Great Leaders Do This One Thing Really Well
Hint: It’s not strategy, execution, or financial management. It’s far more human than that
Have you ever wondered why Price’s Law (50% of work is done by the square root of total company employees) and The Pareto Principle (80% of work is shouldered by 20% of employees) exist in the first place? It’s because most companies tolerate unproductive behaviors from their employees.
In Good to Great, Jim Collins contends that great leaders always start with people first before focusing on strategy or execution. That’s the “People First” approach required to take companies from good to great.
He said, “First who, then what — get the right people on the bus — the wrong ones off — and the right ones in the right seats.”
This seems so obvious — a no-brainer. But in reality, most companies are rife with people who aren’t a fit for the job, aren’t set up for success, or both. That’s because, somewhere along the line, leaders failed to do their jobs.
Most leaders mistake the “People First” approach with employee retention strategies like free lunches, yoga classes, and a 4-day work week. Although retaining employees is an important topic, the “People First” approach tackles that last.
“People First” is about hiring right, firing fast, and retaining well — in that order.
Leaders’ biggest mistake is not taking the “People First” approach seriously. It’s hands down the single most consequential mistake they’ll make.
Nothing stunts a company’s growth like having people in the boat pulling on a different oar in another direction. Sometimes, sinking the boat altogether.
”If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.” — Ed Catmull (President, Pixar)
We often see wrong strategies, poor execution, and financial mismanagement as reasons companies collapse. But the truth is, these are just the consequences of failing to hire right, fire fast, and retain well. Strategies and execution don’t just happen. People make them happen.
Good leaders hire the right people and get them to stay in the boat. Great leaders do that and get the wrong people off the boat fast.
Get the Right People in the Boat
So many articles and books have tackled this subject already. What I’d like to do here is highlight the characteristics of the “right people.” There are common traits all great hires have. Let’s examine them.
“It’s easy to hire. It’s hard to unhire.” — Randy Komisar
Who are the “right people”?
To be clear, there are no absolute right or wrong people here. It’s situational. The right person for your company might be the wrong person for another company and vice versa.
Having said that, there are key traits to look for in new hires to maximize chances for success. Those traits are:
#1 Hunger: The right people have a pep in their step and are biased for action. They don’t need to be closely managed. They understand what’s expected of them and often exceed those expectations without external motivation.
They’re self-driven and contribute to the company's success far beyond the confines of their job description. When you’re interviewing candidates, try asking the following questions to identify if they’re hungry:
What drives you to get up every morning and come to work?
Describe a project or task where you went beyond what was expected of you. What motivated you to do so?
Describe a situation where you identified a problem or a new idea at work and took the initiative to address it before being asked. How did you go about it?
How do you push yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve professional growth?
What achievement are you most proud of in your career, and why?
#2 Resilience: The right people are adaptable and deal with setbacks gracefully. This resilience allows them to thrive in challenging environments. If you run a startup, it is by definition a challenging environment. The following questions can help identify if a candidate is resilient:
Can you describe a situation where you disagreed with a manager or team member and how you handled it?
Can you share a piece of constructive feedback you received in a past role and how you responded to it?
Tell me about a time you faced a significant obstacle or setback at work and how you overcame it.
How do you keep yourself motivated during prolonged periods of challenge or stress?
#3 Critical Thinking: The right people have clarity of thinking. They have a point of view. To assess if a candidate is a critical thinker, try asking these questions:
Describe a time when you had to make a decision with limited information. What was your approach, and what was the outcome?
How do you prioritize your work when faced with multiple urgent issues?
[Present a hypothetical but relevant work challenge and ask how they would approach it].
[For the specific role] How would you handle [specific situation or task]?
#4 Growth Mindset: The right people believe they’re on a journey of learning. They read to improve their condition and always seek new skills. Here are a few questions to help identify if a candidate has a Growth Mindset:
What skills or areas are you currently trying to develop or improve?
How do you handle change or adapt to new situations in the workplace?
Describe a time when a project or role changed unexpectedly. How did you respond?
How do you ensure you’re continuously learning and adapting in your role, especially when faced with new challenges?
Can you share a skill or knowledge area you had to rapidly acquire in response to a work challenge?
#6 Character: The right people are disciplined, honest, keep their word, follow through, and dependable. These questions can help discern if a candidate has good character:
Can you recall a time when you had to make a decision that was right but unpopular? How did you handle the aftermath?
