![]() I recently finished reading First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Jim Harter and Marcus Buckingham. Someone recommended it a while back, and I enjoyed reading it. I liked its definition of "talent" and how to screen for it. I liked some of the contrarian/non-obvious points of view it explained, like how the best managers treat each person differently (rather than uniformly) for various reasons. Below are my major notes and takeaways. Preamble
Code to take strengths finder assessment and employee engagement survey Foreword Employee engagement Intro Best managers break these conventional rules Everyone has unlimited potential so work on their weaknesses Golden rule Treat everyone the same (no favorites) 1 the measuring stick How to measure quality of human capital Q12 items in survey most important and had most signal I know what is expected of me at work I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right At work I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday In the last 7 days I have received recognition or praise for doing good work My supervisor or someone at work seems to care about me as a person There is someone at work who encourages my development At work my opinions seem to count The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important My fellow employeees are committed to doing quality work I have a best friend at work In the last 6 months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress In the last year, I’ve had opportunities to learn and grow Extremeness of language important to measure differences Manager not senior leadership matters more Q12 items linked to profitability and productivity Managers trump companies 2 wisdom of great managers People don’t change much. Don’t try to change them but rather figure out where and if they can use their strengths. 4 basic roles of great managers Select the person Talent not just intelligence, experience, or determination Set expectations Outcomes not steps Motivate the person Focus on strengths not weaknesses Develop the person Help find the right fit not just the next rung on the ladder 3 the first key: talent Recurring pattern of thought or behavior that can be productively applied Excellence is impossible without talent Beyond just experience, brainpower, and willpower Talent more important Your filter is your source of talent Skills, knowledge, and talents Skills Learn step by step Practice Knowledge Factual Experiential Talents Innate patterns and filters Example: love of precision for accountants 3 kinds of talents Striving Explains the why if a person Motivations Thinking Explains the how of a person Emotional or intellectual Relating talents Explains the who of a person Who they trust Cannot teach talent. Need to select for it. Competencies, attitudes, habits not as clearcut and overlap with habits Can’t change someone’s attitude or motivations Talent isn’t rare or special; it’s just an innate pattern; everyone has some. Key is matching role to talent. Know what talents you are looking for Study your best Excellence and failure not opposites but similar; middle is what you want to avoid 4 the second key: managing by remote control Don’t hand all decisions and authority to employees. Manager must direct them. Define the right outcomes and measure performance against those Standardize the ends not the means Rules of thumb are better than strictness Don’t break the bank. Need to be careful with things that require accuracy and safety. Standardized steps Standards rule. Conform to industry or shared standards. Don’t let the steps overshadow the outcome There are no steps that guarantee customer satisfaction but some create dissatisfaction Accuracy Availability Partnership Advice How to pick outcomes What is right for your customer What is right for your company What is right for the individual 5 the third key: focus on strengths Manage around weaknesses Don’t try to fix people Casting is everything Put each person in right role Manage by exception Manage each person differently Don’t treat same or like you like to be treated Ask employee about their preferences, goals, meeting cadence, relationship preferences, etc. Keep notes on each Spend the most time with your best people Key management role is not control or instruction but rather catalyzing talent into performance Run interference for best players When stars acting up, they are trying to get back your attention Treat each as deserves to be treated Tell best people why you value them so much Don’t use averages to manage How to manage around a weakness Is the non-performance trainable Is it a trigger issue If not then it’s a talent issue and it won’t work Non-talent vs weakness when that talent is required for the role Options Devise support system Tools Find a complementary partner Find partner who balances you Find them a different role or way out If spend most of your time managing around someone’s weaknesses, then not the right fit and made a casting error 6 the fourth key: find the right fit Blind, breathless climb Help each person find the right role for them as they want to grow Steer employees where they have the best chance of success Peter principle: promote people out of their area of competence A rung too far Conventional career path wrong Convey meaningful prestige on every role One rung doesn’t necessarily lead to another Don’t promote just because of excellence. Focus more on if they have the talents for the other role. Create heroes in every role Make every role performed to excellence respectable Levels of achievement Becoming expert and tracking progress with rising title but same kind of work Broadbanding Pay based on competence in role Superstars should still be paid more than those with higher role but less competence Define pay bands so top end of lower role overlaps with bottom end of above role Superstars should earn multiples of average person in the role Switching to management path typically involves a significant pay cut (but later can have higher maximum) Managers should be happy paying star employees below them significantly more than they earn Great managers hold up mirror for employees Constant feedback Spend time 1:1 with each Build close relationships with employees including knowing and caring about their personal life Create safety net in case of taking a risk in a job switch Trial period with monthly checkins and test at end; if experiment doesn’t work, then go back to normal role The art of tough love: removing someone from a role or trial period Level of underperformance that’s unacceptable: anything around the average How long to wait: not long Talents constitute an enduring pattern and don’t change much so employee not performing isn’t just a matter of not trying hard enough; don’t need to mask your true feelings when talking Casting error just need to say this role isn’t a fit 7 turning the keys: the art of interviewing for talent Make sure the talent interview stands alone Understand if their recurring patterns of thought and action fit the role Ask open ended questions and watch their pattern of responses What do you like most about selling How closely do you think someone should be supervised Believe and trust what he says even if you want to interpret it differently Listen for specifics Look for recurring behaviors that have plenty of examples Tell me about a time you overcame resistance to your ideas when looking for assertiveness Look for very specific time mentioned and how quickly it was top of mind Clues to talent Rapid learning What things have they been able to learn quickly or can do effortlessly Satisfactions Ask what greatest source of satisfaction, what gives strength, what find fulfilling Know what to listen for Have clear filter for how a top performer responds Know how the best reply How do they react when doubted Try on a question on your best and average performers and look for patterns to see if it’s a good distinguishing question Keep a record of how people later perform compared to how they replied to your question Performance management Simple routine Frequent interaction Focus on future Strengths interview when someone just starting What did you enjoy most about prior job or about this job/what keeps you here What do you think your strengths are (skills, knowledge, talent) What about your weaknesses What are your goals for your current role with specifics and timeline How often would you like to meet with me to discuss your progress Are you the kind of person who will tell me how you’re feeling or do I have to ask Do you have any personal goals you want to tell me about What is the best praise you ever received Have you had any meaningful partnerships or mentors? Why do you think those relationships worked so well? Future growth and career goals? New skills you want to learn? Any specific challenges you want to experience? How can I support you? Anything else you want to talk about that might help us work together Write down and believe whatever they say Schedule first performance planning meeting Performance planning meetings How to prepare Have them answer these 3 questions What actions have you taken towards goals and include specifics and timelines What discoveries have you made What partnerships have you built Begin meeting going over his answers After 10 minutes, direct conversation to the future What is your main focus and primary goals over next time period What new discoveries are you planning What new partnerships are you hoping to build Write down their answers and use those to evaluate their performance Career discovery questions How do you describe success in your current role and can you measure it What do you do that makes you as good as you are Which parts of your current role do you enjoy most Which parts of your current role are you struggling with? What does that tell you about your skills, knowledge, talents What can you do to manage around that (training, partnerships, etc.). Imagine your ideal role. It’s 3pm on Thu. What are you doing? What are you deriving from it? Keys of your own Employee is the star. Manager is the agent. Managing your manager Schedule your own performance management meeting with your manager Prepare your own review of your last 6 months and goals for next 6 months Master keys Manager more influential than company Set up internal university Teach the language of great managers Gathering force Appendices Talents/strengths domains Executing Influencing Relationship building Strategic thinking
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