A good friend that knows my passion for all things leadership, recently switched jobs and offered some comments on the nature of his dozen or so interviews. I paraphrase:
My leadership skills, experience or approach were not discussed during any of the interviews.
I was shocked.
None of the top executives that I spoke with singled out and discussed leadership or people development during discussions about their business and strategy.
I started to get depressed.
And: Nope, it wasn't covered with the recruiters either.
I had a headache.
What gives?
I'm not sure whether it is a continued human tendency towards
self-absorption or narcissism, or an inherent assumption on the part of
a hiring executive that experienced, well-pedigreed candidates "get
leadership" otherwise they wouldn't be sitting there. Regardless of
the root cause, I have a hard time comprehending that the topic of
leadership and people development as anything other than a strategic
issue in this era. Frankly, once I've established a candidate's
technical competencies, all that I care about is how they lead, develop
and impact others.
Here's why I believe that leadership is THE fundamental discussion point in hiring a top executive:
-More than ever, an organization's fate is determined by how effectively it channels the talents, ideas and passions of its' employees into ideas that create value for customers. A leader's ability to support, inspire, motivate and to create the environment where the talents of employees are truly valued and leveraged is his or her top priority. Bar none.
-The command and control style of leadership that many of us grew up with is dead. Try it—it doesn't work with any of the generations now in the workforce. The effective leaders today and of tomorrow get this, and have developed a style and supporting approaches that get the best that people have to offer without leading by barking orders and demanding compliance. I want to know whether my top hires get this key point.
-Everything about finding, reaching and cultivating customers has changed. Every executive should read Seth Godin's, Meatball Sundae, (about a 2-hour investment of your time and well worth it), and then take a look at their own organization's approach to these key tasks, and shudder. Adapting to, surviving, or hopefully, prospering in the Web2.0 world will require leaders to think, organize and operate very differently. If I'm hiring a top executive, I want to know how they are going to help me navigate in this new world.
-Piling on the theme of "Everything's Different," the world is increasingly shaped by the macro-forces of demographics, globalism and change. Markets are born, mature and die seemingly overnight. Competitors and disruptive offerings arise from places we never had to think about before and deliver value to clients in ways we never imagined. (Imagine ordering your lunch in a drive-through in Chicago, while the order is being entered into the POS System in Bangalore. It's happening!)
More than ever, a firm will rely on cultivating and developing knowledge workers with the formal and informal leadership skills either to respond to change or more importantly, to pro-act and innovate around emerging forces.
The bottom-line:
Leadership counts, now more than ever. I still have a headache thinking about what my friend experienced or did not experience during his recent interviews. Fortunately, he gets it and understands what it takes to lead in this new era. However, it doesn't excuse hiring executives everywhere from ignoring this critical issue in hiring and in setting their strategy and execution programs. C'mon leaders, start focusing on assessing your hires around their ability to positively lead and impact others. This skill-set will be the difference between success and obsolescence.
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