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Seven Terrific Ways a Leader Can Make the Right Choice

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How does a leader pick the right person when all candidates appear to be equally qualified?

This is a common question posed to leaders; but it’s one that has no answer.

The question is flawed; it’s based on an incorrect assumption.

No two individuals are “equally qualified”; no two people possess identical capabilities in terms of creating value for the organization.

The question assumes identical academic achievements in the same discipline (never happens); equal experience (never happens), equal skills (never happens) and equal potential (never happens).

If a leader can’t choose because they are unable to see the the differences in individuals, they’re failing in their role. If they do not have the insight necessary to break down common stereotypes in people, they are unlikely to be able to develop amazingly successful teams.

For those leaders who have difficulty seeing the differences in people these are the necessary actions to take.

1. Let yourself go. You are likely to make bad people decisions and rob your organization of growth value. Own up to your deficiency and leave.

2. Ask better questions of the candidates, questions that probe their DNA. If they have a history of Greek dancing ask why it matters and how they would apply the skill to the position they are applying for.

You can’t discover differences if you don’t probe how their skills and experience could be transferred to your organization.

3. Insist that they ask you the top 3 questions on their mind as a candidate. This will not only tell you what they think is important, it will also help in developing an attribute profile on each of them. In addition their questions will provide fuel for follow up questions to expose more what makes them tick.

4. Test their understanding of your company. Ask tough questions on your products and services, main competitors, strategic partnerships and financial performance to see if they have done their homework.

Truly committed candidates will expose themselves.

5. Ask them “If you were to be hit by a bus and killed (heaven forbid) what would you be remembered for?” – one word answer. What THEY think is their redeeming value is critical information to your organization in terms of the recruiting attributes being targeted.

6. Have more than one person engaged in the interview. It could be a peer but it could also be a high potential junior level manager who would gain from the experience of sitting in. Another perspective on the candidate is useful; questions from others produce different insights on individuals.

7. Ask them what they learned from their Grandmother. Grandmothers have life smarts unmatched by most others and represent an amazing source of mentorship.

Discover what your candidates have learned about life that can be traced back to an old soul who has forgotten more about life than most of us will ever know. These insights will be separating factors that will help select the right person for the job and your company.

Recruiting top talent is an incredibly tough job. Don’t make it even more difficult by assuming any two candidates are equally qualified.

Your job as leader is to discover their differences and select the one whose unique attributes exactly match the needs of the organization.

If you don’t see the inequality between candidates, look closer; dig deeper.

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You don’t Have to be Charismatic to be a Remarkable Leader 

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Most people think of leaders as being charismatic. These are individuals who are constantly in front of the troops. Shouting encouragement and cheering them on.

The “out front” leader plays an important role in an organization, but there is another type of leader who lurks behind the scenes that deserves special mention because they are actually more effective than the “testosterone leader.”

This is the behind-the-scenes leader who sees their raison d’être to create an environment for people to achieve remarkable things and to personally flourish. They place the priority on determining what people need to do their jobs and responding accordingly.

Seven Tasks that Make the Behind-the-Scenes Leader Remarkable

  1. Cleaning up the messes. Things constantly go wrong in any organization. They always have and they always will because of unexpected events or because of unintended human or technology glitches. The behind-the-scenes leader makes it a priority to fix things FAST rather than spend a whole lot of time finding blame. They realize that strategic progress is made only if normal activity can return to normal state as soon as possible.
  2. Bashing barriers. Removing obstacles that prevent people from effectively performing their role is important for your employees and company’s success. Rules, procedure, and policies can get in the way of people doing their jobs and it is critical they be cleaned up quickly. This cleansing process is a vital enabler to organizational performance and is a top priority of this “quiet” leader.
  3. Telling stories. Motivation is stimulated through telling a story that paints a picture of what success looks like in the trenches. It’s all very well to explain in formal terms what is expected but it is quite another to describe what success looks like in qualitative terms using rich language, visuals, and examples with employees acting out the script. This leader uses the power of the story to move people rather than relying solely on traditional motivation methods to achieve the end.
  4. Preparing the environment. Ensuring a comfortable state of readinessso that people are “leaning in” to what is expected of them without distractions. If workplace details are not attended to they appear as irritants to people; performance suffers. This leader treats favourable hygiene factors the basis for success.
  5. Recognizing performance. Catching people “doing things right” and coaching others when expected behaviour is not demonstrated. The behind-the-scenes leader spends a copious amount of time walking about the workplace, observing what people are doing, assessing what they see relative to the strategy of the organization and intervening either to applaud an employee or coaching them to do things differently.

