If you were to define the key elements required to be an effective leader, what would they be? Where you work, which qualities are valued most in your management teams? What are your expectations of the leaders you work for?
Some experts believe the most effective leaders bring about maximum financial results. Others would point to charismatic, larger-than-life CEOs who inspire followers with vision. Still others claim effective leaders have high levels of emotional intelligence, are skilled at making tough decisions, are relentlessly focused on execution and excel at building trusting relationships.
Bottom line, the most effective organizations need the most effective management teams, which calls for putting the right people in management roles. The right candidates have the strongest people skills, so it is important to stress this attribute in the recruiting and placement process. Technical skills are necessary, but weighing them too heavily is a critical mistake.
I wrote about this in my last post. Employees respond much more favorably to managers who know how to relate with them than those who have technical savvy. You see, technical skills can be honed to lead technically, but people desire managers who can lead personally. Unlike technical skills, people skills are more difficult to assess on paper. This is why getting to know candidates personally is critical. Interviews are valuable to grasp a candidate’s soft skillset.
11 Key Elements to Explore
When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we discuss key elements to explore with a candidate, whether they are internal or from outside the organization:
- What is their philosophy of leadership?
- How does their character convey positivity and motivation?
- How do they exhibit pride, humility, respect, accountability?
- What kind of wisdom, discernment and insight do they have?
- Are they personally interested in people, and enjoy engaging, supporting and encouraging them?
- How do they value their staff?
- Do they care about employees as people or just physical resources?
- What kind of collaborative spirit do they have?
- Do they seem interested in benefitting themselves or others?
- What is their definition of fairness?
- Will they fit into the culture?
Many of these answers can be sensed through conversations or what-if scenarios by asking candidates to role play specific situations. I encourage my clients to make sure that the candidate’s people skills are strong enough before offering them a management position.
What do you think? How do you find the best management candidates for your team? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
