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There is an abundance of research on the science of management, and much has been written about how to manage more effectively. The “modern” father of management discipline is Peter Drucker in his 1973 book, Management. A significant amount of derivative work has been written based on his principles. Many of the current-day management philosophies are driven by his concepts. Even as these management practices have evolved over the past decades since Drucker wrote his material, little work has been done to discover traits that make great workers great.

Unlike theories on management, which focus on the “elite few,” very little has been written on individual contributors. Yet these individuals—those who are being managed—make up the majority of employees at many companies and are largely responsible for carrying out the organization's strategic goals. Understanding workers—whether they are subordinates or followers—is a worthwhile study for any leader or manager. Flipping the management theory coin and taking a closer look at employees who are being managed reveals greater insight into how to achieve higher performance from those teams.

Delving into the prevailing wisdom on management highlights several key gaps. We are increasingly operating in a world with a greater number of remote or virtual workers, especially because we've experienced a forced work-from-home environment during the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Managing these remote workers requires a different set of tools. Managers cannot manage by walking around, pulling subordinates in for quick conversations in real time, or interacting easily with workers in an informal manner. Culture trumps strategy, and building a strong culture with remote workers is difficult. All these factors and others necessitate the use of differing methods and tools to connect with workers. The effectiveness of these tools remains questionable as the modern workforce grapples with how best to deploy them.

Another change in how knowledge workers get work done is the agile method of running projects and accomplishing work. This style democratizes the nature of work, placing more emphasis on the workers responsible for getting the work done than on the managers overseeing the teams. The following summarizes a few key characteristics of good workers.

Subject Matter Aspects

 Subject matter expertise or competency

 Accreditation and special training

 Company and industry knowledge

Technical Aspects

 Project planning and oversight

 Team construction and oversight

 Problem deconstruction and solving

 Risk management and contingency planning

Nontechnical and People Aspects

 Communication

 Performance management

 Professional development

Administrative Aspects

 Risk and issue resolution and management

 Budgeting and forecasting

 Goal setting and tracking

 Compliance