Inspiration

He challenged me, and the experience changed the trajectory of my career in recruitment. He had 2 Master’s degrees, a Mathematician with a deeply analytical mind. Uniquely, he was also a tremendous people person with an uncanny ability to tear down barriers that most people put up. He asked thoughtful questions, while giving you his undivided attention. When he spoke to you, you felt like you were the only person who existed in the universe. He was one of the most life altering leaders I’ve served under, despite my best efforts to escape his influence. Hereinafter, referred to as GK. GK was a perfectionist & a problem solver by nature, who practiced what he preached. You talk about having compassion for people – he had it in abundance. Sadly, I was too immature to appreciate what stood before me. I thought he was out to get me. My conversations with him were intense – usually confrontational with him calling out my nonsense (almost daily). I avoided him at all costs, greeting him only when I had to, keeping everything surface level. I didn’t understand him, and I had no intention of changing that. Hindsight being 20/20, I now see that he was challenging me not to think like the average recruiter. He taught professionalism at the highest level, the importance of subject-matter competence, and treating people with respect. He believed that you could only be seen as credible in the profession if you understood the market/industry you worked in. His premise was that you cannot effectively recruit people who operate at their highest level in their field if you don’t understand what they do and how they do it. The used car salesman, ‘one-size-fits-all approach wasn’t going to cut it under his leadership. GK was loved by the frontline staff and was a thorn in upper managements side. Mainly because he held them accountable by calling out things that didn’t make sense. He wrestled with the CEO for pay raises for his staff, while holding those same people to unwavering excellence. He ate dinner at the office and was normally the last one out. A true professional if there ever was one. The turning point: My perspective of GK changed the day I was told that he renegotiated his salary (inversely) during a downturn in the company. He proposed cutting his salary directly in half to free up cash flow, which was of course agreed to by upper management. He switched to a part-time schedule going forward, but between you and me, his part-time productivity was equivalent to (maybe surpassed) the output levels of his full-time counterparts. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is, and checking your ego at the door. Leadership requires action, not generic statements or catchphrases. It’s about doing what you said you would do, and not compromising on that. Hypocrisy is one of the toughest pills to swallow for those you’re leading. Leadership is a responsibility, not a right. Lead with your heart, and you’ll never have to convince people to go the extra mile.

Leadership is a privilege, not a right of way. You cannot inherit it; it’s a calling for a few. Yet, leadership advice is available on every street corner. Real leaders nurture future leaders, and are only interested in the development of people, not processes, strategies, or goals. If you take care of people, then those very people will take care of the business. It’s no wonder why your people are drowning in anxiety, having conversations with recruiters, & taking time off work to meet with your competitors. Real leaders don’t make counteroffers – they take care of their people in the first place. Losing your people is not a poor reflection on your leadership. In fact, effective leadership makes it easy to move on. It grooms and equips you with everything you need to replicate that leadership in another environment. Real leaders create a runway for their best people to reach their potential, wherever that may be. They celebrate your departure and pursuit of greatness because they know you’re ready for it. The best thing I can do for my Son is to train him well enough so he can one day leave my home and lead his own family. I would be doing him a great disservice if I hindered his personal pilgrimage towards manhood because of my own selfish agenda. Real leaders are groomed from within; in the dark when no one sees. Take me to your home – let me see how you treat your family. Are you received with joy when you walk through the door or do those around you run from your presence? I served under a man who created a culture of fear and hid office supplies in his office. I served under another man who took a pay cut to create more cashflow for the company. One was tolerated; the other was celebrated. Real leaders treat their people like ambassadors of the company, not employees. Ambassadors embody the values of the organization and their leaders. Ambassadors have rights, privileges, and a stake in the organizations success. They think about what they can do for their organization. Employees are managed by poor leaders and can have their rights taken away from them when it’s convenient. They ask what can my organization do for me. Before I seek leadership of a fortune 500 company, let me first master my own home and strive to be loved by the people who matter the most.

In my role as a search partner, I am an ambassador for my customers. As an official partner for these organizations, I represent their corporate interests & goals in the marketplace. I am an extension of the brand, a defender of the reputation, and an enthusiastic promoter of current and future plans. Once an agreement is signed, the search partner and that organization become one. Agendas are fused and a relationship is forged based on the alignment of values, proper business practices, and basic human decency. The role of an ambassador also means that there cannot be any lapses in integrity – character is vital. Your decisions are hinged on a core set of values, and any sign of compromising will undermine the very foundation of that partnership, even if that means forgoing a fee payout or the end of a relationship with a tenured customer. The same level of service, protection, and advocacy applies to candidates. That search partner should symbolize a place of refuge for candidates who are seeking guidance in their career pilgrimage. Like an embassy, the role of a good search partner is to foster relations based on trust with candidates, facilitate communication between the candidate and hiring company, mediate negotiations, and offer whatever support is necessary, pre & post hire. They understand that a good candidate/company fit isn’t just about resume or technical alignment. It’s values and culture centric, and they know how to navigate these conversations on both sides. A good search partner knows that they cannot work with every organization. Similarly, an embassy only represents the citizens of its home country. Neither one is a universal service for all people (or organizations). The recruitment industry is not as saturated as we might think. There are only a few who operate from a place of excellence.

Unprecedented circumstances call for unprecedented leadership. Followers are crying out for compassionate leaders who put the human above profit. Morals above self-interests. This starts at the ground floor… Ground floor? – Making better hires. This requires doing a better job of vetting current and future leaders. The growth of any company requires enlisting the service of competent professionals who work and lead with character. Any company that cuts corners when it comes to hiring the best their marketplace has to offer, is not interested in sustainability. By cutting corners, I refer in part to hiring strictly based on technical prowess and business acumen, while ignoring gut or instincts. Hiring for character & integrity has nothing to do with credentials from an accredited institution… Engineers are notorious for being highly analytical and data-driven… The best that I’ve witnessed and had significant exposure to, were able to level the brilliance of their engineering minds and couple that with instincts, sometimes used interchangeably with making decisions with the heart. However you choose to spin it, there is a demand for leaders who are balanced and who can cultivate new leaders. That’s the mark of effective leadership – its ability to replicate itself. This leads to great financial, and people returns for that organization. My premise is simple – if I’ve been enlisted to find a replacement for an employee who has left the organization, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate the reasons for that failed relationship? Too many in the recruitment and talent acquisition space are complicit in these failed relationships. How many of us have nailed a “jumpy” professional to the wall in a condemning manner and let poor leadership off the hook (Jumpy – a term used amongst recruiters to describe someone who moves from job to job frequently (i.e., months or a year at a time). We scrutinize those employees without holding leaders to the same level of interrogation. We have a responsibility to ensure that we are putting people into organizations that are healthy, working for leaders who understand their own responsibilities.