Each [co-worker] works his or her way, not your way. And each is entitled to work in his or her way. What matters is whether they perform and what their values are. As far as how they perform — each is likely to do it differently. The first secret to effectiveness is to understand the people you work with and depend on so that you can make use of their strengths, their ways of working, and their values. Working relationships are as much based on the people as they are on the work.

Ask your employees questions and ask for their opinions. Empower them to feel ownership. When they love what they do and how they're treated— you'll see results. I like working with people that can teach me something that benefits the business. People willing to do more than just what's required to get the job done.

Remember that people are built very differently and that different ways of seeing and thinking make people suitable for different jobs.

Usually, the better someone does their job, the easier it looks. You rarely realize how hard it is until you try it yourself.

So, you've got to have patience, you've go to work, and you've got to remember, as I said a while ago, that it's not the people that you work for that are going to guarantee your success, it's the people that work for you. That's where you've got to put your attention, and take care of them first.

My first piece of advice is to enhance your skills. By enhancing your skills, even the ones you don’t like, you will understand how to do your job better.

A manager of people needs to understand that all people are different. This is not ranking people. He needs to understand that the performance of anyone is governed largely by the system that he works in, the responsibility of management.

The worker's effectiveness is determined largely by the way he is being managed.

When you take a job take a long look at the people you’re going to be working with — because the odds are you’re going to become like them; they are not going to become like you. You can’t change them. If it doesn’t fit who you are, it’s not going to work.

And when you ask your employee to do something, remember that she may not do as you wish. But giving her the power to upset you does no good for either of you.

Know what your people are like and what makes them tick, because your people are your most important resource. Develop a full profile of each person’s values, abilities, and skills. These qualities are the real drivers of behavior, so knowing them in detail will tell you which jobs a person can and cannot do well, which ones they should avoid, and how the person should be trained.

Do their work if you have to, but don’t forget to eventually do yours.

Learn how much confidence to have in your people — don’t assume it. No manager should delegate responsibilities to people they don’t know well.

Once you had delegated the best people to do a job for you, you had to trust both them and your judgment.