course.

As executives, we have the capacity to make things work, but if we are to succeed, we must be proactive. If one of our employees makes a mistake, it may be better to ask ourselves a few questions. Why did it happen? How can I prevent it from happening again in the future? Which procedures could I introduce to improve the process? And last but not least: what did I do wrong? Could I improve a certain aspect that influences the entire team? For example, we could use different styles of communication with different people, trying to speak their language to make sure they will listen.

This is why Drucker explains how to manage ourselves, in order to become more effective and master the art of “getting the right things done”. He believes that effectiveness is the result of a few simple practices that anyone is able to learn, and that do not rely on innate talent or charisma.

  

The key ideas of "The Effective Executive"

01.
Executives are directly responsible for their team’s performance. So they must first become effective executives if they want to improve team results
02.
To improve our time management, we first need to analyse how we are spending our time
03.
To reduce time wasting, we should identify and remove non-productive activities, determine which activities can be delegated to others, avoid distracting others, and improve our organisation management
04.
To optimise our time, we need to create the longest “sessions” of time possible
05.
To become an effective executive, we must concentrate on a few important tasks, carry them out one at a time, and create a list of priorities and non-priorities
06.
Effective executives use a method to make good decisions and maximise their strengths and those of their team
07.
Quotes
08.
Take-home message
 
 
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