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.