You R Who You Hire
March 6, 2009 by Miki Saxon
In a comment Monday Denis asked, “What do the people you hire tell about your leadership style?”
The short answer has been around a long time in one form or another.
Good leaders (managers) hire people smarter than themselves and don’t feel threatened by people who are better at given tasks.
The people you hire tell more about who you are than just your leadership style; they are a reflection of your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and your confidence.
No matter what the reality, the more insecure a leader/manager feels the weaker the people he hires.
At lower levels, you find that those less willing to delegate rarely hire people with skills similar to their own.
Just as your friends reflect your thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and prejudices, so do those you hire. If you want to know who someone is, just look at who they hang with and who they hire, but not who they date and marry.
All bets are off when love/lust enters the picture.
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Image credit: sxc.hu
Thanks Miki !
I also noticed that sometimes insecure managers hire weak people to shield them from stronger persons in their teams… sad but true.
You’re welcome, Denis.
Insecure managers are probably one of the most frustrating situations that any employee faces, right up there with insecure colleagues.
Most of their actions are sad and demotivating.
I think its more than just insecurity that can be detected through hiring patterns – frankly, the ability to judge talent is a key leadership requirement in any organization. I have seen numerous instances where poor judgment was exhibited with no deliberate attempt to “stack the deck” such as it were. The manager honestly felt he/she was adding a “strong asset” to the team. To me, this is just as concerning. Judging talent is challenging, and that’s why it should be done from multiple perspectives / experience sets.
That’s why I encourage staffing teams. It spreads the workload and brings a varied perspective to the process.
Good catch, Greg! Thanks for stopping by.