Karen Gately - The People Managers Tool Kit: A Practical Guide to Getting the Best From People

Preface

Many years ago I found myself disillusioned by what I saw in the world of business. Everywhere I went I observed corporate carnage; lifeless people simply going through the motions, turning up to work each day to endure yet another painful experience of earning a dollar. It was and remains common for me to observe unhappy people slogging through their work life with little or no passion for what they do. Just as common are those unfortunate souls whose wellbeing I have seen jeopardised by the consequences of poor leadership.

For a long time it has seemed obvious to me that when people are unhappy at work, everyone loses. This means not only the individuals themselves but also their employer, the people paying them and hoping they will realise their full potential in their work. Then there are the people around them, their colleagues and their family members, who are also more often than not affected by their attitudes, behaviours and state of wellbeing.

Standing at a crossroads in my work life, I felt I had two choices: I could retreat and follow an easier path removed from the nasty realities of business, or I could stay the course and find a way to make a difference. The spark of hope I felt at that time was fuelled by the people I had witnessed who were enriched by success and happiness at work. My own experience of loving my job and the people I worked with inspired me to want to help others to find that in their life. I recall thinking that surely if everyone was passionate about and deeply engaged with their work and organisation, the world would be better off for it. This belief underpinned the decision I made to work hard to influence the strength of the human spirit through great leadership in business.

This book, together with my first book, The Corporate Dojo: Driving extraordinary results through spirited people , are one part of my efforts to act on that decision. What drives me, however, isnt just a desire to positively influence the quality of peoples lives. The many years I have spent working with people has convinced me that the human spirit is the key to achieving outstanding results that is, results that generate not only more money for shareholders but also positive outcomes for communities and environments in which businesses operate. With more people with a strong spirit we will have more kindness, better decisions, and greater tolerance, forgiveness and understanding in the world.

Leveraging deep reserves of positive energy to drive business performance is unquestionably commercially smart. To me it seems logical that energised and capable people purposefully doing smart things really well will produce better results. My aim in The People Managers Toolkit is to guide you towards achieving outstanding commercial results while at the same time making a positive difference to the lives of the people you lead, their families and the communities within which they live and work.

Happy reading!

Karen Gately

July 2013

About the author

Karen Gately is a passionate optimist with an unwavering belief in the power of the human spirit. A speaker, adviser and educator in the fields of human performance and leadership, Karen brings a fresh perspective to the art of being a successful manager. With her focus on leveraging both talent and energy, Karen shows leaders how to drive performance through inspiring, results-based leadership.

In this and her first book, The Corporate Dojo , Karen presents a compelling argument for why focusing on both results and people is critical to success. Karen does away with ambiguous concepts and arms leaders with realistic strategies and practical solutions. Her pragmatic, uncomplicated and down to earth approach sets her apart from many other commentators in her field.

Throughout her corporate leadership career, Karen has worked in client service, strategy and planning as well as quality-management roles. After eight years with The Vanguard Group, where she was the head of human resources for the AsiaPacific region, Karen founded Ryan Gately, an HR consultancy based in Melbourne, Australia. Together with her team, Karen works with organisations large and small across a broad range of industries to support them in building and leveraging talented and energised teams.

Karens approach is deeply rooted in the 25 years she spent training and teaching karate. At the age of 14, Karen was the youngest person to be awarded a 1 st dan black belt in Shukokai karate. She then went on to be graded to 3 rd dan after many more years of dedicated training and teaching. A multiple-time winner of state, national and international titles, Karen was also a highly accomplished tournament karate competitor.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Business (Human Resource Management). She lives in Melbourne with her husband, Kevin and their three children Jordan, Callan and Tamsyn.

Connect with Karen:

Website: www.karengately.com.au

Twitter:@karen_gately

Facebook:www.facebook.com/karengatelyAU

Blog: karengately.wordpress.com