Don’t Gamble with Leadership: 3 Key Steps to Hiring the Right Leader
Tony Misura
Every industry is facing a massive talent exodus as baby boomers retire, taking their 40+ years of experience with them. This makes selecting future leaders an even higher stakes challenge for companies to stay successful. But is it widely reported the average success rate for selecting the right talent in Fortune 500 companies is only 50%? (Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street) At Misura Group we have increased our leadership hiring success rate to 90% by focusing on these three key traits.
1. Prioritization: Does the leader have a history of making good decisions?
A CEO recently shared three big initiatives for his company: launching new software to reduce customer acquisition costs (from 10% to 1% of sales), moving to a new facility, and resizing the team to match the expected productivity gains. He ended by saying, “We can’t do everything at once. I’m carefully sequencing the plan.”
Every organization has limited people and resources. Great leaders know how to assign the right people to the right tasks at the right time, building momentum step by step. They connect their teams to the big picture and make sure everyone understands what success looks like. When the team has clear expectations, they can measure the leader’s ability to make tough decisions under pressure. Top talent won’t follow a leader who makes poor decisions or executes poorly.
2. Can the leader attract, hire, and develop the right talent?
Imagine your leader candidate as the Pied Piper, walking through a crowd of 1,000 people.
How many people—and what level of talented people—will be attracted to follow that leader candidate?
A great leader doesn’t just get people excited about the company, they also know exactly what the team needs to succeed. This means moving people to the "right seat on the bus," as Jim Collins puts it. A leaders' ability to identify A, B, and C players is key. A players have both the will and skill to succeed. B players have the will but need help developing the necessary skills. C players might have the skills but lack the will, and they often need to go. Poor leaders tend to hang on to C players for too long.
3. What’s the state of the candidate’s long-term relationships?
People of poor character can only mask it for short periods of time. Every relationship will be challenged overtime, and through those times the character is tested and retested. Making long term relationships the critical unlock to effective character measurement. I am not saying that every professional with a poor relationship with their children is a leadership hiring risk, but its more than 80%. Leaders with a history of people following them from one company to another are a top trait. Turning around poor character requires a brain transplant – you have been forewarned.
Being excellent with relationships is directly tied to being excellent with communication. Humans are programmed to be negative first. It's a primal urge that we all battle. The best leaders are amazing at creating a safe, secure, positive environment for people to be their "Best Selves" and take risks. The use of mantras is a top leadership trait that should be part of your assessment. Mantras keep teams focused, competitive, and collaborative while concentrating on the desired outcomes – through unplanned adversity.
Some of my favorites are:
“The only easy day was yesterday” - Navy Seals
“Sua Sponte” – Of your own accord – Rangers
“When in Command, Command!” – Admiral Halsey
“A shepherd should smell like his sheep”
“Who Dares Wins” – British Special Forces
Choosing Young Potential Leaders
Many companies face the challenge of selecting 20-year-olds for leadership positions. Their limited professional experience makes the selection process more challenging. Here is our process:
Determine if their greatest motivation comes from individual or team achievements. While every team needs both, putting your top salesperson, designer, estimator, or engineer in a management role is usually a huge mistake.
Look for early signs of leadership. Captains of high school teams and social groups as well as leaders of fraternities, and sororities provide an early tell of leadership skills.
Curiosity and Resiliency—There is nothing that makes up for a lack of experience like these two traits.
Make hiring and developing leaders your company’s No. 1 Strength and watch the rewards roll in. We can help.
Over 10 years ago, we made these books our go-to playbook at Misura Group. We hope they help you as much as they’ve helped us improve our team: