Lesson 1: The Defining Dozen

Buckingham and Coffman spent a significant amount of time interviewing great managers
and researching leading companies to distil the essence of a great workplace. What did they
find?

By considering the answers to twelve questions, an organisation can measure where it is on

the scale regarding their ability to attract and retain talent. These questions don’t necessarily
give a recipe, but what they do is cover the key elements. The questions are:

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

 Do I have the right materials and equipment I need to do my work

properly?
 At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
 In the last 7 days have I received recognition or praise for good
work?
 Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a
person?
 Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
 At work, do my opinions seem to count?
 Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my
work is important?
 Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
 Do I have a best friend at work?
 In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone at work about my
progress?
 At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?
By considering these twelve questions alone we have probably enough to focus on and start
revising our talent retention strategy. But that’s only the first 30 pages of the book.
Buckingham and Coffman offer much more. Let’s press on.

Lesson 2: Climb Every Mountain

Buckingham and Coffman don’t suggest that we are going to be in a position to address all of
the 12 challenges in one go. They compare progress towards creating positive answers for the
12 questions to climbing a mountain, and that aligning our companies to the questions is a
journey.

The first stage is Base Camp and fundamentally helping our staff understand what the
expectations of working for us are. What are they expected to do? How much can they expect
to earn? Can they expect an office, a desk, a workstation? Effectively they ask: “What do I
get?”, aligning to the first two questions.
The second stage is Camp 1. Having settled into the role, staff begin to ask different
questions. Are they doing good work? Are they in a job where they can excel? Do others
recognise this? Will others help them get better? They focus on their individual contribution.

This aligns to questions 3, 4, 5 and 6. Next it’s Camp 2. It’s all about belonging. They are
comfortable with their contribution but does this really align to the company? Are co-workers
similarly committed? Can the company offer support for the long game or do they need to
move on? Here questions 7,8, 9 and 10 are addressed.

Camp 3 beckons and the summit is in sight. Here it’s all about teamwork - pulling together in
the same common and forward moving direction. It leads to innovation, building in growth
for self and company.

The last two questions, 11 and 12 are raised. With positive answers to all 12 questions the
summit has been reached. Focus is clear. Staff feel a sense of achievement, of belonging, of
being “in the zone” at work. It’s a great place to work, with a great manager. So how does a
great manager create this feeling? According to Buckingham and Coffman they apply four
skills, four rule-breaking actions.

Lesson 3: Key #1: Select for Talent

Traditional managerial convention says that when we are recruiting we should select a person
based on their experience, intelligence and determination. Buckingham and Coffman say:
BREAK THIS RULE! Great managers select for talent.

Great managers disagree with the common definition of talent. It is too narrow. In their mind,
talent is a recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behaviour that can be productively applied.
The right talent is fundamental – much more than experience, much more than brainpower,
much more than will power. We need to nurture talent to succeed.

Skills and knowledge can be easily taught. Talent cannot. Skills are the how-to’s of a role.
They are traits that can be passed from one person to another.

Buckingham and Coffman break talent into three categories. Striving talents – the “why” of a
person. Why they do things, their drive, why they are who they are. Thinking talents – the
“how” of a person. How they think, how they rationalise decisions, their values. Relating
talents – the “who” of a person. Who they trust, who they confront, who they ignore.

As a manager we need to know the talents we want. At selection time we need to look
beyond the job title and description. Which talent is more aligned to our needs? Are we
looking for drive – then striving talent is our target. Are we looking for logic? Thinking talent
is best. Are we looking for communication? Choose someone with relating talent.

We need to think about how the person will fit into our organisational culture. Different
companies require different talent types. We need to think of our team. Where is their talent
alignment? Where is the talent gap?

It’s not easy. Talent spotting is a talent itself. To help, Buckingham and Coffman suggest we
identify the one critical factor relating to each of the three talent categories and focus on them
during selection. We should structure our interview technique around seeking out those who
hold the right blend.

Lesson 4: Key #2: Define the Right Outcomes

Managerial convention also states that when setting expectations we should first define the
right steps. Break this rule, too. Great managers define the right outcomes.

As a manager we may think we are in control, but we’re not. Our staff, the people who report
to us have more. They can ultimately decide what they will do and how they will perform. So
how can we maintain direction and performance?

Buckingham and Coffman tell us that great managers define the outcomes – what they want
to happen – then let their staff decide how to get there. A side benefit of this approach is that
staff take on responsibility. By making the choice of how things will be done they are
accountable for the outcomes.

Letting staff take on responsibility does not mean we have to relinquish everything.
Buckingham and Coffman give us “Rules of Thumb” to follow.

Rule of thumb #1: Don’t risk it. Employees must follow certain required steps for all aspects
of their role that involves accuracy or safety.

