{"id":917,"date":"2012-09-17T02:23:52","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T02:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teekhapan.wordpress.com\/?p=917"},"modified":"2012-09-17T02:23:52","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T02:23:52","slug":"to-be-a-revolutionary-manager-first-break-all-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/2012\/09\/17\/to-be-a-revolutionary-manager-first-break-all-the-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"To be a revolutionary manager – FIRST BREAK ALL THE RULES"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nCurt Coffman is the New York Times bestselling author of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently<\/em>(along with Marcus Buckingham). He is also a r<\/strong>esearcher, business scientist and a consultant to Fortune 500 organisations. \u201cApproximately 15% of organisations today are embracing the power of people within the organisation.\u00a0 At the same time, 95% of companies believe that they are doing so. Businesses are currently operating at only 35% of their capacity, because of obsolete people practices.\u00a0 There is a maxim from quantum physics that says\u2026\u201cWhen you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,\u201d\u201d says Coffman. He will be touring India for \u2018First, People 2012\u2019, India\u2019s First HR \u2018Un-Conference\u2019 in Goa on September 21 \u2013 22 organised by SHRM India (Strategic Human Resource Management), a subsidiary of the world\u2019s largest HR association, SHRM \u2013 The Society for Human Resource Management. In this interview he speaks to Vivek Kaul.
\nIn your groundbreaking work First Break All the Rules<\/em> you got responses from 80,000 interviews to determine that the best managers are revolutionaries. \u00a0Could you discuss that in some detail?
\n<\/strong>Just in the past 5 years we have interviewed approximately 90,000 managers\/leaders across the globe.\u00a0 Great managers have one objective and that is to facilitate unprecedented performance in every individual.\u00a0 They form very strong relationships with their people based on trust and friendship.\u00a0 This allows for high expectations that are motivational and challenging.\u00a0 They don\u2019t treat everyone the same but as individuals with unique talents, gifts for contribution and specific needs.\u00a0 There is an opposition to the notion of changing people, as they feel one\u2019s work should draw out the individual\u2019s talent versus attempting to put in what was left out<\/em>.\u00a0 Commitment to innovation is seen through embracing the differences in individuals rather than create a blanket of conformity.\u00a0 Yes, they are the rebels who really drive an organisation\u2019s success \u2013 one person at a time.
\nIf the best managers are revolutionaries who are the revolutionaries according to you in the current business scenario?
\n<\/strong>The great leaders of tomorrow will commit to one thing \u2013 making sure every individual in the enterprise has a great manager.\u00a0 Great managers who are close to the action will trump traditional leadership in driving world-class results.\u00a0 Leaders atop the organisational chart cannot effectively impact the local workplace and thus need great local managers to create ownership and commitment. The senior leaders of today\u2019s most relevant brands know this intuitively.\u00a0 Brands like Google, Zappos, Apple, Tata, and Starbucks, know the power of aligning brand (how others see us) with culture (how we see ourselves). Enlightened executives know the power of each individual employee on creating success.
\nOne of the things that comes out from First Break All the Rules<\/em> is that treat employees like individuals, set specific outcomes, but not the process, and focus on employee strengths instead of calling out weaknesses.\u00a0Could you discuss that in some detail with examples?
\n<\/strong>Progressive leaders who are charged with creating a better tomorrow and managers who are charged with creating a outstanding today intimately know what creates a passion for excellence within people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Destroy Passion<\/strong><\/td>\nCreate Passion<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Judge me on how I conform to the \u201csteps\u201d of doing the job regardless of results.<\/em><\/td>\nHelp me know the real outcomes of my job \u2013 the real reason you hired me.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Point out precisely who I am not and then help me get better in those deficiencies.<\/em><\/td>\nHelp me discover who I am and then allow me to use my gifts for outstanding contribution.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Work should be serious and hard.<\/em><\/td>\nWork should be fun and full of energy.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Use fear to drive us.<\/em><\/td>\nUse hope to drive us.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Always highlight what you don\u2019t want.<\/em><\/td>\nCreate a vision around what you do want.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Do you see many companies following this kind of process while dealing with their managers?
