Potential employers and recruiters must consider long-term market impact. The goal of each recruiter is to develop a healthy pipeline to produce the talent needed to support long-term sustainability. Each contact becomes a brand impression regardless of whether hired or not. Each of these impressions could easily be a customer or attached to someone who may become a customer. 

 Great talent will not play games

Everyone who has been on the job hunt is familiar with never hearing back after submitting an application or resume. How an organization represents itself and the roles they have available is crucial. Recruiting is too costly to throw out a line, see what you catch, and then see what role fits. Postings must be clear; do not try to put them in the kitchen sink with job descriptions. The average time it takes to hire is 27 days. However, top candidates are off the market in 10 days. 

Improvement tips:

1. Include timelines in the posting, including close dates and when interviews start.
2. Make sure that postings include the rate of pay. Don’t let the recruiting process get strained by candidates who will not accept the pay rate. 
3. Application rates increase significantly with video postings. Candidates want to work with people more, and it adds credibility to the role and process. 

Your interview process shows what’s important and how stakeholders make decisions

Interviewing can be taxing on all parties involved. Many organizations do not have a role solely focused on recruiting. Internal teams are created to meet immediate hiring needs. A timely process takes away from other productive tasks, eliminates top talent, and puts additional strain and pressure on existing team members. The process of multiple-round interviews is outdated and does not increase the result of hiring better talent. Ask questions that matter for the day-to-day responsibilities. Organizations miss the mark by over-indexing behavior-based interviews without validating actual skills. 

Improvement tips:

1. Respect your candidate’s time and get what you need in one or two interviews. Often, organizations that require 3-4 interviews do not trust their internal process or do not know what they want from a new team member. 
2. Ask direct peers and team members to assist in evaluating actual skills. After all, they know what it takes each day to be successful. 
3. Be clear on the next steps, and ALWAYS follow up! 

Everyone is a potential customer

It is common to hear from people, “I interviewed and then never heard back.” Why would an organization not offer a potential candidate the same courtesy and follow-through as it would one of its customers? It can easily be interpreted as how the organization communicates and treats its customers and employees. A candidate today looks very different after more experience and education. Retorio.com shares that 64% of candidates will share a negative experience, and 27% will discourage others from applying. Stakeholders must remember that the pipeline is only half the battle. Talent is the other. 

Improvement tips:

1. Survey your candidates throughout the process and ensure results are not shared with the hiring team while hiring decisions are made.
2. Ask candidates if they might be interested in future roles, especially if it is a close call. Create a distro for current open roles to keep them in the know. 
3. Review results from hiring, know that timelines were met, and review attrition to know who is picking the best talent and who seems to be challenged in hiring top talent.

I was a member of the last generation of true paper carriers. Watching them in my early childhood, I saw it as a right of passage. Maybe it was that my dad worked for a newspaper, and as a young man, it seemed like a way to do what dad does. As a fourth grader, I had no concept of money or its significance in day-to-day life. I have always cherished the experience and development from those days, marching with a paper bag over my shoulder. 

The first days with a fresh green denim bag

I cannot remember how I arrived at the corner of 7th and Safstrom with my twin brother Dave to report for the first day of paper delivery. It was only three blocks from the high school and about eight blocks from Linden Park Elementary, where Dave and I attended. We each had been substitutes on another route; we were excited to take on and split our route. It was much bigger than any route we had done previously, with almost 80 houses in total. 

The route street names have changed a bit. The route was all of Safstrom, a couple blocks of 7th Street, Linden, and Division. Almost every block we delivered had two sides of the street, making it easy for Dave and I to split it up. It also meant that in the beginning, we only had to memorize half the route to accomplish it. Honestly, I’m not sure we could have carried all the papers for each house by ourselves. The Post Register was delivered each weeknight, where papers had to be on porches by 7 pm, and on Sunday mornings, papers had to be on porches by 7:30 am.  

