The Connector Manager:
Why Some Leaders Build Exceptional Talent – and Others Don’t
Jaime Roca, Sari Wilde
“There are four distinct types of managers. One performs much worse than the rest, and one performs far better. Which type are you? Based on a first-of-its-kind, wide-ranging global study of over 9,000 people, analysts at the global research and advisory firm Gartner were able to classify all managers into one of four types. Although the four types of managers are more or less evenly distributed, the Connector manager consistently outperforms the others by a significant margin. Meanwhile, Always-on managers tend to see their employees struggle to grow within the organization. Why is that?”
I came into this book with high expectations and maybe that’s exactly why it left me so disappointed. The premise is actually quite appealing. The idea of a connections manager is something I genuinely resonate with (probably because I already see myself as one, haha). But sadly, the delivery didn’t live up to its potential.
The writing just wasn’t engaging. I found myself constantly losing focus, struggling to stay interested, and even more so, struggling to understand what the author was trying to say. It felt clunky and under-edited, lacking the clarity and momentum that a good nonfiction book needs to keep the reader turning pages.
There were a few nuggets of interest, and the concept itself has merit. But the depth just wasn’t there. There were some stories included, but not enough, and most of them lacked context or explanation about how they were relevant. If you’re hoping for actionable strategies on how to become a connections manager, you won’t find them here. The main takeaway seemed to be to hire people who naturally have these traits. Not exactly the most insightful conclusion.
Overall, it felt like the kind of content that would have been better suited as a long-form blog post, something skimmable with links to reflective questions or external resources. As a full-length book, it simply didn’t have structure or substance to justify the format. 3 stars. A nice concept but not enough depth to make it worth the time.
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