How to Promote the Best Leaders

Posted on February 6, 2020February 10, 2020 by Karin Hurt David Dye | No Comments

To promote the best first-time leaders, focus on more than results.

Your decisions about who you put in management and leadership roles are some of the most important leadership decisions you’ll ever make. It’s a decision about who you will trust with your most important asset—your people. With so much at stake and riding on the quality of your leaders, what do you look for when you want to promote the best leaders?

Many leaders look to their high achievers—the people who are very effective at what they do. The best programmer, the top salesperson, the teacher who consistently helps students overcome obstacles and achieve. Others look for a person’s willingness to speak up, take charge, and “get things done.”

Unfortunately, neither high-performance nor a commanding personality are reliable indicators that a person can lead well.

Some high-performers are fantastic leaders and others struggle to make the transition. Some outgoing personalities lead well and others don’t. (And some of your quiet folks may amaze you with their ability to bring people together to get things done.)

The Problem with Performance

We’re not saying that a leader’s technical proficiency and expertise doesn’t matter. It does.

People need to trust their leader and their competence at work. Being a remarkable example goes a long way.

It’s not that dissimilar from how you hire for roles requiring technical competence. You look for competence at the fundamentals, but excellence in their area of expertise matters even more.

In the same way, when you’re looking for leaders, you want good performance. But, the number one ability you are looking for is their capacity to lead.

One of the biggest mistakes we see leaders make when promoting high-performers to leadership positions is using performance or personality as a surrogate for leadership.

Promote the Best Leaders (even if they haven’t led before)

So how can you tell if someone has the capacity to lead—before they’ve actually led?

Start with these foundational characteristics:

Technical knowledge and expertise and a strong track record of results (they know what they’re doing and command the respect of others up, down, and sideways.)
Integrity (you can count on them to do the right thing consistently.)
Accountability (they do what they say they will— and hold others to a similar standard.)
Vision (they see opportunities where others don’t and can rally their peers around a compelling vision.)
Commitment (they care about the success of the team— beyond their own results.)
Confidence (they are willing and able to stand up for what matters and speak the truth—in a way others can hear.)
Humility (they surround themselves with people who will challenge them and encourage new ideas.)

Note: This confident-humility dynamic includes the ability to use power judiciously.

Most employees don’t come to you with all of these characteristics fully developed. In fact, apart from integrity, character, and personal responsibility, the others will always develop over time.

This means that you will need to invest in building these traits in your employees and give them opportunities to demonstrate these abilities.

Whether you use formal 9 box succession planning or a more informal process, you’ll want to train leadership skills, and then give people a chance to lead. These opportunities reveal leaders and build leadership capacity. You’ll discover who can influence before they have formal power, and who can exercise influence without abusing the privilege.

Ad hoc projects, interdepartmental teams, committees, interim-assignments when a supervisor is absent, as well as employee-sponsored initiatives are ample chances for your team to practice their leadership skills.

As you evaluate potential (and pitfalls), don’t forget to follow up these assignments with a debrief about what worked, what they learned, and what they would (or could) do differently next time.

To promote the best leaders, look for the people who lead where they are and don’t need position power to get things done.

Your Turn

We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and share your number one strategy to develop leadership and promote the best leaders?

7 Big Rules For a Successful Talent Review

How to Get Noticed as a Leader– Before You’ve Led a Team

Posted on August 1, 2017March 17, 2019 by Karin Hurt | No Comments

How do you get noticed a leader before you’ve led a team?

Last week “John” shared his “No Diaper Genie!” frustration in the middle of our high-potential leadership development program.

Yeah, I get that I’m here… and the company is investing in me and all that. But my boss keeps saying, “You’re not ready to be promoted, you’ve never led a team. I can’t recommend you for that particular promotion now, give it time”
but the truth is, my job is 18 times more complex than any front-line supervisor. I’m neck-deep in a complex organizational structure doing really strategic work and making an impact. How do I get noticed?”