Shortly after arriving, two older boys showed up. The route had previously been theirs, and they were ready to pass it on. The papers had not arrived. The boys explained the routine as we sat on the corner waiting for them. Soon, the large bundles of newspapers were being thrown from the side door of an old van. Because it was our first day, the bundles had more than papers. All the addresses we were responsible for had been printed, fresh from the dot matrix printer, onto the classic green and white patterned paper. Another included item was the collection books we would need to collect and receive monthly dues. The last item we had waited for and anticipated for years was the chance to throw our own fresh green denim, The Post Register delivery bags full of newspapers, over our shoulders. 

Neither rain, sleet, or snow

It seemed like winter started right after we took on our route. Idaho Falls winters were brutal in the early ’90s; feet of snow were a regular occurrence, and a bone-chilling cold would stop the school busses from running. Regardless, the papers had to be delivered. Often, we would take a sled because poor footing and cold weather made it tough to carry full bags of newspapers. 

The early lesson learned for delivering papers was that you go right from school. The days when I forgot to bring my paper bag to school meant a lot of trips back to that corner of 7th and Safstrom to retrieve more newspapers. It was not about getting my half done but ensuring the job was done daily. No lesson was more challenging than learning to wake up at 5 am on Sunday to make sure papers were delivered on time; imagine when you open the front door to find 12″ of fresh powder for our 6-block walk to 7th street. 

Spring broke the brutal cold, and with it came a routine that would carry me through most of my school years. By late spring, my brother had been bitten by Daisy, one of our customer’s dogs, and had lost all interest in delivering newspapers, transitioning me to the sole owner of our small little business. 

The foundation of reliability 

The foundation of realizability as a paper carrier started by showing up, breaking open the bundles, and loading up with newspapers. Each day, papers had to be on porches by a specific time, and no one was going behind you to inspect them. Instead, when standards were not met, it was the voice of the customer that let you know that their expectations were not being met. To a young man, it was like having 80 parents. 

Reliability, at its core, is about commitment and then living up to that commitment. In my example, it was learning to make decisions that would meet those commitments along with the proper priority. My responsibility was not just about getting papers on porches but getting them there by the deadline. 

Follow-through is needed to achieve reliability

Reliability cannot be achieved by simply showing up and doing a task. Schools would be full of straight-A students if it only took showing up. Commitment and follow-through are supporting competencies in developing a strong sense of reliability. Identifying and responding to customer needs through improvement and innovation are great ways to improve reliability. 

New customers, collecting dues, and paying bills were all regular items that required follow-through. As customers let me know where to place their papers or the best times to come collect, it was all about understanding expectations. Although it seemed routine, the process was developing a ton of professional experience. 

Standards are a part of all jobs, and exceeding standards is a way to create a more substantial career track. Of course, it can’t happen when someone does not show up. Understanding how to identify standards and expectations is critical in developing reliability that differentiates one experience from the next.

The necessary step

Reliability cannot happen without showing up. Reliability is a competency that paves the way to sharpen other competencies and skills. Opportunity and growth come from taking steps, making attempts, and learning from mistakes, all of which will not happen if reliability is not in place to be a cornerstone of a personal brand. 

Steps to take:

• Set priorities that will allow for the best opportunities 
• Don’t be afraid to take risks, learn from mistakes
• Dont deliver, over-deliver
• Stay focused on self-development and learning

Get some additional insight:

• Reach out to dbarker@idaleadershiplab.com for a free 20-minute coaching. 
• Sign up your team to go through a team building session – call 208-371-6274 and talk to Dan about what options might work best or request a free “needs assessment.”

Visit our site, http://www.idaleadershiplab.com, or find us on LinkedIn

The intention grew from the bad seeds sowed by poor leadership. A slow burn in my career came from being forced to own the impression and perceptions that made up my skills and image within the company. Some days, it seemed like I was in a tug of a war of contrasting feedback from multiple leaders. The result was never being certain of the agenda, owner, and the destruction of self-confidence. 

Identifying the opportunity for better direction

Who determines the goals each person sets? The first question is about what works and what does not. Often, organizations set goals for departments and teams, and leaders fall in line working towards them. Think about how often the goal is simply achieving a result. The miss is talking about what needs to be developed to create the ability to consistently and or replicate the result. Without these actions, how can it really support sustainability? 

