I was advising a professional who was passed over for a promotion. First, you should first and always examine yourself to identify why and what you can do differently to achieve your objective in the future. You should have also carefully researched the promotional process to best prepare for success. 

However, if there’s no evidence that you lacked something required for the promotion, please consider this reality. 

People tend to calculate the value of others pretty early in the relationship. Much of the time, they never change this calculation regardless of their initial accuracy or new and accumulating evidence. 

If leaders are right most of the time or open to having been wrong, that’s good for everyone. If they are wrong and persist in error, that’s bad for everyone.   

Some leaders excel or are very good at calculating correctly the first time.  They also remain open to the reality that an employee may be able to successfully grow and improve significantly. They are able to see them for who they can become when others cannot or do not want to do so. As a result, they always have top tier teams. 

Some managers and executives are average at this critical responsibility. Some perform poorly at identifying talent and some don’t care.  

Some may be blinded by self-interest, ambition, envy, or insecurity. Some may simply be lazy and uninterested. This happens even in industries and organizations where talent is everything.   

The most successful leaders are stellar at spotting talent. They see value and potential others miss. They gather as much objective information and input from others as they need to be confident in their assessment. They identify, recruit, and retain top talent. They attract it too. 

They won’t have a perfect track record because nobody does. However, when you compare their hires and promotions with actual performance and integrity on the job, they have a very impressive batting average. The worst leaders have an unimpressive or lousy track record on hiring and promotions and simply repeat their mistakes. 

High performing organizations consistently outperform all others on this crucial function. Low performing organizations keep picking and retaining the mediocre, fair, or poor employees. It’s like they never learn or don’t want to change. Of course, as Maxwell notes, it’s also an issue of “we attract who we are.”     

Focus on this priority. Devote yourself to becoming proficient and consistent at identifying the talent you need to succeed on your mission, goals, and objectives. Invest a lot of time, energy, and effort in this role. 

Have a team who is skillful at catching talent. Make sure everything in your organization aids you in winning in the competition for gifted individuals of integrity.

In the 21st century knowledge economy, talent is everything and integrity remains priceless in every century.    

#LeadershipLessonsWithDrSaviak

From the Teacher: Leadership Lessons with Dr. Saviak is a weekly column with the esteemed Joseph C. Saviak, Ph.D., J.D., M.A., M.S., Management Consulting & Leadership Training

Featured Image: The Internship

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR