Never lower the bar for your team... that is injustice by all means!!

This is, for a change, a desirable leadership trait - and that too a very important one. In the more recent times, I have been privy only to the fact that the leadership of the team or an organisation is concerned that the best in the team vis a vis performance is yet to be displayed, and it is the singular responsibility of team leadership, NOT TO LOWER THE BAR for the performers in the organisation.
Might sound so strange and even weird; but having seen this in reality, and also having heard a lot about how 'setting the right standards' is so important, not only for the organisation, but also for the team, and by that, the career of every single member of the team!
While a few leaders come down heavily on not so good performance, and even get tough from the execution point of view, surprisingly enough, there are also leaders who thrive on sub-optimal performance, just by shifting the blame of the handful of external factors - a bad client, a slow market, a perceived disrespect to the brand et al... in essence, it is either being blind to the whole world out there, or being naive to think that what you think is right, is what everyone thinks! You just stand on a high illusory platform, and be akin to a frog in the well... and to top it all, you are immune to what happens in similar companies, with similar people, with almost just a similar external environment..!! Owing to being driven by the internal environment (?), you just stay in the comfort zone and live by sub-optimal standards....
The biggest loser, in my opinion is the team and its members... your own colleagues, who trust your wisdom to grow them, and their career..! By your own deeds of not knowing where to set the bar, you make them feel nice with a performance, that is just good, from the internal perspective. Little do they realize that what they think is good, is just not good to the outside world, which is where their careers will prosper and have to take wings....
Good is the enemy of the Great, and a 'myopic good' is the greatest evil for bright careers... it is the duty of every single leader to stay clear of any sort of myopic good - even if it means a temporary setback, a failure to get to stated goals, or even a setback in position...
Wake up to reality of the market, and do good to the company, your team, and all stakeholders.....

Leadership.... in hiring from direct competition.

It’s now common, and rather inevitable, to poach from your direct competition. However, there are a few don’ts, and surprisingly, these don’ts will lead to Leadership by the day… and WOW the prospective employee.....

1. Never start with 'your company is in dumps...'. The candidate is willing to look at you precisely because of some perception close to that or any issue which may not be in the open… Re-iterate as to how life can be better in your place, rather than speaking the load of negatives about competition.... throwing negatives reflects badly on the quality of your HR function...!

2. Engage only in a relevant conversation, from the specific prospective employee point of view. Statements like 'xyzee from your place came at our terms etc' would only get you desperadoes' and not the real stars... Remember, you are not a savior, and you want them for a business objective too.

3. Listen to the prospective employee point of view, instead of mouthing platitudes on how your company got people cheap... What if the prospective employee retorts 'you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.. uh...'?!

4. Showcase as to why you are good, and not as to why the other company is bad. The employee comes from there, and has no need to hear his present company information from you.

5. Clarify roles and responsibilities, instead of only sounding like buying 'human vegetables'. That is HR at its pits, and is a bad reflection of how you value people.

6. By taking names, of whom you got for how much, you drive the prospective employee to more comparison which could lead to inequity thoughts, and that would only harm your company interests... plus now those who have come in are 'your employees', and whatever you did and do, directly speaks volumes about your quality of hiring.

7. A simple "this is the best we can pay in your case" is good for everyone. Don't throw open a Pandora’s box by mentioning all irrelevant data.

8. Remember, you hire people for your company growth. If that is not the pivot, then you are harming careers, and also you company.

9. Good prospective employees are smart candidates... think otherwise, the cream will never fall for you verbal innuendo. And no book in HR advises innuendo as a prudent hiring practice.

10. Allow the prospective employee to speak, and for god sake, you listen. As they always say, two ears are to listen that much more, that speaking with one mouth. And if it’s a telephonic conversation, you have to listen that much more.

Remember, the prospective candidates, in these few conversations, see you as a brand ambassador. And HR is indeed the best brand ambassador for your organisation.

Following these pointers in hiring from competition, is indeed Leadership by the day.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate....!

Reading through a couple of books this weekend, both by leading headhunters - detailing what all clicks amongst successful CEO's... both the works mention 'communication' as one critical ingredient of CXO successs and overall strategy...

Tremendous emphasis on 'communicating' is a hallmark of successful CEO's all over the globe.... and both authors also go to the extent of stating that the CEO's rather be called "Chief Engagement Officers" - who engage the organisation by constantly staying communicated......

If the question is, what is to be communicated by the CEO, it states that anything that is worth the know of the teams should be communicated... like milestones, accomplishments, client acquisitions, setbacks in revenues and profits, trials, lawsuits, changes in the anvil etc.

And even when there is nothing worth mentioning in a week or month, just a plain good 'there is nothing important to be shared this week, and we shall certainly communicate more next week' is so powerful and unambiguous, and means so much to the organisation.

Some communication rather than no communication is a powerful mantra for overall corporate hygiene.... and this is so important to ensure that the lack of communication does not lead to any unwanted informal communication amongst any of the stakeholders.....

So, Leadership by the day, is to use the power of COMMUNICATION, by the day, to the hilt.....

What are you and me, budding CXO's communicating today? We better communicate, communicate, and communicate NOW and ALWAYS......

Tete a tete with a CEO.... lesson today.....

It is not often you get to meet CEO's when you are a recruitment professional... today, i was fortunate to meet a CEO of a large recruitment company and the meeting through so many valuable insights into managing people and companies..... and one quality which stood out tall in this meeting was.... be present in any discussion and engage 110%... treat that as a unique learning session, irrespective of with whom the meeting is....

....i was by all means an ordinary recruiter and he, the very successful Indian CEO of a leading global recruitment firm. He took time off to meet me for a good 2 hours - this is such a rarity in today's' world of recruitment professionals who are so busy to take your call, to acknowledge receiving your profile by mail, and have only time to say that they are busy... when we all do that, what we imply is that the other person who calls, writes a mail, meets us.. is not important in our scheme of things - there can be no better statement of our commitment to people, leave alone grooming their careers and growth!! Here is a CEO who probably has the most hectic schedule and yet takes time off to meet someone who is a fellow professional albeit at a junior level. His discussion is centered on all positives, and his eyes sparkle with the vision he has for the company, and the passion with which he is involved with the other person (in this case, me).

Moral : Be passionate about meeting people, and when you are with them, be completely engaged in the discussion, common interests, and take it as a learning experience. Not once did the CEO I met take a call or get distracted in the course of the two hour session. He was completely present in the NOW.... such a contrast to many growing professionals including me, who are always busy, and not being present fully in any meeting or one on one. I decided that i will engage better in any discussion today on.... Treat each meeting or human encounter as a learning opportunity....

That indeed is LEADERSHIP.... by the day!! Is it not?!