\n<\/strong>Ninety five percent of all organisations proclaim that people are the key to their success.\u00a0 Sadly, I must say that only about 15% of global organisations have adopted a 21st<\/sup> century vision about people and the vital role manager\u2019s play in building value. That said, there might be a higher percentage in India.\u00a0 You have some great brands and enlightened leaders who are savvy enough to recognise who really owns the means of production – every employee every day. Very progressive organisations like Taj Hotels, Voltas, Piramal, Lupin and Manipal to name a few, pay sharp attention to how managers are identified, developed and rewarded.
\nWhat do they do differently?
\n<\/strong>These organisations are keenly aware that a manager\u2019s real job is to increase the productivity and success of every individual. In the past being a manager meant organising \u201cthings\u201d and only caring about how they are viewed by the leaders above them.\u00a0 This is position-ship not leadership. If there was any focus on people, it was seen as a hobby not a primary function of the role. Very talented and productive people have options and we know that ultimately they leave managers, not organisations.\u00a0 If you have ever had a bad manager, you know exactly what we are talking about.
\nWhat is that makes a great place to work?
\n<\/strong>When people can\u2019t wait to come to work!
\nBut isn\u2019t that very idealistic?
\n<\/strong>Yes, but why should it be?\u00a0 Knowing what about work gives your people energy and what drains their energy is the most primary step in developing a progressive, people-centered focus. Our most current research reveals that a great place to work is based on the characteristics of relationship, growth, and purpose. Relationships are the foundation of strong culture.\u00a0 Without them we wither away.\u00a0 The connections we have with co-workers, managers and leaders are the renewable energy that drives success.\u00a0 Great organisations promote strong friendships and a spirit of connectedness.\u00a0 People contribute at exceptional levels when there is another person they trust and feel loyal to.\u00a0 People are most loyal to the organisations that have helped them grow and develop \u2013 \u00a0that is why you will see more philantrophic money being given to colleges and universities than any other institution. Great managers help every person know themselves well and thus set people up for success.\u00a0 When we know our talents and then acquire the right skills and knowledge incredible things happen.
\nSo what is the takeaway here?
\n<\/strong>We just do our work and relationships differently when we have a sense of pride in the organisation\u2019s mission.\u00a0 It is the broader purpose of one\u2019s work that makes a difference.\u00a0 On those days that we feel overworked and frustrated, the higher purpose of our work will pull us through.
\nAnother thing that your research threw up was that an organisation doesn\u2019t have one culture overriding it. It has these many little cultures what you call the \u201clittle C cultures\u201d. Could you discuss this finding in some detail with an example preferably?
\n<\/strong>Everyone uses the word \u201cculture\u201d with little consistent understanding of what it really means.\u00a0 If culture is the new competitive advantage, we need to become really clear on what it is.\u00a0 The key discoveries that we have made are that there is no culture without people. Culture exists at three levels \u2013 micro (local employee), bridge (manager) and macro (leadership). Each of these cultural charges have distinct roles; Micro to ignite positive\/purposeful energy in one-another, bridge is to connect people to purpose and macro is having leaders who are more \u201cinterested\u201d than \u201cinteresting.\u201d Once key businesses imperatives are defined, the next question should be \u201cwhat kind of culture are we going to need to drive results?\u201d
\nCan you explain this through an example?
\n<\/strong>Steve Jobs at Apple cast a vision for innovation that carved out markets that didn’t even exist.\u00a0 He was always listening and more interested than interesting (actually he was more interesting because he was interested).\u00a0 This macro culture is about creating a better tomorrow.\u00a0 Steve Jobs vision is only achievable when the right people and culture bring it to fruition.\u00a0 Great managers are attracted to an environment where they can connect individuals to vision. Take the Apple employee as an example \u2013 who wouldn\u2019t want to be a \u201cgenius\u201d versus a \u201chelp desk employee?\u201d
\nEarlier in the interview you said that most people don\u2019t leave organisations, they leave their bosses. How do you control for something like that?
\n<\/strong>The steps are rather basic.\u00a0 It starts with promoting people who are already the spiritual leaders of people.\u00a0 Great managers didn’t become that way when the official title was given.\u00a0 Know who these employees are. Don\u2019t make becoming a manager a reward.\u00a0 Reward great managers who genuinely care about the success and potential of others and know the strengths of each person they work with.\u00a0 Another step is to not try and change people, but instead draw out the best within them. Don\u2019t make becoming a manager another rung on the career leader.