It’s the little things that add up to delivering either amazing results or falling short; this leader gets it.

  1. Clarifying roles in execution. The individual’s role in executing the organization’s strategic game plan is put under the magnifying glass by this leader. Specifically, what THEY need to do in their position to support synergistic implementation of strategy is spelled out in detailed granular fashion. In addition, performance criteria are provided to every employee so they know exactly what is expected of them.

This leader knows that if direct line of sight isn’t provided between the organization’s strategic game plan and the role of each employee, execution fails and expected results are not achieved.

  1. Playing Dick Tracy. This leader is on a mission to get to know people on a more personal level; to learn their wants and desires. They understand the power of a personal connection with people in terms of fostering trust and a willingness to strive higher levels of performance. And they don’t forget what they learn about people.

They keep a mental file on what they discover to inform them on future decisions affecting the assignment of people to key projects.

Standout leaders do not have to shine in the spotlight. They don’t have to be on stage performing so that everyone will see them and pass on their disingenuous adulation.

They quietly focus on taking care of the little things that make their teams perform remarkably.

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One Simple Thing Every Successful Leader Has

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I have never espoused that there is a silver bullet for leadership; that there is one single trait or attribute that distinguishes a remarkable leader from others.

Rather I have ascribed standout leadership to many little things that are practiced with relentless passion and consistency.

That said, I do believe that to be a member of the leader herd, and qualify to be considered a standout leader, you must posses a particular trait.

You must make the move from “it” to “them” – from thinking about the job simply as one of creating vision and values to realizing that the job is all about satisfying the wants and desires of humans.

From “that” to “her”or “him”.

Am I over simplifying the dichotomy?

Not really.

Check out the writings on leadership and discover that the pundits promulgate leadership roles like creating vision and values, allocating resources, task delegation, strategic planning, communications, performance management and on and on it goes.

These are “its”.

They are inanimate subjects reeking with an intellectual aroma.

They are subjects that some believe you must master if you are to claim the tag of leader.

I agree that a leader needs to have access to the expertise in these areas and know enough about each of them to know when they are being hoodwinked, but I would NOT agree they need to have a granular understanding of them.

There is another area, however, they DO need to understand intimately.

To get into the leader herd a person must forsake the “its” and be an expert on “them” – human beings.

If you can’t pass the human being test, you should not be allowed to enter the gates to the leader herd.

Here are 7 ways to spot a “them” person:

  1. They have a following of devout, loyal and maniacal fans.
  2. They say “we” a lot. It’s a natural expression when they describe what gets accomplished. “Them” get the praise and the accolades for doing amazing things. The leader is content to stay in the shadows quietly enjoying the moment.
  3. They ask “What can I do to help?”as they walk around the workplace, seeking opportunities to make peoples’ jobs easier – removing internal roadblocks and bashing barriers are priorities.
  4. They use the telephone over email and texts to communicate with others. Body language is hard to read over electronic media; they like the personal touch to accurately read “them”.
  5. Their FEELINGS dominate their intellectual filter. “What is right for others” is the beacon that attracts most of their attention.
  6. They know names. You can’t be a “them” leader without knowing the names of people in your tribe. And they make a special effort to know something special about each of them.
  7. They explain things in simple terms, knowing that spectacular performance requires employees to completely understand what their role is in executing strategy. They leave complex language and big words to the “its” to lose themselves in.

“Them” people have THE key trait to be a successful leader; “it” people are stuck on concepts and principles and will never separate them from their peers.

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Does Vision Make a Great Leader?

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Many describe a great leader as one who has vision.

A leader who is able effortlessly to conceptualize what strategy and direction is required to meet the competitive and economic challenges of the day.

A leader who can integrate the various pieces of a complicated business puzzle in their mind and create a strategy of what has to be done to achieve success.