Flashback to about 20 years ago, when I looked at my boss, Mary Ann, and said almost EXACTLY those same words. I had a masters degree and most of a Ph.D., I was gung ho working really long hours, thinking strategically, and contributing in any way that I could.

And she said the words I found remarkably frustrating and stupid at the time…

Karin, “What’s for you won’t miss you. We’ve got a lot of old-fashioned ways of thinking and being around here… but you’re bigger than all that. Stay the course. Show up as the leader you think the guys three levels up should be.”

And so I did. And as it turns out, Mary Ann was right. It didn’t miss me.

Five Ways to Get Noticed As a Leader Before You’ve Led a Team

Be so good it’s hard to notice. Here are five ways to make a leadership impact before you have a team.

Master the art of the tough conversation.
Be the guy that can give tough feedback to peers, project team members and even your boss in a way that makes them feel valued and grateful. People will then seek you out as a trusted advisor). Here’s a tool that can help INSPIRE feedback model for project managers For some additional inspiration, you can see part of my Managing the Art of the Tough Conversation keynote here.
Rock your role.
Yes, yes, you’ve heard this from me before (see related advice here). But I can’t tell you how many people come to me each week frustrated that they’re not at the next level, and when I ask about their current performance they shrug that off because “they’re bored and ready for more.” Not a chance. I would never promote you if you’re not showing up consistently as a high-performer, and neither should your boss.
Be sure every meeting you attend is better because you were there.
You can pull that off in a variety of ways: help keep the team on track by separating “Where are we going?” conversations “How will we get there?” discussions; help to clarify and summarize action items, “Who will do what by when and how will we know?” Invite softer spoken team members to offer their contributions. See more ideas for running effective meetings here.
Keep your boss informed of your strategic contribution.
When done well, it’s not bragging. It’s useful– and when you’re adding more value, so are they. Here’s a free huddle planner to help you have more productive one-on-ones with your boss.
Practice Two-level thinking.
When faced with a difficult business problem or when you’re asked to do something that feels challenging think, “Why is this important to my boss’ boss?” If you can’t come up with a good answer, ask your immediate manager to help you think it through. Everyone wants to have team members who “get it” and want to make a more strategic impact on the business.

If you want to stand out as a leader, don’t wait until you have a formal title. Leading without authority is the best way to stand out “as a natural” and get noticed for what you bring to the scene.

How To Succeed As Scope And Scale Increases

Posted on January 29, 2014January 29, 2014 by Karin Hurt | 21 Comments

“Sam” was beaming with excitement as he told me about his promotion. He was in the throws of a transition from supervisor to manager, He’ll now lead leaders.

“But it’s scary,” he added. “I know I have to handle this whole thing differently. I was very close to my team. We talked about everything and shared common interests. Now I must distance myself, not share too much, not get too close.”

Sam continued with the list of all her other behaviors that MUST change. I heard none of what must stay the same, as his scope increased. Now I was scared.

And then there’s “Jenny”. I gave Jenny an assignment because of her strategic mind and strong leadership. The role was enormous and there was much to learn. We met to discuss her performance agreement and goals, and I asked, “So what’s your strategy?” Silence. “What are you doing to build your team?” Crickets.

She’d been doing a great job learning and keeping things moving, that she wasn’t yet leveraging her best gifts, the ability to transform. Jenny came back a week later with the rock star plan I knew she had inside her.

How to Scale Well as Scope Increases

Transitions in scope and scale are tricky. Continue to do ALL of what worked at the last level, and you will surely fail. On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of abandoning your best characteristics and approaches. I’ve seen too many leaders lose themselves in the transitioning process.

Translate the Landscape

You’ve got a new view, share it, up, down, and sideways. Some of the puzzle is coming together for you in a new way. Capture that feeling and share it with your team. Explain the strategy as you would have wanted it explained to you yesterday. It works upwards and sideways as well. Share your perspective about how the latest processes and policies are playing out in the field. Combine your old knowledge and new insights into an enlightened and integrated perspective– play this well, and you’ll be brilliant.

