What do the world’s greatest managers do differently? That question was
recently asked by the Gallup Organization through in-depth interviews of
over 80,000 managers in over 400 companies. This is the largest study of
its kind ever undertaken, and the result is one of the top-selling books in
the nation right now: First, Break All The Rules: What the World’s
Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
(Simon & Schuster, 1999).
The authors identified 12 questions which absolutely nail the practices of
best managers. See if you think people working for you would answer “yes”
to them:
“1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?”
“2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?”
“3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?”
“4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for
good work?”
“5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a
person?”
“6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?”
“7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?”
“8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is
important?”
“9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?”
“10. Do I have a best friend at work?”
“11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my
progress?”
“12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?”
The authors of “First Break” note that these questions emerged from
exhaustive statistical analysis and do not represent all that workers want.
Surveys Lawrimore has done asking personnel “what is most important or
valuable to you in your job” invariably come up with answers relating
to pay, benefits, good internal communication, getting along with fellow
employees and other topics. But because people at virtually all companies
want these things, questions on these matters do not separate well-managed
companies from poorly managed companies. So if you were to ask your
people, “Is it important for you to have good pay and benefits?”
practically all except the independently wealthy would answer “yes.”
The 12 questions above are discriminating questions — they discriminate
well-managed organizations from those which are not. They also point out
what is very important for all managers and leaders to practice to get the
best performance and to retain good employees. We encourage you to read
the list again and think about what would be required for your people to
answer “yes” to all of them. It is not our intent to sell books, but to
save you time, if you’d like to purchase a copy of this great new book from
amazon.com, just click on this link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684852861/wwwlciwebcom
The management approach prevalent in many organizations today is what we
call the “military/parent model.” That is, management’s task is seen as
controlling or directing employees, keeping them out of trouble, and trying
to care for them in a manner that is somewhat paternalistic or maternal.
Most of us have the best intentions, it’s just that this is all we know, from
being parents or observing other managers, or in increasingly rare cases,
serving in the armed forces.