The purpose of work is often misaligned. How motivating can it be to watch a brand achieve more revenue? Of course, the idea of how it trickles down to each employee is not missed with the basic concepts of motivation. However, when each person’s direct motivation and goal is not viewed and supported, it is quickly passed by or moved to the back of the priority list. In organizations, this often sounds like, “It’s not your time,” or “Timing was poor.” 

Who holds the strings? Accountability is a word that is misplaced in organizations. It drives an imbalance that is almost always present in organizational justice. When goals and motivation only serve one side of the relationship, then accountability is not about ownership. Ownership is a principle and competency that serves all involved. What does the feedback sound like when the goals are unmet without clarity? What it looks like is likely a stalled career and work seasonality that becomes a song stuck on repeat. 

Where I saw it in my career

Like many, I made my first steps based on not being stuck doing what I hated and making more money. I worked hard and tried to apply feedback when I got it. As opportunities presented themselves, I worked to be agile enough to take advantage. From 2004 to 2008, I held five positions and worked in three different states. By 2012, I had made another move, navigating a forced move and laying off my current team. I also applied for promotion three times without any actionable feedback beyond more exposure. 

I remember asking myself, “What am I doing to myself and my family?” Who was in the driver’s seat of my career and life? The career goals I had set were the ones I had been told to develop, often moving too fast to think about how it served me. Most of my decisions were made on staying employed more than on progression; even worse, none were towards owning my path. However, I had recently been enticed by a senior leadership program where I was part of the inaugural cohort- an excellent opportunity for exposure. 

Where is your development energy-focused

Skills are far more critical to the individual than competencies. Organizations spend a lot of money on identifying, developing, and assessing the subjectivity of competencies. Skills often come down to what can be accomplished and with what level of proficiency or expertise. The measurables can be trended and benchmarked to create something that is traditionally much more tangible. Organizations struggle to ensure leaders share the same abilities and skills they must develop to support true sustainability. 

Do not develop the skills to get the job done. Develop the skills that support personal growth and direction. It is critical to sell the skills that are personally valued. Personally valued skills are held onto with a much tighter grip and are sold at a higher cost. Intention goes beyond what needs to get done tomorrow and is more about the path of long-term success, a genuine and authentic journey. 

TIP: Look at your organization’s resources that support development beyond the day-to-day job. Taking advantage of tuition reimbursement, development sites, and free workshops is a personal investment, a great way to increase total compensation, and take ownership of personal knowledge capital. 

What it is not

It is essential to start by saying that intention is not about defiance or always being the devil’s advocate. The effort is not about selfishness or only focusing on personal success and growth. Intention goes beyond preparation; execution and follow-through are needed to achieve a true level of intention. 

The slow burn becomes a firestorm

All the effort and results still couldn’t get me promoted. I attended their programs, moved to the challenging site, and created results unlike my predecessors and peers. The point is not from a victim standpoint but more the awareness of where I stand, none the richer, still missing the internal drive and direction to get me where I want to go. 

It took years to build up a path. The beginning was deciding to invest in myself and complete my education, and the next was working to develop my professional network. I had missed the community and the support and legacy that it offers, so I started to get involved in the world I lived in as myself versus a member of a brand, and for the first time, I picked a career path based on desire versus need. 

The basics of intention: ownership and follow-through

Accountability must grow beyond compliance and the desire to be a good soldier. Personal ownership requires each person to be their own general. It starts with considering daily success and how to orchestrate it. It should evolve into what would make life richer, what would I enjoy doing each day, even if it is about more money -intention is the self-awareness and action to ensure the result. Leveling up requires developing self-awareness to consider where additional intention efforts can yield better results, down to each action or conversation. Another small step is to consider the record or chain of evidence being created and kept. Take notes and journal to have a better recollection or post-mortem. 

