An Insight with Impact

As the new week began, Debbie had a fresh take on the world. She even brought some flowers into the office and put them by the front desk where everyone could enjoy them. She had a new-hire interview scheduled for Tuesday. This time she asked Human Resources to give her two meetings with the candidate and to schedule ninety minutes for each session—not her usual thirty minutes. Following Jeff’s lead, Debbie prepared a short list of references for the candidate. She knew that some of the people might not give her an entirely positive reference, but she wanted to be up-front and honest.

On Tuesday Debbie met with the candidate, a woman a few years older than herself. At the end of their meeting Debbie said, “Thank you for your time today. If you’re still interested in the job, I want you to come back for another meeting. I know this is a major decision for both of us, so next time, I want you to interview me. Ask anything you like. Also, I’ve prepared a short list of personal and professional references for you. You may call them if you like, but you are under no obligation. I have to be honest with you, though. Some of these people may not have the most glowing things to say about my past leadership. But I am committed to becoming a great leader, and I see it as a journey. This team is going to do amazing things, and you may be one of the people to help us.”

The candidate looked amazed. “Never in my life has a potential employer given me references,” she said. “I appreciate your candor. But—” The woman hesitated.

“But what?” Debbie said.

“I’ll go ahead and call your references, but I already have the feeling we could easily work together,” she said with a smile.

Later that afternoon Debbie entered the library and searched out the librarian. “Hello again,” Debbie called to her.

The librarian looked up and a smile of recognition crossed her face. “Hello,” she replied.

“I’m afraid I don’t know your name,” said Debbie.

“It’s Jill,” the librarian replied. “What can I help you with today?”

“I want to learn more about development plans for people.”

“Ah, yes,” said Jill. “Sometimes they’re called Personal Development Plans, and other organizations call them Individual Development Plans, or IDPs. We have several good references that will help you learn more.” Jill pointed Debbie in the right direction and asked, “What else can I do to serve you today?”

At that moment Debbie remembered Jeff’s comment that great leaders were always looking for talented people to join their organizations. She had never been on the lookout for people before. She had always relied on HR to send her whoever they could find. However, over the weekend Debbie had answered one of the questions Jeff had given her about Engaging and Developing Others: What are the key characteristics you look for in the people you select? Her list included a willingness to serve, a warm personality, a sharp mind, and good communication skills. She was standing face-to-face with a person who seemed to match that profile.

“Jill, have you ever considered a career change?”

“As a matter of fact, I have. I just haven’t found the right position in the right company.”

“What would you think about joining my team?” Debbie asked.

“Doing what, exactly?”

“Doing what you do here.”

“Helping people find resources?”

“You’re partially right—helping people. We do sell a product, but our passion is serving people. You seem to get a great deal of satisfaction from that.”

“I do,” Jill acknowledged.

“Let me get you an application. We do have a process we would need to follow. It’s rigorous and time-intensive, with a challenging application and numerous interviews. But I want you to know that it’s not about convincing you that you should work for us. It’s about us determining together if it makes sense for you to join our company. We’re interested in finding a great fit for people. If we can’t, we would rather part as friends and have you work somewhere else. So are you still interested?” Debbie asked hopefully.

“Yes, definitely! Now, let’s see . . . your question was about development plans.”

Debbie walked out the library door an hour later with several books, a couple of articles, and an outstanding template she could use to create her own Personal Development Plan. Not to mention a lead on a valuable new team member.

Back at the office, Debbie began to work on Engaging and Developing Others. Recruiting was part of the mix, and she felt good about her conversation with Jill, but she knew she needed to engage her existing staff. Her upcoming team meeting would be a good place to start.

Although Debbie had already gotten some input from each member of the team regarding Jeff’s questions about the future, this would be their first meeting since Debbie reinstated the team. Naturally, she expected some skepticism from the members of the group.

“I’m glad to have you all back together,” Debbie said as the meeting began. “I have a confession to make. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have canceled our team meetings. They can be a forum for encouragement, problem solving, collaboration, creativity, and accountability. Used wisely, our time together can multiply our impact. We’re stronger together than we are apart. And if we’re going to get to where we want to go, we’re only going to make it by working together.”

Charles raised his hand.

“Yes, Charles,” said Debbie.

“Where is it, exactly, that we want to go?”

For a moment Debbie froze. Then she remembered how thoughtfully Jeff had responded to all her queries. “That’s an outstanding question,” she responded with a smile. “Let’s talk about that.”

