Peering into the souls of others

Over the past couple of weeks I have been peering into the souls of those who wish to join my team. I had two executives leave my cooperative, one stepping up into a general manager role and the other putting family first. I knew the one stepping up was going after it, I supported him. I was taken back with the other, perhaps a future post of thought to explore.

So there I was, with cabal peering into the souls of really good people. We sent the word out that we were seeking people, and they raised their hands.

The challenge the cabal I had assembled is how to determine whether someone could fit into our culture, what can they bring to make us better, and what might they do to threaten it.

I had heard before we started that there is a concern who might come next. A concern of change, a change that could destroy what we have built. I heard this concern from quite a few, but at the end of those conversations I heard, we trust you.

That is a heavy responsibility for me to carry, but it is one I will.

So how can we conduct an inquisition of outsiders to get a sense of who they might be and what they will bring? Well I don’t know, but I do believe bringing others into the process to also question and probe, listen and contemplate is a strong hedge to find the next person to join the team.

The cabal that I pull together to seek are not always doing the work or even directly impacted by the decision. They bring other ways of seeking, spotting strengths that I might miss before decisions are made.

This is one of the most important efforts any leader undertakes, and it is one I do enjoy…