Great managers break every rule perceived as “conventional wisdom,” when dealing with the selection, motivation, and development of staff. So state Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in First, Break All The Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, a book which presents the findings of the Gallup organization’s interviews with over 80,000 successful managers. Each “great” manager was identified based upon the performance results he produced in his organization.

Here are some of the key ideas discussed in the great managers book, The Four Vital Jobs for Great Managers, 

• Select people based on talent.
• When setting expectations for employees, establish the right outcomes.
• When motivating an individual, focus on strengths.
• To develop an individual, find the right job fit for the person.

During the Gallup interviews, great managers stated that they selected staff members based on talent, rather than experience, education, or intelligence. Gallup defined “talents” by studying the talents needed to achieve in 150 distinct roles. Talents identified are: striving – (examples: drive for achievement, need for expertise, drive to put beliefs in action);;thinking – (examples: focus, discipline, personal responsibility); and * relating – (examples: empathy, attentiveness to individual differences, ability to persuade, taking charge).