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daeus 's review for:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham
Playbook on how to be a great people manager (what questions to ask, what to focus on, what to look for, etc). What really makes this book stand out is the depth of the research and the specific examples of how to match talents to roles (and the consequences of not doing so). I really did NOT enjoy the flashy management consulting writing (I hate the title...), but the content and clarity made it well worth it. Great for unlearning what you think a manager should do and better understanding your own talents/view of the world.
Really this breaks down to taking the Fundamental Attribution Error seriously, which is over-attributing performance to the person/character rather than the situation/environment: "In the minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not primarily a matter of weakness, stupidity, disobedience, or disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting." -> Find out how someone sees the world and move them to a place they will both enjoy and provide value to others. The focus here is on the workplace, but that would extend in many other areas (ex. coaching sports).
Quotes:
- "This company didn’t have one culture. It had as many cultures as it did managers." ... "People leave managers, not companies."
- "As a manager your job is not to teach people talent. Your job is to help them earn the accolade 'talented' by matching their talent to the role." ... "....they define a productive team as one where each person knows which role he plays best and where he is cast in that role most of the time."
- "Great managers are not looking for people who are easy to manage. They are looking for people who have the talent needed to be world class. Therefore they prefer the challenge of taking a talented person and focusing him or her toward productivity to the challenge of trying to make a less productive person talented."
- "So this is their dilemma: The manager must retain control and focus people on performance. But she is bound by her belief that she cannot force everyone to perform the same way. The solution is as elegant as it is efficient: Define the right outcomes and then let each person find his own route towards those outcomes."
On a personal note: This also made me realize I may be managing myself poorly both in my personal and professional life. "You succeed by finding ways to capitalize on who you are, not by trying to fix who you aren't." -> I'm always trying to find my weakest points/skills and finding ways to overcome them/fill in gaps rather than emphasizing my strengths and finding where I would be set up to succeed already. Maybe my strength is identifying weaknesses and strengths? Part of this book made me think I would love to do this type of people work and that it would perfectly match up with my 'talents', though I would still have LONG way to go in building an Individual Contributor role foundation before I can enter that arena (got to pay my dues first).
Really this breaks down to taking the Fundamental Attribution Error seriously, which is over-attributing performance to the person/character rather than the situation/environment: "In the minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not primarily a matter of weakness, stupidity, disobedience, or disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting." -> Find out how someone sees the world and move them to a place they will both enjoy and provide value to others. The focus here is on the workplace, but that would extend in many other areas (ex. coaching sports).
Quotes:
- "This company didn’t have one culture. It had as many cultures as it did managers." ... "People leave managers, not companies."
- "As a manager your job is not to teach people talent. Your job is to help them earn the accolade 'talented' by matching their talent to the role." ... "....they define a productive team as one where each person knows which role he plays best and where he is cast in that role most of the time."
- "Great managers are not looking for people who are easy to manage. They are looking for people who have the talent needed to be world class. Therefore they prefer the challenge of taking a talented person and focusing him or her toward productivity to the challenge of trying to make a less productive person talented."
- "So this is their dilemma: The manager must retain control and focus people on performance. But she is bound by her belief that she cannot force everyone to perform the same way. The solution is as elegant as it is efficient: Define the right outcomes and then let each person find his own route towards those outcomes."
On a personal note: This also made me realize I may be managing myself poorly both in my personal and professional life. "You succeed by finding ways to capitalize on who you are, not by trying to fix who you aren't." -> I'm always trying to find my weakest points/skills and finding ways to overcome them/fill in gaps rather than emphasizing my strengths and finding where I would be set up to succeed already. Maybe my strength is identifying weaknesses and strengths? Part of this book made me think I would love to do this type of people work and that it would perfectly match up with my 'talents', though I would still have LONG way to go in building an Individual Contributor role foundation before I can enter that arena (got to pay my dues first).