What a predictable outcome. Impressive resume…check. Solid references… check. Looked, sounded, and talked like someone in charge and in the know… check. Knows all the right people… check. Business/technical acumen… check.
The new leader was hired to take charge and get the team moving but few followed. Several talented people started leaving. All hat and no cattle… check.
How did they miss on choosing the wrong person for such an important role? What’s missing from most leader interviews? When top leadership looks to hire another leader of any level, it’s easy to think whatever their area of expertise somehow hiring is included. I also see people confuse a talent for coaching with assumed skill in hiring. Both mistakes often result in an average hire, and occasionally a train wreck.
In a moment of humility, some executive leaders stop pretending they have all the answers for hiring and ask for help. Just like I partner with a CPA, a banker, or an attorney to help me in areas that aren’t in my sweet spot. Just because I’ve given a deposition doesn’t qualify me to represent myself in court. Likewise, having been hired several times or watched the process doesn’t automatically equip an employer to consistently hire top performers they want to keep.
Instead of DIY hiring, partner with someone like me to help you bypass the pretenders and learn to hear and recognize the leader talent able to raise everyone to the next level.
Whether your expert help is inside your organization or an outside consultant, please partner with them to help you select leaders. The ripple effect of a great leader is the gift that keeps on giving. Why? The best leaders multiply their impact by developing more leaders. As they coach their team to develop their teams as leaders, the climate begins to support a self-sustaining culture of excellence.
Resumes, references, experience and skill focus on what and how they manage. That’s all very important, but that’s not all.
Take the time to find out who they are, as a leader worth following. Agree on a clear standard, structured questions, and criteria based on examples of your best. This will help you stop wasting your time on the wrong people and focus on well rounded talent. Only then can you make the best employee choice, every time.
Hiring is a team sport. Get some experts on your team.