This initiated what was perhaps the most productive conversation the group had ever had. Debbie listened to the input of the group and shared her views along the way. By the end of the meeting, they all had a pretty good idea of what they wanted the future to look like. The group decided to pursue a bold goal—to move from ‘Worst to First!’ and create raving fan customers of both their salespeople and the clients. That would be their compelling performance challenge for the months ahead. “Raving fan customers will brag about us and act like they are part of our sales force,” Debbie said.

She concluded the meeting by saying, “I realize we all spend many of our waking hours at work. I want to do all that I can to make it as rewarding and enriching as possible for each of you. At our next meeting, let’s think together about how we can accomplish what we talked about here today. Your homework is to begin thinking about obstacles we’ll need to overcome and short-term goals we may want to set.”

Debbie was encouraged by the attentive faces of the team members. “Thanks for sharing your heart on these issues. I realize that in the past, I’ve been remote and more than a little uptight. Please know I’m sincere when I say that I’d love to talk with any of you individually about this before our next meeting. And be patient with me. When it comes to this manager thing, I’m a work in progress!”

After their meeting had adjourned, four of Debbie’s eight team members stopped by to give positive comments. Debbie could feel a fresh energy from the group. Perhaps this new approach to leadership is working, she thought.

That night Debbie started on her own home-work—studying the material on Personal Development Plans. As she read, she came across an idea that made a tremendous amount of sense to her. It was common sense, yet she had never thought of it before. It was simple, direct, and profound:

Leverage your strengths.

This idea might not only help me, she thought, but it could also help every member of my team.

It was time for another meeting with Jeff. Debbie eagerly anticipated the opportunity to tell him all that had transpired.

The first thing Debbie said when she arrived at Jeff’s office was, “I realize that today we should be talking about the R, and I really do want to learn about it. But I’ve got so much to tell you that it may have to wait until our next meeting. Would you mind?”

Jeff was pleased with her enthusiasm. “It’s your meeting. Where do you want to begin?”

She told him about the team meeting, the progress they were making, and how Jill would be a perfect addition to the team.

“I can tell by your energy level and the things you’re sharing that you’re beginning to really get it,” Jeff said. “What can I do to help?”

“Tell me if I’m on the right track. I was doing some research about Personal Development Plans, and I came across an idea that struck me like a bolt of lightning. As you know, I’ve always thought I had to ‘fix’ people. Based on what I’ve been reading, I would rather ‘fit’ people in the right jobs and help them leverage their strengths, rather than ‘fixing’ them later. If this idea is right, it would change the way I do things. What do you think?”

“That’s another breakthrough for you as a leader,” Jeff said with a smile. “Many leaders never get that one. They spend their entire career trying to make people do things they are not naturally gifted or inclined to do. That’s why it’s so important to engage the right people. Changing people—or ‘fixing’ them, as you put it—is very hard to do.”

Jeff continued, “Let me add that people can learn new skills, and people can enhance their existing abilities. This can happen even outside a person’s natural strengths. That’s why we believe training is essential. But the purpose of training isn’t to try to ‘fix’ people. I heard a great saying years ago: ‘No matter how long the runway, that pig ain’t gonna fly.’ Many leaders invest a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money to give flying lessons to people who will never fly. As leaders, we must be willing to accept the fact that there are some things that certain individuals will never learn to do well. And that’s okay.”

“So . . . ?” Debbie thought she had learned something, but she was not quite sure of its significance.

“So I’m going to quote Peter Drucker again: ‘The leader’s objective is to leverage the strengths of people and make their weaknesses become irrelevant.’”

“Help me with the day-to-day implications of that,” Debbie said.

“Okay, let’s start with a question. Do you have any people on your team who are struggling?”

“Yes. Charles has had trouble ever since he arrived. I worked side by side with him for a couple of days, but, to be honest, it didn’t seem to help.”

“You may need to work with him to discern the answer to the ‘fit’ question. What are his strengths? Do they match the role? Is he in the right role? If you think he’s in the right spot, you’ll need to ask some additional questions. Was he properly trained? Does he clearly understand his responsibilities?

“Once you’re convinced the fit is right for each position, development can smooth rough edges, close any gaps that may be holding the individual back, and even prepare him or her for future opportunities. All of this is possible if the person is in the right job. Helping people leverage their strengths is one of the most rewarding parts of the leader’s role.”

Helping people leverage their strengths is one of the most rewarding parts of the leader’s role.

I knew this was big, Debbie thought. She also knew that a conversation with Charles could be very insightful. She jotted down a note to schedule a meeting with him as soon as possible.

“Thanks, Jeff. You helped me understand how and why leveraging strengths is critical. Even though we didn’t talk about R, I’ve already got my homework assignment.”

“What’s that?” Jeff asked. “I’m going to meet with Charles and see how I can help.”