\nWhy do you say that the worst mission a manager can undertake is attempting to erase a person\u2019s weaknesses?
\n<\/strong>Great managers will say that people don\u2019t change that much and instead of trying to put in what was left out, let\u2019s draw out what was left in. Neuroscience now confirms that the brain is done developing between the ages of 15 \u2013 22 years of age.\u00a0 By that time all of us have a pretty well structured network.\u00a0 There are things that come naturally and others that don\u2019t.\u00a0 Talent is about hard wiring and explains our predisposition for excellence in certain roles.\u00a0 Many times we feel as though we can rewire people brains.\u00a0 It is not possible.\u00a0 We have never seen a person take a weakness and transform it into a throbbing strength.\u00a0 There are ways to manage around our weaknesses, like having a complimentary partner who does<\/em> have the talent and energy for those things in which you do not. Or, you can find a system that makes the weakness immaterial (i.e. grammar and spell check).
\nYou also suggest that it is okay for managers to treat some people as their favourites. Again something that goes against conventional wisdom. Shouldn\u2019t a manager try and treat everyone in his team equally?
\n<\/strong>Treating everyone the same is true discrimination.\u00a0 We are individuals with unique strengths, needs and styles.\u00a0 By legislating one way for everyone, we disconnect people\u2019s distinctive ability to display exceptional performance.
\nYour latest book is called\u00a0Culture Eats Strategy.\u00a0<\/em>So how does culture eat strategy?
\n<\/strong>Vision is what could be.\u00a0 Strategy is our rational plan to get there.\u00a0 Execution is our continual day-to-day progress toward the desired outcome.\u00a0 Our rational plans always require human spirit and energy to bring to fruition.\u00a0\u00a0 The daily progress we make (or fail to make) is dependent upon our people \u2013 our culture.
\nSo how do you define culture then?
\n<\/strong>Culture is the collision of rational with emotional.\u00a0\u00a0 When individual motives, drives and feelings come up against strategy, plans and structure, the end result depends more on the emotion than logic. While evolving a new strategy can be difficult, executing it in the face of existing conventions, routines and ways of working together can be nearly impossible.
\nCould you explain through an example?
\n<\/strong>Consider a hospital we know that changed out CEOs five times in four years.\u00a0 The culture, comprised of long-tenured staff, resisted the new CEO and strategy de jour.\u00a0\u00a0 As each CEO was replaced, the culture became more and more convinced they could \u201cwait the next leader out.\u201d Our vision is essential, our strategy critical; but however sound, they are dependent upon the culture\u00a0 – the people\u00a0 – to deliver the desired results.
\n(Interviewer Kaul is a writer and he can be reached at <\/strong>vivek.kaul@gmail.com<\/strong><\/a>) <\/strong>
\n(The interview originally appeared in the Daily News and Analysis on September 17,2012.\u00a0<http:\/\/www.dnaindia.com\/money\/interview_to-be-a-revolutionary-manager-first-break-all-the-rules_1741770<\/a>>)
\nBox: <\/strong>
\nThe discoveries of great organisations:<\/strong>
\n-People practices focus on building excellence (what we want), not preventing weakness (what we don\u2019t want)
\n-A senior leader\u2019s greatest impact comes from insuring that every employee has a great local manager
\n-No people, no culture.\u00a0 Finding talent is a basic to performance, managing talent is the differentiator
\n-Obsessing over the \u201cright\u201d decision is not as important as insuring that the decision is being made by the people closest to the issue
\n-Employee purpose is driven by a \u201cline-of-sight\u201d between their work and the ultimate impact it has on the customer
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curt Coffman is the New York Times bestselling author of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently(along with Marcus Buckingham). He is also a researcher, business scientist and a consultant to Fortune 500 organisations. \u201cApproximately 15% of organisations today are embracing the power of people within the organisation.\u00a0 At the … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,43],"tags":[519,854,861,1283,2186,2709,3478,3495,3937],"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Vivek Kaul","author_link":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/author\/vivekkaul\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"Business<\/a> Interview<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Curt Coffman is the New York Times bestselling author of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently(along with Marcus Buckingham). He is also a researcher, business scientist and a consultant to Fortune 500 organisations. \u201cApproximately 15% of organisations today are embracing the power of people within the organisation.\u00a0 At the…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivekkaul.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}