managers play a vital and distinct role — a role that charismatic leaders and self-directed teams are incapable of playing. The manager role is to reach inside each employee and release his unique talents into performance. This role is best played one employee at a time — one manager asking questions of, listening to and working with one employee. Multiplied a thousandfold, this one-by-one-by-one role is the company’s power supply. In times of great change, it is this role that makes the company robust — robust enough to stay focused when needed, yet robust enough to flex without breaking.
