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Successful companies set goals. Without them, they have no defined purpose and nothing to strive for; consequently, they stagnate and struggle for meaningful accomplishments. Goals are steppingstones to an end result. They must be present in every business plan and become a regular part of ongoing business operations. A leader’s goals and those of their direct reports should be aligned with the organization’s goals. Whether a corporate, department, or individual goal, the goal should be measurable and time-bound. A measurable goal specifically defines what is to be accomplished – the more specific, the better. The due date for the goal should be just as specific. “Reduce turnover next quarter” is not a good goal; “less than 10 avoidable ‘A’ player resignations between April 1st and June 30th” is a measurable, time-bound goal. Instead of “increase sales”, how about “distribution sales greater than $5 million by December 31st?” Teams empowered with specific measurable, time-bound goals experience more success.

Leaders, when defining jobs, should assign a percentage of time to the major accountabilities. This helps the incumbent know how to focus their time. In an Inc. article, Yuriy Boykiv, CEO of the New York-based global advertising agency Gravity Media, breaks down his time as follows: 50% Psychologist, 25% Sales, 15% Finance and HR, and 10% Strategy. Really, 50% Psychologist? It is important for leaders to understand how individual personalities impact team dynamics. No one disputes the power a team has over a bunch of individual contributors (we’ve all seen the Successories poster showing a team rowing the boat together with the sun in the background and TEAMWORK captioned below). However, a team’s effectiveness is greatly diminished when one of the team members is a jerk. Jack Welsh defines a jerk as someone who exceeds performance metrics but demonstrates poor behaviors. On teams, jerks disrupt team chemistry, are ostracized, and often create an over reaction by the other team members. A leader needs to put on the psychologist hat when this disruption occurs. The leader needs to confront the jerk and the whole team on their behaviors. Failing to do so damages trust in the leader, stifles team motivation, minimizes core values, and saps energy. Empowered leaders identify and deal with team jerks and have more success.

Every hiring manager should have a repeatable selection process consisting of three phases: job and candidate definition, screening, and evaluation. Here is how a hiring manager knows if they have an excellent selection process: Do employees respect the new hire for succeeding in the selection process? Would employees cringe if they had to go through the selection process? Do weak candidates drop out of the selection process because it is too hard? Are superstars attracted to the company because the selection process ensures weak candidates are not hired? Does every new hire, without exception, go through the selection process? Do potential superstars embrace the selection process? Empowered hiring managers have a quality selection process, are disciplined in administering it, and make successful hires.

In his controversial book, Frames of Mind – The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner introduces the theory of seven different intelligences: linguistic, musical, logical, spatial, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Gardner defines interpersonal intelligence as: the ability to read the intentions and desires of other individuals and act upon this knowledge (Frames of Mind p. 239). It’s interesting to understand how leaders and their sales staff apply interpersonal intelligence to the selling process. Behavioral tools and structures should be used to allow sales associates to better understand themselves, read their customers, and adapt to their customers. Applying behavioral science to the sales process creates a greater connection between the buyer and seller and leads to more sales. Leaders should sharpen the interpersonal intelligence of their sales staff and empower them for greater success.

Critical thinking is more than using logic or problem solving. The critical thinking tests many hiring managers use for selection and development measure how well an individual recognizes assumptions, evaluates arguments, and draws conclusions. Recognizing assumptions includes reading between the lines, defining/redefining issues and exploring different points of view. Evaluating arguments is the ability to evaluate arguments based on the strength of the evidence supporting them, as well as the ability to analyze them without allowing personal bias or emotions to influence the analysis. Drawing conclusions is gathering, weighing, and assimilating information to form a sound conclusion. Logic tells us an individual’s ability to draw the right conclusions may depend on their ability to recognize assumptions and evaluate arguments effectively. Both of those components rely on the ability for an individual to step away from their own train of thought or to develop the ability to look at things from other perspectives. Improving critical thinking skills allows direct reports to perform individually or as a team better. Leaders should empower the success of their direct reports by encouraging development of critical thinking skills.

Past performance is always the best indication of how well a candidate will likely perform in a new role. Interviewing and assessing candidates provides useful insight, but If you have ever applied for an advanced area of study (or know someone who has), you know submitting references is a major step in the application process. References play a significant role in the school’s admittance decision. The prepared applicants have been cultivating their references well before the time of application. Much thought is given to choosing those references that will be both respected by the school and can best attest to the candidate’s abilities. The quality of references submitted by job candidates says a lot about them too. Having bosses or senior associates as references indicates a candidate who has left jobs on favorable conditions. Having quality references might indicate how well a candidate maintains their network. The best references are those who have had frequent and significant interactions with the candidate. They have had the opportunity to see the candidate’s many facets and worked with them through the rough patches. Candidates with poor quality references may be a future headache. Empowered hiring managers evaluate the quality of their candidates’ references and make successful hires.