Be Visible and Invisible

As a leader at a new level, your best bet is high visibility. Be approachable. But don’t get in the way. Nothing will annoy your new team more than having your door so wide open, that everyone jumps over them to get to you. Respect your team and their authority. Unless something is up that needs a skip level intervention, tread lightly before taking action. Serve your direct report team well. Help them lead their teams more effectively by working through, not around them.

Listen, Learn, and Be Strategic

Go on a listening tour and learn all you can, but don’t react. You’ll be tempted to jump in and fix stuff because you know how. That’s not your job anymore. Delegate the immediate fixing, and then take it up a notch. Look for patterns. Consider the strategic implications and root causes. Build cross-functional teams to tackle the challenges to make a greater impact.

Build Better Leaders

Your most important work as a leader of leaders is helping them grow. The tragic truth is that many leaders spend less time developing their leaders as they increase in scope. Reverse that trend. I have increased the percentage of time I devote to developing leaders as I have moved up the ladder. Nothing will drive results faster than strong leadership at every level.

Respond, But Never React

The fires burn more fierce the higher you go. The issues on your desk are real, and often urgent. Great leaders pause, listen, gather facts, and respond. Sure, that response must often be quick, but frantic reaction slows down helpful behavior. Learn to keep your cool, early in the game.

Become a Roadblock Buster

Spend time making things easier for your team. Find out where they’re stuck, and offer to remove roadblocks. Two cautions here. First, don’t jump in without asking. Too much help will make your team feel like you don’t trust them, or look like they’re running to their boss. Second, teach while you’re busting down those barriers. And for Pete’s sake be sure YOU’RE not the roadblock. Respond quickly with needed approvals and work to diminish unnecessary time wasters and bureaucracy.

Invest in Your Development

Many leaders spend less time on their own development the further up they go. Big mistake. As scope and scale increases, so does your responsibility to lead well. Get a coach. Have a collection of mentors. Read constantly. Interact in the LGL community.

Multiplier of the Year

If you feel so inclined, I would appreciate your vote for Multiplier of the Year voting ends on 01/31. I think this would be a cool way to spread the word about our community. Click here to cast your vote. Thank you!

Do They Hear What You Hear?

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 by Karin Hurt | 17 Comments

He wants to be promoted, but something’s missing. You feel it, your boss feels it, but it’s hard to put your finger on it. He’s completed all the action plans, and has done everything you’ve asked. Look more deeply, does he hear what you hear?

“Happy is the hearing man; unhappy the speaking man.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The leap to the next level requires a keen sense of hearing. It’s an acquired skill, hard to explain in your development program. HR knows it too, but it’s unlikely they’d let you include it in the job description.

What They Must Hear

The Look in Their Eyes – Strong leaders commit to the moment. They can’t be searching for words or remembering the talk track. And they REALLY can’t get stuck on the script. Teach your growing leaders to watch the room and the look in their eyes. If the crew’s not tracking, it’s time to regroup. Teach them to search deeper. Help them change their approach ( not their values). Look for alternative doors to open similar possibilities.

Political Undertones – Great hearing starts long before the talking begins. Assign hearing homework. Help them assess the landscape and positions, BEFORE they plan their presentation.

Bigger Context – It’s hard to speak like an executive when you don’t have a clue. Give them enough insights to present an integrated view.

Meaning in Data – Teach interpretation not regurgitation. Leaders must pull meaning and implications for results. If there’s a gap, or a trend be sure they can explain it. Not tap dancing… thoughtful analysis and understanding. Help them show up as the expert.

The Unsaid – Every now and then your growing leader will step into an unexpected landmine. If the entire room reacts like they’re in a Harry Potter movie, where someone just named “the one who can’t be named.” Teach them to stop, take it off-line, and understand more before continuing.

Ready or Not? Do I Really Want That Management Gig?

Posted on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by Karin Hurt | 8 Comments

You’re the best at what you do. You’re a technical genius. You skip to work. And now you’re feeling pressured to move to the next level. You’re honored, and humbled. It would mean more money.

But, you see what your boss goes through. All those people problems. Questions of job security make you queasy.

You are not alone.