'Be
yourself, who else is better qualified?'
Frank J. Giblin
This is the age of time and talent. Time
is all that we have to spend, talent is
what the best companies buy. Talent is
that aspect of a person's abilities that
is inherently theirs, it can't be bought
or learnt, only discovered and utilised.
It is what people cannot 'help' but do,
it is what makes them unique and can often
be their most valuable contribution to
your company.
Signify Director, Phil Wall, illustrates
this point; "I have a friend who
is an American Attorney (even so he is
still my friend). When having a meal together
we started with giant shrimps. At the
end of the meal my plate looked like a
shrimp's grave yard - a total mess all
over my plate. However, my friend's plate
was clean with the shrimp-shell remains
in a perfect straight line on the edge
of his plate. People like me may think
him immensely sad, spending time on such
a 'pointless task' but this attention
to order and detail is what makes him
good at what he does - he didn't learn
it and wasn't trained in it, he just does
it. That's it (you should see his closet
- not the water one but the one with his
clothes in - it is immaculate!)."
In addressing the question 'Why should
anyone be led by you?' Rob Goffee and
Gareth Jones identify that inspirational
leaders capitalize on what is unique about
themselves. Even when they are drawing
their followers close to them, inspirational
leaders signal their separateness. It
can take years for leaders to be fully
aware of what sets them apart and even
then they are hesitant to communicate
what's unique about themselves. When Sir
John Harvey-Jones, the former CEO of ICI,
wrote his biography a few years ago it
was advertised in a British newspaper.
Beside the advertisement was a sketch
of Harvey-Jones. The profile had long
hair, a moustache and a loud tie and was
drawn in black and white, but everyone
knew who it was. This is not to say that
Sir John got to the top of ICI because
of his long hair and loud ties, but because
he was clever in developing the differences
that showed his uniqueness as an adventurous
entrepreneur.1
The other great, and perhaps greater,
challenge for leaders is how they capitalize
on what is unique about those they lead.
Great leaders must recognise that every
person is unique, that even in a department
of people of the same profession, there
are as many personalities as there are
people. Every person is motivated by different
things, should be rewarded accordingly
and has distinctive passions, styles,
dislikes and natural talents. Leaders
must recruit and revere talent, not knowledge
or skills as these can be gained and imparted,
but what people do naturally, by habit.
Enabling people to discover their 'talent',
and then to put it to work, is what has
made many great companies great. Square
pegs in round holes are anathema to them
- the right 'fit' for their people is
essential.
In 'First, Break All The Rules'2 ,a helpful
read for all leaders, Marcus Buckingham
and Curt Coffman show how great managers
get the best out of their people. A leader
must consciously focus upon the strengths
of each person, not the weaknesses. This
is both the best way to help people achieve
their goals and the best way to encourage
people to take responsibility for who
they really are and what they do. This
enables continual 'striving after excellence'
rather than the more traditional (and
very English) method of 'brushing up on
your weaknesses' that inevitably leads
to the giddy heights of 'average'. Major
on people's strengths, help them to manage
their weaknesses - this is how to get
the best out of who you have got. In this
very competitive economy, we need all
that our people can bring to the table.
Goffee and Jones, succinctly and elegantly
sum up what every leader must be and must
encourage in others, that is, to 'be yourselves
- more - with skill.'
Reflective Questions
Who am I?
On a Sunday night, when I think about
work in the coming week, what do I get
most excited about?
What do I bring to my work that no-one
else can?
How can I celebrate the talents of others?
1 Goffee, R., and Jones, G., Why Should
Anyone Be Led by You?, Harvard Business
Review, September-October 2000.
2 Buckingham, M., and Coffman, C., First,
Break All The Rules, Simon and Schuster
Business Books, 1999.
Phil Wall
CEO |