Develop follow-through that is about personal commitment and growing beyond the needs and tasks of others. The first step is getting good at showing up and delivering when asked; it is the basics. Often, it is about understanding how things chain together or support each other. Understanding connections and developing initial skills to be resourceful to accomplish something is critical. However, it is more difficult when daily actions serve your own path, and the accountability has fully transitioned to ownership. When something goes wrong, it goes beyond fault. Who is going to fix it, and how? 

Actions to support intention:

• Create a plan (Daily, weekly, long-term)
• Set personal goals towards personal motivation – what do you want it to look like five years from now?
• Document and journal – set the plan and review the results (trial and error is essential)
• Build a personal, professional network (school, community, professional work groups)
• Learn to reward yourself

How can the lab support you:

• Executive & business coaching – we can help with goals and creating the path
• We offer all kinds of self-development and assessments for personal and organizational growth
• Sign up for one of our workshops

Emotional intelligence is about decision-making. Each person’s IQ is not an indicator of success. However, developing awareness and EQ will help build more prosperous relationships and robust goal execution. The first level of emotional intelligence is overcoming our initial reactions and shifting them into intentional responses. 

What it can look like

The significance of emotional intelligence (EQ) compared to intelligence quotient (IQ) is the ability to develop EQ. Each person’s IQ is set as they approach adulthood. Often, people might describe EQ as “street smarts” or common cents. People relate these skills to awareness and responses from developed emotional intelligence. 

A top performer comes to work daily ready to create win-win experiences for their customers. This team member has been on the team for over three years and has been the reigning top team member for most of their tenure. This team member knows they have a knowledge brand and is often asked to help mentor new team members. This team member makes it a point to talk in the team meetings and share best practices each week. Despite all these efforts, the team member cannot seem to get promoted into a leadership role, something they have been working towards for over 18 months. 

The unpromotoable top performer is a common scenario within almost all organizations. There is a break in the feedback and coaching process. What is not shared is that the team member struggles with change, especially if it impacts their performance. When sharing best practices, the team member often comes across as if their best practice is the only one. Over-talking and being unable to settle on a decision once made is also par for the course. These challenges create an opportunity for stronger awareness from several people within the scenario. 

Awareness creates safety within a team

Developing emotional literacy and awareness is a key to personal development and happiness. EQ is about establishing safety through the highest EQ level, and this level is organizational predictability in an organization. To get there, team members must understand how to speak through emotions in a way that uses them as information to better teamwork and results. 

The ideas around reaction versus response help to understand safety. From day one, each person starts to develop their fight or flight. As we get older, the fight is displayed in many ways. Some undesirable ways are lashing out, lack of ownership, selfishness, and poor crisis management. The contrast is a response. A response is intentional and designed to be productive, move an effort forward, or bring closure to a situation. At its foundation, a response should be reassuring and tailored to the individual’s needs.

Developing safety requires understanding that emotions are information and should be used to help team members understand each other better. It requires taking advantage of coaching moments to help people observe their emotions and determine if it is getting them desired results. Often, those results may be a reaction or response from another team member. When leaders miss setting clear expectations or providing feedback around reactions and responses, they fail to manage safety within their team. 

The holes it creates in an organization

The example of the team member above is not just about missed feedback or the leader’s failure to do so. The result carries over to each team member who watches it happen repeatedly. When EQ is not developed, each team member has different standards based on their reactions. The repeated actions with poor EQ literacy become questionable ethics and challenges within organizational justice. 

Strategies develop intention

Personal development happens once a goal and strategy is established. Often, the desire to change takes from a hard look in the mirror and asking tough questions, a form of dissatisfaction. Developing behaviors that support working towards a goal will create EQ literacy, intention, and overall internal joy. 

Developing strategies to support awareness is vital for EQ growth. Strategies examples are listening more than talking or noticing social queues. Another example of strategy might be keeping a journal that focuses on affirming or positive moments. To change behavior based on awareness is challenging and must be done with intention. 

Execution and follow-through are the most difficult parts of change. Setting goals and getting feedback throughout the process can help to stay on track and support self-accountability. When developing EQ, a mentor or a partner is recommended to help with accountability. Choose someone who can have a challenging conversation and is good at asking questions. 