Rule of thumb #2: Standards rule. Employees must follow required steps when those steps
are a part of a company or industry standard.

Rule of thumb #3: Don’t let creed overshadow the message. Required steps are useful only if
they do not obscure the desired outcome.

Rule of thumb #4: There are no steps leading to customer satisfaction. Required steps only
prevent dis-satisfaction. They cannot drive customer satisfaction.

All of these rules create a framework to allow a focus on outcomes. They identify what must
remain and what can be given away in the process of achieving the desired outcome.

Lesson 5: Key #3: Focus on Strengths

Managerial convention states that when motivating a person we should help them identify
and overcome their weaknesses. Break this rule. Great managers focus on strengths.

Good managers don’t try to fix weaknesses. Good managers have recognised the unique
talents of individuals and therefore focus on the strengths these bring and work around the
weaknesses. Great managers build roles for people around their strengths, not around
organisational hierarchies.

This means that staff can focus on what they are wired to do. If we want to be a great
manager we must openly discuss ‘strength exploitation’ with our staff. We need to sit down
with them and say things like: “Bob – you are good with words, I want you to be our
marketing copywriter”.

Treat people as you want to be treated. We’ve all heard that guidance many times. Great
managers ignore it. They recognise that behind the statement is conformity. Making everyone
similar. It also implies that we know best. But are we better than everyone else in each of
their roles? I doubt it.

Great managers treat staff as the staff wants to be treated. When a great manager sits down
with a staff member, they are not fixing or correcting, they are looking for ways to further
exploit the individual’s talent. They seek to highlight and perfect the individual’s unique
style. They seek to create ways to help the individual avoid interference and help them focus
on their strengths.

Lesson 6: Key #4: Find the Right Fit

Managerial convention states that when developing a person we should help them learn and
get promoted. Break this rule. Great managers help find the right fit.

At some point in their employment a staff member will ask their manager: “What’s next for
me? Where do I go from here?” Great managers help staff find roles that further expand what
they are good at. What a manager should not do is promote to fill gaps in an org chart.
Frequently, good workers don’t make good supervisors.

Great managers are good at feedback. They don’t leave it to an annual performance review.
After all, they are always on the lookout for better ways to exploit strengths so feedback is
constant. As a result, great managers are always aware where the next opportunity will come.

Their role is not to protect the organisation by pigeon-holing staff. What they strive to do is
better the best. A great manager puts their staff on the right path and simply gets out of the
way.
 What Great Managers Know
Companies don’t have one culture. Companies have as many cultures as it does
managers.

Great managers don’t bemoan differences and try to grind them down. Instead they
capitalise on them. They try to help each person become more and more of who he
already is.

People don’t change that much.

Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out.

Try to draw out what was left in.

That is hard enough.

Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual,
into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person. These
differences are small, subtle, but great managers need to pay attention to
them. These subtle differences guide them toward the right way to release each
person’s unique talents into performance.

Great leaders, by contrast, look outward. They look out at the competition, out at the
future, out at alternative routes forward. They focus on broad patterns, finding
connections, cracks, and then press home their advantage where the resistance is
weakest. They must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, activators.

Conventional wisdom encourages you to:

 Select a person… based on his experience, intelligence, and determination
 Set expectations… by defining the right steps
 Motivate the person… by helping him identify and overcome his weaknesses
 Develop the person… by helping him learn and get promoted

What great managers do:

 When selecting someone, they select for talent… not simply experience, intelligence, or
determination
 When setting expectations, they define the right outcomes… not the right steps
 When motivating someone, they focus on strengths.. not on weaknesses.
 When developing someone, they help him find the right fit… not simply the next rung on the
ladder

The First Key: Select For Talent

 The power of skills and knowledge is that they are transferable from one person to
another. Their limitation is that they are often situations-specific – faced with an
unanticipated scenario, they lose much of their power.

In contrast, the power of talent is that it is transferable from situation to situation.

Given the right stimulus, it fires spontaneously.

The limitation of talent, of course, is that it is very hard to transfer from one person to
another. You cannot teach talent. You can only select for talent.

The Second Key: Define Right Outcomes

Define the right outcomes and then let each person find his own route toward those
outcomes.

In your attempts to get your people to perform, never try to perfect people. The
temptation may be captivatingly strong, but you must resist it. It is a false god. What
looks like a miraculous cure-all is actually a disease that diminishes the role,
demeans the people, and weakens the organisation.

Levels of Customer Satisfaction

 Accuracy (easy to meet, easy to steal)
 Availability (easy to meet, easy to steal)

Both are easy to meet and easy to steal. Both can only prevent customer
dissatisfaction. Accuracy is demanded and expected.

