The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants
done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
— Theodore Roosevelt
Hiring Executive Management – Qualities That Stand Out
Last week, I discussed the five core qualities that I believe most businesses seek when recruiting a new employee. You can read the full article through my last blogpost here.
This week, I’d like to shift the focus to the leadership level, and review the core personal and professional attributes that I believe are desirable in the best candidates for senior management. Allow me to stipulate from the start, the desired management qualities I will be discussing are—obviously—not carved in stone; there are many variables at play when selecting a company’s management team, including familiarity with the unique traits of the organization’s specific business sector (i.e. managers in the IT industry vs. the food service industry vs. the public sector, etc.)
That said, not unlike the previously discussed process of recruiting top-notch employees, hiring top quality management can also be a daunting task; in addition, the quality of the individuals charged with leading an organization can—and often will–have a significant impact on the company’s overall success.
As Chief Executive Officer of Sackett National Holdings, I take seriously my role in the decision-making process regarding who is hired to fill senior management positions within our company. I believe that one of the many important roles played by the CEO of a successful, growing organization such as ours is to surround his or herself with qualified, skilled executives who can–and will—pick up the proverbial corporate ‘ball and run with it.’
As any CEO will confirm, time is one of the most valuable commodities we have and as a result we need to know that we can delegate authority to senior managers who are fully capable of fulfilling their assigned tasks, with very limited supervision.
While once again stipulating that each organization is unique and will, therefore, likely require leaders with personal and professional qualities suited to that company’s individual needs, here are five core leadership qualities that I believe are shared by all of our company’s highly skilled management:
• Leadership skills: It should be self-evident that someone tasked with providing leadership within the company should—themselves–possess core leadership skills, most notably communication abilities; employees can only successfully achieve goals that are clearly delineated and communicated effectively
• Strategic skills: SNH, like many growing companies, is a diverse organization, and our senior managers need to be highly skilled at developing a strategy for their particular business unit, and possess the ability to successfully execute that strategy to its completion
• Quick Thinking: In today’s 24/7 business world, circumstances change quicker than ever before; combine that fact with the rapid growth that our company–and other successful organizations—experience, and it’s easy to understand the importance of hiring senior managers that are quick-thinking enough to thrive in a hyper-growth, rapidly changing business environment
• Expertise: As previously mentioned, SNH is a diverse organization involved in an equally diverse range of business sectors (financial services, automotive, employment screening and energy) Senior managers tasked with providing leadership in each of those sectors must possess the acumen, perspicacity and industry experience required to ensure that each of our business units remains an innovative leader in their respective business sector
• A ‘Good Fit’: Perhaps the most challenging of the core qualities sought in a successful senior manager is that he or she will ‘fit’ well into an organization; despite an often abundance of similarities, no two businesses are run exactly alike, and therefore a talented manager who succeeded at Widget Company A may not necessarily fit well into the differing corporate culture of their competitor, Widget Company B. In the case of SNH, a unique company with multiple office locations–offering a wide variety of products and services across several business sectors–the task of recruiting senior managers who are a “good fit” for our unique business structure is both challenging—and rewarding.
Whether it be in business, government or the military, the quality of an organization’s leadership matters.
And from a CEO’s perspective, Teddy Roosevelt’s sage advice still holds true: recruit the very best men and women leaders available, then allow them to fulfill their own leadership potential–and in doing so, make their own significant contributions to your company’s overall success.