Back to decision-making

Decision-making is an essential competency within any team or company. The foundation of acumen is about quick decision-making. Team members who are highly developed in decision-making understand how to manage stress and risk to stay focused on priorities and people. Using intention and focus to set goals and respond in a way that supports those goals leads to mastery, a top level of self-management. 

Want more on Emotional Intelligence? Are you looking to attend a workshop or take an assessment to start your EQ journey?

Website: https://idaleadershiplab.com/classes/registration/

Want more details on EQ and the EQ-i: https://idaleadershiplab.com/courses/eq/

Email: dbarker@idaleadershiplab.com

Dan Barker 09/13/2023

So often, when I approach a company representative and share that my experience was less than par, that protection and defense are always the first response. The service and the response often do not meet the values or commitment the company has placed on the wall. The opportunity stems from not teaching all employees how to see the big picture. Focusing on knowledge and calling it acumen takes away from assessing effective decision-making. The outcomes must align with the big picture. 

Let’s start with a recent experience

My escape is starting the day with a workout and finishing it up with 15-20 minutes in the steam room. A week or so ago, I was wrapping up a fantastic leg workout with 20 minutes on the stair stepper. I still had an incredible high going as I went downstairs, thinking how great it would be to loosen up and relax in the steam room. I turned the corner to find the steam room door propped open and a closed sign. It was not even lunch yet. Even worse, the sauna was closed as well. I now would have to sit and wait in my sweaty clothes for my wife for the next 20 minutes as she relaxed in the women’s steam room, or should I say stew in my dissatisfaction with how my whole experience had just changed. 

I eventually found a team member and mentioned that this happens often. I shared that your front desk handed me the towel, not knowing what I would see when I turned the corner. It makes no sense, and the lasting experience is terrible. Instead of empathy, I got a list of questions about what I saw and what items in the locker room were still open. The team member mentioned that she would look into it and was going to leave it at that. I just shared I thought you may have some concern and stepped away from their desk in the central area to wait for my wife, but still in her view. 

Of course, she was not going to sit while I stood there. However, I was not there for action. I had assumed nothing could be done now for my experience and was willing to sit and wait for my wife. The team member went and found another service team member. I heard them state I was a “very upset” customer, and she needed answers on what was happening. After a few minutes, she returned and instructed a desk member to make me a smoothie. I told them I was not looking for a smoothie. I’m on a meal plan. The follow-up I got was that they were addressing it. Both should not be shut down. It was not the first time I had this experience, and it likely will not be the last. Be careful when you sign up under an agreement. I’m locked into this Groundhog Day!  

Let’s start with the basics

No one with dissatisfaction wants the first response to be an interrogation. The first response should always assure the customer that you understand their feedback. It is best to quickly follow it up with an ownership statement, like, I’m going to look into this and see if we can find a resolution. Permission is an excellent way to stay on the right side of the conversation. Permission is the common pleasantry that helps keep the conversation moving, but nothing too formal. A great next question could be, would you mind if I asked some questions to understand better what you experienced? The response will differ greatly from “Tell me what is exactly closed.” I had provided an acceptable resolution in my initial complaint with the team member. Why not a schedule or some notification system ahead of time? When it comes to customer experience, don’t be afraid to inquire about what might be an acceptable resolution. Don’t assume everyone wants something for free. In this case, I’m a reminding customer who wants you to live up to your promise on the wall. 

It’s not the customer’s fault expectations are missed

Either expectations are not set, or they are not managed well. Expectations are not a nice to have. The big picture is that expectations protect the brand and the promise on the wall. Expectations should guide all day-to-day duties and tasks. There is a significant difference in cleaning the steam room three times a day versus using and executing an interval schedule. Expectations should be used to support the essential details of cleanliness, health, and cadence. 

When expectations are not set, the routine of management is to find themselves in a cycle of resetting expectations. An important factor with expectations is that they can be achieved consistently. Whether the work is based on schedule or some process or decision tree, expectations ensure critical outcomes are reached. Often, expectations support the foundation of a company’s product and customers. Consistency is essential for effectiveness and should help set the standard. 

