What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

First Break All The Rules is written by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman. It?is a book that goes against conventional wisdom. It is based on the Gallup's revolutionary study of 80,000 managers across the world. It reveals what the world’s greatest managers do differently.?

I recently read the book & found it quite interesting & insightful for application at work. Presenting a summary of my key findings below :

Gallup's Q12 Survey measure the core elements needed to attract, focus and retain the most talented employees. What Talented Employees need ? They need Great Managers.

The immediate manager/supervisor is the most crucial for any employee to stay or leave the organization. The relationship with the immediate manager determine how long s/he stays & how productive s/he is while working in an organization.

The best takeaway from the book is presented below.

At a new job/role, the employee has to climb a psychological mountain step by step. The 12 Questions can tell us which stage is which & exactly what needs must be met before we can continue our climb up to the next stage.

Also, there is no short cut to it, otherwise like a mountain sickness, we will be psychologically disengaged.

The Great managers can successfully engage the minds, hearts & talents of the people. The Manager role is the "Catalyst" role. As with all catalysts, the manager’s function is to speed up the reaction between two substances, thus creating the desired end product.

What are the FOUR basic Roles of a Great Manager ?

• Select a Person
• Set Expectations
• Motivate the Person
• Develop the Person

These four activities are the manager’s most important responsibilities. You might have all the vision, charisma, and intelligence in the world, but if you cannot perform these four activities well, you will never excel as a manager.

As a Manager you have only ONE thing to INVEST : Your TIME.

Managers SELECT for TALENT, DEFINE the RIGHT OUTCOME, Focus on STRENGTHS, Find the right FIT.

I liked the definition of TALENT in this book - “a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.” The Manager has to identify the unique Talent in each employee & accordingly select her/him for the right job. Each man filter the World differently.

The difference between Skill, Knowledge & Talent is given here with lots of clarity. Skills, knowledge, and talents are distinct elements of a person’s performance.?They have further simplified diverse talents into three basic categories: striving talents, thinking talents, and relating talents.

1. Striving Talent - WHY of a person (Why he gets out of the bed every morning?)
2. Thinking Talent - HOW of a Person. (How he thinks? How he weighs up alternatives)
3. Relating Talent - WHO of a Person. ( Whom he trusts? Whom he confronts ?)

I found this book relevant to me & got good insights from it.