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Frameworks / First, Break All the Rules

Great managers build from the bottom up.

Gallup found 12 questions that separate the strongest workplaces from the rest. They stack like a climb: get the base right before you reach for the summit.

From the book First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (1999)

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Model · The climbLevel: Base camp

›Level 01 · Clear expectations

Base camp, what do I get? I know exactly what good work looks like in my role.

The idea

In brief.

First, Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, grew out of Gallup's interviews with more than a million employees and 80,000 managers. Its best-known finding: people join companies, but they leave managers. The best managers build a workplace where people can answer yes to 12 simple questions.

The authors arranged the questions as a mountain climb. Base camp is about what I get from my job. The next camp is about what I give. Then whether I belong. At the top, how we all grow. Each level rests on the ones below it, which is why a team retreat can't fix unclear expectations.

Gallup owns the exact wording of the questions, so I've summarized each one in my own words. Climb the model level by level, or pick one to see it.

Gallup® and Q12® are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. The 12 themes on this page are my own summaries, not Gallup's wording.

The climb

Four camps, twelve levels.

Levels 1–2

Base camp: what do I get?

Clear expectations and the tools to do the job. Nothing above this holds if people don't know what good looks like or can't do it.

Levels 3–6

Camp 1: what do I give?

A chance to do what I'm best at, recognition for good work, someone who cares how I'm doing and someone invested in my growth.

Levels 7–10

Camp 2: do I belong here?

My ideas are heard, the mission makes my work matter, my teammates care about quality, and I have a real friend at work.

Levels 11–12

Camp 3: how can we all grow?

Someone talks with me about my progress, and I keep getting chances to learn and grow.

With clients

How I use it.

Part of my work inExecutive Coaching →
  1. Ask the questionsA short, anonymous survey built on the 12 themes shows where your team is on the climb, by department and by manager.
  2. Start at base campWe fix the lowest levels first: clear expectations for every role and the tools to do the work. It's unglamorous, and it works.
  3. Coach the managersMost of the climb is in a manager's hands. We build the habits that move each level: regular one-on-ones, real recognition and progress conversations.
  4. Climb againEngagement is never finished. Every six months we ask again, compare, and pick the next level to work on.

Try this

Questions to ask your team.

  • Could each person describe what a great week looks like in their role?
  • When did each of your people last hear specific praise?
  • Does every manager hold regular one-on-ones?
  • Who is doing work they're not best at?
  • When did each person last talk with someone about their progress?

Related insights

More on this.

More frameworks

Next step

Build a team that stays.

A free 30-minute call about your managers, your people and which level of the climb to fix first.

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