 Partnership
 Advice

These are harder to meet and harder to steal. Forcing employees to follow required
steps only prevent customer dissatisfaction. You must select employees who have
the talent to listen and to teach, and then you must focus them toward simple
emotional outcomes like partnership and advice.

Manage by Exception
Remember the Golden Rule? “Treat people as you would like to be treated.” The
best managers break the Golden Rule every day. The would say don’t treat people
as you would like to be treated. Instead, treat him as he would like to be
treated. Just ask your employee about her goals: What are you shooting for in your
current role? Where do you see your career heading? What personal goals would
you feel comfortable sharing with me? How often do you want to meet to talk about
your progress?
 Spend the most time with your best people
Investing in your stragglers appears shrewd, yet the most effective managers do the
opposite. They spend the most time with their most productive employees. They
invest in their best.

For great managers, the core of their role is the catalyst role: turning talent into
performance. So when they spend time with an employee, they are into fixing or
correcting or instructing. Instead they are racking their brains, trying to figure out
better and better ways to unleash that employee’s distinct talents:

 They strive to care out a unique set of expectations that will stretch and focus each individual
 They try to highlight and perfect each person’s unique style. They draw his attention to
it. They help him understand why it works for him and how to perfect it.
 And they plot how they, the manager, can run interference for each employee, so that each
can exercise his or her talents even more freely. Grease the administrative wheels so that
nothing gets in their way.

“No News” kills behaviour

Great managers know that the less attention they pay to the productive behaviours
of their superstars, the less of those behaviours they will get. Since human beings
are wired to need attention of some kind, if they are not getting attention, they will
tend, either subconsciously or consciously, to alter their behaviour until they do.

Investing in your best is the only way to achieve

excellence
Don’t use average to estimate the limits of excellence. You will drastically
underestimate what is possible. Focus on your best performers and keep pushing
them toward the right-hand edge of the bell curve. It is counter-intuitive, but top
performers, have the most potential for growth.

The difference between a non-talent and a weakness

Great managers don’t ignore weaknesses. As soon as they realise that a weakness
is causing poor performance, they switch their approach. There are only three
possible routes to helping the person succeed:

 Devise a support system (eg Rolodex for the forgetful, chicken in packs of 6 for intellectually
disabled KFC worker)
 Find a complementary partner (eg if Bob is crap at paperwork, give it to a peer who is the
best and fastest and likes it)
 Find an alternative role

The Fourth Key: Find the right fit

Broadbanding for pay. For each role, you define pay i broad bands or ranges, with
the top end of the lower-level role overlapping the bottom end of the role above
 Talents
Striving Talents
 Achiever: A drive that is internal, constant, and self-imposed
 Kinesthetic: A need to expend physical energy
 Stamina: Capacity for physical endurance
 Competition: A need to gauge your success comparatively
 Desire: A need to claim significance through independence, excellence, risk, and recognition
 Competence: A need for expertise or mastery
 Belief: A need to orient your life around certain prevailing values
 Mission: A drive to put your beliefs into action
 Service: A drive to be of service to others
 Ethics: A clear understanding of right and wrong which guides your actions
 Vision: A drive to paint value-based word pictures about the future

Thinking Talents
 Focus: An ability to set goals and to use them every day to guide actions
 Discipline: A need to impose structure onto life and work
 Arranger: An ability to orchestrate
 Work Orientation: A need to mentally rehearse and review
 Gestalt: a need to see order and accuracy
 Responsibility: A need to assume personal accountability for your work
 Concept: An ability to develop a framework by which to make sense of things
 Performance Orientation: A need to be objective and to measure performance
 Strategic Thinking: An ability to play out alternative scenarios in the future
 Business Thinking: The financial application of the strategic thinking talent
 Problem Solving: An ability to think things through with incomplete data
 Formulation: An ability to find coherent patterns within incoherent data sets
 Numerical: An affinity for numbers
 Creativity: An ability to break existing configurations in favour of more effective/appealing
ones

Relating Talents
 Woo: A need to gain the approval of others
 Empathy: An ability to identify the feelings and perspectives of others
 Realtor: A need to build bonds that last
 Multi-relator: An ability to build an extensive network of acquaintances
 Interpersonal: An ability to purposely capitalise upon relationships
 Individualised Perception: An awareness of an attentiveness to individual differences
 Developer: A need to invest in others and to derive satisfaction in so doing
 Stimulator: An ability to create enthusiasm and drama
 Team: A need to build feelings of mutual support
 Positivity: A need to look on the bright side
 Persuasion: An ability to persuade others logically
 Command: An ability to take charge
 Activator: An impatience to move others to action
 Courage: An ability to use emotion to overcome resistance