There’s all kinds of intriguing research, studies and cool facts about business, leadership and performance management today. But who has time to sit around and surf the web for what’s relevant to read? Given that our focus at MAP is directly tied to those topics and the likelihood that you, as a leader or manager yourself, find those subjects important to your ability to succeed, we’ve done the busy work for you. Here are three powerful nuggets mined from recent leadership reports and news. Use these insights to power up the productivity of you, your teams and your organization at large.

Three insights for greater productivity and performance:

Insight #1: Performance Management “Redesign” Is All The Rage
Across all industries and throughout the world, organizations are recognizing the importance of effective performance management, doing complete overhauls for greater efficacy and performance. According to Deloitte’s latest “2017 Global Human Capital Trends,” a report that draws upon the feedback from approximately 10,000 organizations and HR leaders worldwide, changes are being made from top to bottom, everything from how they approach goal setting to managing evaluations, incentives, rewards and more. According to the feedback, 79% of executives view such redesigns as a high priority. In addition, organizations in this study (compared to those surveyed in 2015) are, on average, about 10% more capable of making the desired changes, focusing most efforts on “retraining to implementing agile, developmental management approaches.” Of note, of those organizations adopting or sharpening performance management efforts, the impacts have been significant. The study reports “90% of companies that have redesigned their performance management see direct improvements in engagement, 96% say the processes are simpler, and 83% say they see the quality of conversations between employees and managers is going up.”

Insight #2: A Toxic Boss Can Turn Employees Into Bullies
Everyone knows toxic bosses can wreak havoc for their direct reports. But a recent bit of research, which looked at exactly what employees feel and do when under the direction of a toxic boss (allegedly 20% of top corporate bosses), points out some alarming conclusions. A research team from the University of Manchester and published by the British Psychological Society surveyed 1,200 people on the topic. No surprise, what they found is when people worked under someone who displayed narcissistic or psychopathic traits (e.g., coldness, Machiavellian tendencies, long-term manipulation, impulsivity, etc.), employees’ wellbeing suffered. But perhaps more alarming is that there were also higher incidents of “counter-productive work behavior,” including bullying by the very people working under that toxic boss. At MAP, we talk about how exemplary, healthy and highly disciplined leadership must always come from the top down. The best leaders learn to recognize the professional (and personal) habits they need to change—then do it. They’re also not afraid to ask themselves, “Could I be the problem?” when employee engagement suffers or evidence surfaces of actively disengaged employees. Get more details on the study here.

Insight #3: Success Isn’t All About Capital
Think of what your business needs, and “money” likely pops into mind. But let’s face it, there are other resources that matter and upon which productivity, results and financial reward depend. As pointed out by Bain & Co. in this compelling infographic, “Your Scarcest Resources,” what organizations really need to succeed is “productive power,” which depends on three vital resources: time, talent and energy. With ample time, the right people on board in the right positions, and high levels of employee engagement and motivation, the level of your organization productive power can soar and results, reward and, yes, even capital will likely follow. Ensure your business’s productive power is amped up to the max, creating and sustaining a wealth of these valuable resources.

Which of these three insights strikes a chord with you—and why?