There is no question that visioning is an important ingredient of leadership, but it isn’t the characteristic that distinguishes the good leader from the bloody brilliant one.

It’s not what the leader THINKS that guides the organization through tumultuous times to survive and thrive, because thoughts and “brave ideas” are mere postulations of what SHOULD be done.

It’s what the leader DOES that is the deciding factor in whether or not the organization performs at it’s highest level.

The natural ability to execute will always in my view take the top position at the leadership table over visioning and ideation.

Does the leader who is remarkable in the skills of execution require an incredibly insightful vision to succeed?

Nirvana is leader who is both creative and possesses the execution DNA strand.

Breakaway businesses are created amidst this perfect storm. Leaders are, however, rarely good at both.

But success CAN be achieved without amazing visioning. A mediocre plan flawlessly executed can produce far more positive results than an ambitious plan poorly executed. That’s a fact.

So why all the fuss over the power of visioning in creating remarkable leaders?

“The vision” is definitely more sexy than the dirty, messy and inelegant task of getting stuff done in the trenches fighting internal politics and aggressive competitors that’s for sure.

And leadership pundits seem to be able to wrap their heads around ideation skills far more easily than trying to formularize the synchronized “pick and shovel” activities necessary to mobilize imperfect and biased human beings to deliver results.

The truth is (take it from someone who has been there) it is far easier to apply cognitive skills to the art of leadership than the practical operational skills necessary to transform the helium-filled plan into reality.

The application of cognition is orderly; leading implementation is anything but.

If you’re a leader looking to enhance your effectiveness, don’t fuss with getting more productivity from your mind, “get dirty” with your employees who are up to their asses in mud…

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Standout Leaders Covet These 12 Competencies in People

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Leaders don’t hire.

Yes, you hire to fill a job but you recruit to bring in the right “human essence” to your organization to ensure its long-term success.

Discover these competencies in people and gather them around you:

Lifelong learner: If you’re not learning, you bring little future value to an organization. Look for evidence that prospects are active learners. What areas are they interested in? Who have they learned from? What have they done to apply what they’ve learned and how can they be put to use in your organization?

Infection agent: The ability to infect others with the interest and excitement necessary to execute your strategic game plan is a priceless art. Some people have the innate passion and tenacity to get others on the bandwagon. Get ’em on board.

Apologizer: Loyalty building after you have screwed a customer over begins with “I’m sorry”. Find people who do this naturally and are believable. Some can’t. Some don’t want to. If there is no apology, there is zero service recovery.

Human being “lover”: Creating a “wow” factor for customers is about serving them in exemplary ways. Look for people with a natural desire to serve. Memorable customer moments are created by these people. Find them. Nurture them. Protect them. Reward them.

High pain tolerant: Greatness doesn’t come without disappointment and pain along the way. Resilience pays off. Look for the hard skin. Look for people who like to “get dirty”.

Successful failure: Success requires doing lots of imperfect stuff fast, which generally involves people failing along the way. Look for a track record of “tries” – shortfalls but forward motion nevertheless.

Raconteur: Stories bring everything to life, painting a picture of what it looks like when success happens. Bring people in who can skillfully light up someone’s eyes with a story about some aspect of your strategy. Talk the event. Talk the person. Talk the magic.

Descrambler: Execution is complex. An indispensable team member is one who can see through complexity and simplify it so everyone understands what has to be done. Elegance that can’t be implemented is worthless. Get the “dumb down artist”.

Connector: Deliverables to customers are produced through processes working across the organization, not in silos. Broken customer promises occur when a link in the internal supply chain breaks. Identify people who can connect with others and build effective relationships with them.

First responder: A huge aspect of surviving an unexpected tsunami is responding thoughtfully and quickly. Individuals who bring their “A” game when the unexpected happens add a ton of value and are critical to the organization’s continued success.

“Chillax-er”: You need people who react well under extreme pressure – stop, pause, think and respond thoughtfully. This is tough to teach. Covet the mellow ones.

Nano-inch seeker: There’s no such thing as a silver bullet. Progress is made by having executing a strategy flawlessly, inch by inch. Covet those who have the tenacity and perseverance to get an inch fast.

Do you have a “competencies to covet” plan?

Delegation of this critical task is not an option.

Do it yourself.

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