History is filled with examples of teams of underdogs that unexpectedly go on to accomplish great results. Conversely, there are examples of seemingly great teams filled with stars that fail to meet expectations. The difference is leadership. Effective leaders are focused both on getting the right people AND getting people right. Getting people right is taking existing talent and getting the most out of them by challenging each team member differently and leveraging their collective strengths. John Wooden won 10 NCAA basketball championships in 12 years, not just by recruiting the best players, but also by getting the most out of them. How many times have we seen the number one draft choice in professional sports fail? Leadership almost always trumps talent. Empowered leaders get their people right and experience more success.

Many entrepreneurial minded leaders have read Traction by Gino Wickman or Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters or have learned about the Entrepreneurial Operating System® from other sources. They are intrigued by the idea of hiring an IntegratorTM to run the day-to-day operations side of their business. In recent years, with a pandemic, supply chain shortages and the Great Resignation, leaders are finding that they are working so much in the business, that the more enjoyable stuff of working on the business is being pushed aside. Visionary leaders see the advantages of bringing in a #2 or COO to allow themselves more time to work in the areas they enjoy the most. And if the selection process is handled properly, it can have numerous positive effects for the company and its leader. But like any key hire, there are many things a leader must consider before embarking on bringing in a Chief of Operations. The Metiss Group has an informative, complimentary eBook which addresses the right approach to the selection and onboarding of an Integrator. We invite you to download it and learn more.

It wasn’t all too long ago that when businesses needed to hire, they simply placed an ad in local newspapers. Hiring managers only needed to decide how large an ad to run, what newspapers, and for how long. Today recruiters rarely use newspapers and instead have moved to online job boards like Monster, indeed, and LinkedIn for sourcing. In the current hiring market, those sources are becoming less effective and hiring managers are being forced to get creative. It’s okay to recruit candidates who are still working. Hiring managers who received great service while dining or shopping can hand the associate their business card and encourage them to contact them about a great opportunity they might have for them. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is known for developing great sales people and has the “we’ll come pick you up” service offering; it’s not uncommon for hiring managers to recruit Enterprise sales associates while they are being “picked up” or driven around. Hiring managers should be on the lookout for good people they might come across while they are out and encourage everyone on their team to do the same. Empowered hiring managers are always on the lookout for top talent to make successful hires when the time comes.

Whether it’s the strengths based books from Marcus Buckingham and Tom Rath, a high school sports coach, or grandmother’s sage advice, we’ve all heard the maxim “use your strengths for success.” Many leaders go as far as to assess their direct reports to determine their strengths and encourage them to capitalize on their unique abilities. But what happens when those strengths are taken to an extreme? An excess of anything can result in undesirable consequences. Leaders need to be aware how this might impact their team. One of the more common workplace challenges is the domineering associate recognized for delivering results and overcoming obstacles who, when taking their strength to the extreme, alienates those around them. Another is the deep thinking, reflective associate successful for their profound problem solving abilities who, when getting too wrapped up in collecting and crunching data, fails to meet deadlines. Leaders should encourage their direct reports to identify, leverage, and capitalize on their talents and praise them when they succeed in this approach but be prepared to offer course corrections if the behavior becomes too extreme. Empowered leaders understand their direct report’s strengths and help them be leveraged for greater success.

One of the most difficult decisions for successful leaders is delegating an important task. Once the leader finally decides what to delegate, they then need to decide how to delegate. When delegating, the leader can take a controlling or an empowering approach. Think empowerment. Empowerment does not have to mean surrendering control. Effective, empowering leaders establish borders and boundaries around the delegated task. There are four areas to be established and communicated when empowering direct reports: Describe success; Specify restrictions (non-negotiables, budget, authority); Define time frames (hours to dedicate, milestones, checkpoints/updates, completion date); Identify available resources (people, information, training, processes). Whether it’s empowering a direct report to purchase the organization’s next computer system or empowering them to plan the holiday party, leaders experience much more success when they and their direct report discuss the borders and boundaries associated with the delegated task rather than micro-managing all the details.

In this time of “The Great Resignation,” key talent is leaving companies at record levels. Replacing good employees is time consuming and can affect business operations. Leaders are asking, “How can I keep my key talent?” Why Do People Leave Companies? There is one number one reason people quit and it’s their boss. When probed further, there are 7 reasons why bosses make employees crazy. Job not as expected Job doesn’t fit talents and interests No hope for career growth Little or no feedback/coaching Feel devalued and unrecognized Feel overworked and stressed out Lack of trust or confidence in leaders What this tells us is that talent doesn’t quit companies. THEY QUIT BOSSES! So what are steps company leaders can take to retain talent? Here are recommendations The Metiss Group makes to companies who are concerned about losing key talent. Develop the Boss Create a Scorecard Provide Feedback Conduct One-On-Ones Provide Employee Development Have a Succession Plan for ALL Key Team Members Successful companies develop their Leadership and their Key Talent.