Breaking All the Rules

I am not good at everything and managing people is certainly no exception. Take that one step further, I am even worse at listening to employees’ needs when my desk is piling up with projects, deadlines and issues needing solutions. I would venture to say that I am not alone.

Over the course of the past 5 weeks, I was fortunate enough to participate in a Management & Leadership seminar conducted by a company called Third Level, held at my former full-time stomping ground. Part leadership training, part high-level executive coaching, and part professional therapy, “Third Level” is no misnomer; the talented leaders of that firm encourage their executive coaching clients to manage to those above, below and laterally AND to go to that next, i.e. “Third” level, in decision-making, intuition, when listening to others, and when listening to oneself. During last week’s class, the instructor introduced us to a study conducted by Buckingham and Coffman entitled “First Break All the Rules!” For all of us leaders and managers alike who fail to listen to what our employees really need, and who were not listened to when we performed in the role of someone else’s employee – this list is for YOU, and you, and you, and me, too….

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

Buckingham and Coffman set out, in Gallup poll style, to conduct interviews with 80,000 managers in over 400 companies – the largest study of its kind – resulting in discovery of the TOP twelve definitive questions to ask your employees that measure the strength of your workplace.

NOTE: the questions listed below fell statistically in the TOP TWELVE of all questions asked. You may be surprised….

1. Do I know what’s 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 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing 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 my job 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, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and to grow?

Some of these questions may resonate more loudly with you than others, depending on your own experiences managing or being managed. For example, none resonated more loudly with me than number 3:At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? Already a huge fan of Marcus Buckingham and his strength-based role-theory, when placed in a position (i.e., managing other people and playing politics) which does not utilize my greatest strengths and skills, I will jump ship lest I be set up to live a miserable existence at best and to fail or compromise my integrity at worst.

Take number 7: At work, do my opinions seem to count? How many times have we all not only worked tirelessly on a project, but also took it with us on our drive home, losing sleep and the ability to interact with our family in a human manner, in an effort to produce the best solution for the company – only to get to work the next day and realize someone else decided to do it their way, and all of your research and mental energies were for naught.

I could go on and on, but I won’t, as each question will mean something different yet surprisingly the same to each of you. This is why the questions above constituted the TOP TWELVE.

Be prepared to have your current thinking about what motivates or de-motivates YOU at work and in life, AND what really matters in the psyche of employees and us all, challenged if you choose to First, Break All The Rules.

Wishing You Success,
Natalya