Susan’s Blog

In a chaos filled environment leaders can get tangled up in the desire to make their followers comfortable and tell them all is going to be fine. What happens frequently is that as issues continue to show up and become more complex and harder to understand, the leader gets into a cycle of having to go back and recant what has been said. Trust issues start to creep in between the leader and followers and then communication stops. That is the worst possible thing that could happen. In a vacuum of information, people naturally start making things up and what they make up usually follows a worst case scenario. In very difficult fluid situations, communicate the facts that are certain and inform the followers of the fluidity of the situation and that they will be supported regardless of what happens. The most important thing that can be done is keep the communication flowing.

A friend recently sent me a copy of Chris Lowney’s book “Heoric Leadership” (2003, Loyola Press), which is excellent.  In the book, Lowney reveals many aspects of the Jesuit philosophy in developing leaders.

Reading the book made me think about the hiring process and that a great deal of focus must be put there in an effort to have a strong, enduring and productive culture. I believe we all need leaders in every part of our business and that everyone in our organization is leading something. We can apply the leadership characteristics that I have spoken of: Charisma, Environmental Sensitivity/Emotional Intelligence, Strategic Thinking, Flexibility, Empowerment Orientation/Team Player, Vision, Grit/Drive and Life Long Learner to the hiring process.

When we are hiring individuals at any level in our organizations we should be thinking about these characteristics and looking for evidence that the person we are interviewing has them. The key is evidence. As we ask interview questions is this person showing me and clearly articulating these critical characteristics? If they are, the chances are good that they will be a great addition to the culture you currently have or are striving to build.