Describe a scenario where you faced an ethical dilemma. How did you resolve it?
How would your past colleagues describe your work style and contributions to the team?
How do you handle situations where you have to provide feedback or criticism to a sensitive team member?
Can you recall a time when you had to support a colleague going through a difficult personal situation? How did you approach it?
What’s the biggest misconception others might have about you?
If I were to ask your previous manager about your areas for improvement, what would they say?
#7 Passion: Finally, the right people are drawn to the company because they’re excited about its business and prospects. Asking the following questions can identify if a candidate is passionate about the company, the role, and the industry:
Why are you interested in this role and our company?
How would you explain our company’s mission to someone unfamiliar with our industry?
What excites you most about the prospect of working in this industry and specifically with our company?
How do you believe our company stands out from our competitors?
Above all, remember Frank Slootman's maxim: if there’s doubt, there’s no doubt. If you have doubts, don’t hire that candidate even if they check all the boxes.
Get the Wrong People Off the Boat
This is the trickier part of the “People First” approach and the one most leaders fail at. This is why you invariably run into victims and bullies at companies. Those people do not belong in the boat, yet there they are, sinking and taking all of us down with them.
Keeping the wrong person in the boat is far more detrimental than having an empty seat. Every time I’ve let someone go who has “institutional knowledge” and whose departure should have “ruined us,” we’d fare just fine. It’s better to have an empty seat than an occupied one that’s slowing you down, or worse.
Who are the “wrong people”?
Another reminder that there are no absolute right or wrong people here. It’s situational. The right person for your company might be the wrong person for another company and vice versa.
Also, and this happens often, some of the right people in your company will turn into the wrong people if you foster an environment that dims their light and snuffs out their creative spark. But that’s a topic for a separate post.
There are key common traits among people that do not belong in a company. These folks are dismantling your culture, so act decisively and act fast. You want to look for consistency in behavior here.
#1 Complacency: The wrong people have checked out. They’re constantly reminded to do their job. They’re lazy and often feel like the company owes them something. They bide their time until they land their next gig. These are the victims at work, and this is how you spot them:
It’s always someone else’s fault but never theirs. No accountability.
Putting in the bare minimum because they’re sick and tired of being surrounded by idiots (this one’s a classic!)
They’re “working remotely” in Gstaad when their department is falling apart (true story.)
They don’t follow through without constant reminders.
They usually have a list of what’s not working and what other people need to do differently.
They believe they’re doing great and do not need to change or improve their behavior.
#2 Lots of Talk; Zero Impact: The wrong people talk a big game and make a ton of promises that never see the light of day. They usually require a ton of nudging and reminding. They don’t follow through and aren’t true to their word. Here’s how to spot them:
They promise to do [something important] by [a specific date], but never deliver it on time and usually after a lot of nagging.
They crave the limelight without real substance to back it up.
They rest on their laurels.
#3 Fixed Mindset: The wrong people resist change and are stuck in their old ways. They push back on learning new skills. They also feel defined by what they know today and not by how they could grow tomorrow. They’re actively or passively working to sabotage recent changes you’ve introduced.
It’s easy to spot them because they tend to balk at any new change that requires them to learn something new or work on something different.
#4 The Brilliant Jerks: This type is especially insidious. They might be good for the company in the short-term, but they’re still poisoning your culture, and you should remove them asap if you want a healthy, thriving business for years to come. These folks are easy to spot:
They’re bullies. Plain and simple. They’re outwardly aggressive and tend to put other people down.
They sometimes don’t have their house in order, yet they tell everyone else how to run theirs.
They lack empathy.
#5 The Politicos: They’re the plotters at your company, spending their energy devising ways to undermine colleagues or one-up them. Their ambition is driven by unbridled ego. These behaviors can be subtle, so it might be harder to spot them, but here’s what I’d look for:
They poison the well through gossip.
They don’t give feedback or challenge directly. They’d rather bitch and moan about how someone isn’t doing a good job than try to have a direct conversation with that person.
Suppose you spot a person in the company consistently exhibiting the behaviors above. In that case, it’s imperative upon you — a leader in the company — to do something about it. If you’re this person's manager, remove them from the company asap.
If you managed to spot and remove these people before they cause any further damage to your culture and morale, congratulations! You’ve officially achieved what most leaders fail to do. Now you’re well on your way to creating an amazing company culture, leading to a great company, and ultimately a successful business.
Probation Period: Your get-out-of-jail-free card
Even the best leaders make hiring mistakes every once in a while. No one bats a thousand when it comes to hiring people. No one.
“In the end, you bet on people, not on strategies.” — Jack Welch
Luckily, most new hires are on probation for the first three months. If they’re not performing to expectations, the employer can terminate them without cause and with no obligation for severance or further compensation.
Assuming a high batting average in hiring great people, you shouldn’t need to use this card that often, but you must use it when warranted. This is especially important if you’re operating in Europe, where it’s much harder to remove someone after their probation period has ended.
As managers of people, we hope that the underperforming person we hired a couple of months back will perform to expectations…in time.
I hate to burst your bubble here, but that ain’t gonna happen. If a person you hired, especially a senior person, isn’t making an impact or contributing to the business in a meaningful way within the first 90 days, chances are they won’t make an impact in the next 6, 12, or however many months they’re in your company.
“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” — Maya Angelou
Be decisive and take action swiftly. You cannot afford not to. This is your chance to correct a situation before it becomes much harder to handle. I made that mistake before, and I swear I’ll never do it again.
Put the Right People in the Right Seats
Now that you have the right people in the boat and the wrong people off the boat, you need to ensure that the right people are set up for success.
But what does that mean?
For starters, the right people need you to continue doing your job in eliminating the wrong people from the boat. That’s the best service you could offer them.
Setting people up for success
The right people require clarity, feedback, development, and tools to do the job. Give them these four things, and you got an army of empowered teams taking your company to the next level.
#1 Clear Communication: Clearly communicate expectations, goals, roles, and responsibilities. This eliminates ambiguity and helps people understand what is expected of them.
Clarity is critical in ensuring employees are where they need to be in the org.
#2 Shorter, Candid Feedback Loops: The biggest gift you can give your team is direct, timely, frequent, and honest feedback. You must first care personally to challenge directly, as Kim Scott says. Read her book, Radical Candor, and practice giving and receiving candid feedback with your team. It’s magic.
“Clear is kind, unclear is unkind.” — Brené Brown
#3 Training and Development: Your people have a Growth Mindset and are always learning. Offer opportunities for skill development and training. This will improve their current performance and prepare them for future roles. Investing in your people is investing in your company.
#4 Provide Necessary Resources: If your people are missing essential tools and capabilities, they’re not set up for success. I’m not saying buy everyone the latest Macbook, but there’s a level of tech and tooling necessary for someone to do their job. The list varies widely based on role, but make sure they have those tools.
It’s important to note that none of these initiatives will work, and could potentially backfire, if you have the wrong people in the boat. That’s how critical it is to remove them from the environment first.
Parting Thoughts
Thank you for reading this far. Before I let you go, and for whatever it's worth, I’d like to offer some advice to the CEOs, Management teams, leaders, and employees who might be reading this post.
Advice for CEOs
As the ship's captain, you need to lead the charge on ensuring your company hires right, retains well, and fires fast. Do not delegate this work. Getting this right (or wrong) will define your culture, which will determine your destination. Nothing is more important.
Advice for Management
You are the leverage a CEO needs so she can focus on the above. If the CEO is doing your job (e.g., product, finance, business, marketing, etc,) that’s a big problem. Remember, most executives fail at this because they think they’re doing an excellent job at it. Take Change Management seriously because nothing else matters if you get this one thing wrong.
Advice for Leaders
You can do your part by ensuring your team is solid. Hire for potential and behavior, not experience and skillset. You can teach skills, but you can’t teach behavior.
Be decisive and act swiftly. You know who the wrong people on your team are. Remove them asap. That part of the job sucks, but it’s the most consequential. You got this!
Advice for Employees
If you find yourself falling into the “wrong people” behavior patterns, that’s OK. We’ve all been there. That means this isn’t the right environment for you. You deserve to thrive at work. Your job now is to find that environment that’s good for you and join it. Believe me, it’s out there.
Talk to your manager and try to find a mutual agreement for separation. You will gain great respect for yourself for having this conversation and for authoring your destiny. It’ll be good for your reputation and self-esteem as well.
The alternative of staying put, biding your time until you land a new job, might feel OK for a while, but you’re slowly dying inside. Staying at a job you clearly dislike will diminish your creativity and dim your light. You have agency. Use it to change your circumstance because you deserve to be happy.
I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a comment below or shoot me a message with your thoughts and feedback. Thank you!