There is a common thread in the hiring process. Seek out the best candidate you can; train
and equip them; and then get out of their way and allow them to perform to the
best of their abilities.
Isn’t leadership easy? Make the right hire and your job is done…
But in the real world, not every employee is a
superstar. Sometimes you inherit
mediocrity; sometimes, despite your best efforts, you make a hire that is not
so stellar.
It is for these circumstances that authentic
leadership must step in. I don’t mean
that this leader is someone with the resolve to terminate mediocrity. Rather, authentic leadership is that which is
able to work with people of varying levels of talent, self- motivation and
dedication to draw out the best of their potential.
Jack Welch, former CEO at General Electric, was
famous for his policy of firing the bottom 10% of his sales and management
staff every year, regardless of their actual performance. In my opinion, this approach takes no degree
of leadership. In fact it strikes me as
an abdication of leadership. All it
fostered was an environment of fear and internal competition rather than
cooperation and collaboration to the corporate good.
Authentic leadership exercises competencies that are
both learned and those which are a reflection of character. Today’s workforce looks for and responds best
to the empathetic leadership model which is required when moving mediocrity
towards greatness.
We are well to remember that not everyone is
destined for the stars. Indeed, the
elite performers are amongst the top 10% of your staff, perhaps even less than
this. But the other 90% have much to
contribute and this is where your leadership focus has the greatest
impact. The 80/20 rule may be true. But it is the performance of the 20/80
remainder that is the difference between success and failure; between achieving
your goals or not.
Leading a company requires courage, intellect,
experience and no small amount of luck.
Leading people requires an additional dimension of your character that
does not come easily to many. As is being revealed on a daily basis, many of
those whom we have elevated to positions of influence and power have apparently
lacked the fundamental character traits of authentic leadership.
My plea is that, in your leadership role, you are
able to lead with the dignity of character that embraces and encourages everyone
in your sphere of responsibility to reach their fullest potential. And that they achieve this potential without
intimidation; without harassment; and without fear or guilt.
Men and women of character must rise up and join the
chorus that demands a higher moral and ethical standard in the workplace. I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt
that this will only lead to a safer work environment which in turn leads to a
more productive workplace.
Your authentic leadership is the key!
