The Gartner Talent Angle

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2017.

It's usually the rule breakers who turn into millionaire entrepreneurs.

Insurance sales people would make successful Navy Seals.

Nice guys don't finish last.

These are just a few of the latest findings from behavioral science that Eric Barker, founder of the blog Barking Up The Wrong Tree, and author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller Barking Up The Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong, references to redefine success. Through extensive research and narratives, Barker provides guidance on how to both identify signature strengths, and how we can turn weaknesses into strengths by placing yourself in environments that will reward your uniqueness in order to be optimally happy, productive, and successful in your career.

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2017. What if you could direct your brain? While most believe you are at the mercy of your brain, what if we actually had the ability to control it? Scott Halford, CEO of Complete Intelligence and author of Activate Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Success, discusses how we can activate "brain hacks" to refresh our brain, increase stamina and momentum, and exterminate negative feelings in order to make the best decisions in our daily work life.

Managers work hard to provide a steady stream of continuous feedback to coach employees and help them achieve their goals. However, by taking an "Always-on" approach, managers may actually be hindering employee performance. Tune in to this episode of the Talent Angle to hear Gartner's own Jaime Roca, Senior Vice President of Research & Advisory, and Sari Wilde, Managing Vice President of Research, share insights from their new book, "The Connector Manager". Learn how providing targeted feedback while connecting employees to those who are better suited to address their needs not only increases employee engagement, but triples the likelihood that they will be high performers.

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2017. Nobody likes a jerk, but what if YOU are one? We talk with Bob Sutton, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University and author of A**hole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People that Treat You Like Dirt.

Rebels are generally seen as troublemakers whose decisions create chaos in our lives and workplaces. However, what if we saw these unconventional outlooks and rule-breaking decisions as constructive rather than destructive? Tune in to this episode to hear Francesca Gino, Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School and author of "Rebel Talent: Why it Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life" discuss how can we challenge the status quo in both our work and personal lives to drive positive change.

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2017. Play keeps us in the moment. It is unpredictable and fun, and it keeps people's attention. So why not play in the workplace? In this episode, we talk to Elizabeth Cushing, the President and COO of Playworks, on how to use play tactics originally used on children to promote a healthy, profitable organization.

Are your employees a cost or an investment? How can your company design and manage operations in a way that satisfies customers, employees, and investors? Join us to hear Zeynep Ton, adjunct associate professor in the operations management group at MIT Sloan School of Management and the author of The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs & Boost Profits, discuss how operational excellence and treating your employees like an investment leads to great employee experiences.

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2017. We don't talk about love in the workplace. But what if we told you the best leaders are realizing the importance of self-awareness, love, and going deep within themselves in order to be a great leader? Bob Rosen, global CEO advisor, organizational psychologist, and bestselling author talks to us about how the best people go deep within themselves to determine their story.

What happens when your workplace is exposed to incivility? What should you do if you are the target of this hostility and aggression? Tune in to this episode of the Talent Angle to hear Christine Porath, Professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, teach you how to navigate incivility in the workplace and enhance your own influence and effectiveness through simple acts of civility and respect.

*This Spotlight is an excerpt from our full interview in 2015. Zappos made history when it announced plans to transition to a holacracy -- a management-free corporate structure. Tune in as Hollie Delaney details the pitfalls, successes, and lessons learned.