Standards are not just for the wall and the tour

Let’s say that expectations have been set. The assumption is that the “machine” is now doing what it does. It is this mentality that breaks the chain of experience. It is vital to call out that when standards are not managed well, it impacts employees and customers negatively. You cannot put experience on your wall and not consider it when feedback is provided. An employee who does not have clear expectations is doomed to create an inconsistent experience. Effectiveness should be based on consistent execution of what works and reducing the things that don’t. Expectations should set the standard, and the standards management should also have clear expectations and follow through. This is how an organization is steadfastly committed to achieving excellent customer experience. 

“A company cannot level up or differentiate experience without expectations and standards to create the foundation towards customer success.”

Dan Barker

Instead of a “really upset” customer, you have an inconsistent experience

Be focused on resolution with every interaction. A permanent solution is supported through expectations and standards. Organizations focusing on being right or solving problems one-off in a silo are not helping the standards on the wall. If there was no expectation of when to clean or communicate it, the service team member only works on the knowledge of “I need to clean it.” Instead, this is a driving experience, and my subsequent decision may create an inconsistent experience. Improved decision-making will create a more substantial alignment to the big picture, translating experience into customer success. Create consistent experiences by setting expectations and standards that help align decision-making. Place focus on where it goes wrong and employee and customer feedback on how to improve it. 

Creating performance is a skill. It needs to be done with intention. Leaders need to understand the process used to deliver on performance. Performance Practitioner is a level above acumen. A new leader may understand the driving performance concept but often need help to dissect it well. (They struggle to identify all the critical pieces/tactics needed to replicate results.) A true Performance Practitioner understands all the steps necessary to achieve their performance goals. Achieving performance allows for innovation and improved outcomes that bring on the next level beyond acumen. 

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Consistency:

In this case, performance is defined as an ability to behave in the same way. This includes actions and other tangible’s that can be viewed through outcomes—understanding what is repeatable and the consequence of the repeated measure. The consequence’s impact will help determine if it is positive for performance.

Consistency should be something that all leaders can view in all aspects of their business. Consistency aligns with being intentional. What is done with intention can be repeated. If it can be repeated, then there is an opportunity to collect data, evaluate, and compare results. These results can be viewed as consequences, more importantly, outcomes. 

Observing consistency can be a challenge. It is essential to understand that it needs to be tangible in some way. This means observing consistency needs to be through action or behavior. Another example could be through specific touch points like meetings or business reviews. 

Note: Actions and behaviors need to be clear expectations. They must be clarified if they can be defined or described in multiple ways. 

Understanding what is repeatable can be difficult. However, the rule of consistency applies right back to measurement. Evaluation is critical to identifying what is working or the latter for performance. Early evaluation stages should help identify the consistent actions on each side of performance. Evaluation over time should evolve to the specifics needed to achieve performance. What is being evaluated needs to be consistent. Measuring what consistently appears or is missing in performance takes intent and planning. 

Example: If observing a customer sales interaction and the identified action offers three different times, that is the measuring stick. If someone offers two times, then it would not count. It is not about almost. Evaluation should consistently establish an understanding of what brings the best outcome. This is based on an analysis that proved to offer three times led to the most favorable results. 

Leaders can use what they discover about consistency to compare results. Comparing results over time or among teams and peers can present a more substantial context to what works and what does not. It can help to show where intention and repetition make a difference. It is like thinking about how consistency is classified as practice until it becomes mastery. 

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Evaluation and Comparison

Evaluation and comparison are where judgment takes place within data collection. There must be a process that can help to establish the validity and reliability of the assessment completed. Evaluation requires following through and observing the business. The comparison allows for context and helps to show what is relative in the data. Comparison will also provide additional views into what works and does not. 

Developing the skill of evaluating will help in establishing more robust business acumen. The skill of evaluation reinforces leveraging collected data to assess impact. This gives the leader the insights needed to make a judgment or a decision to support the business. 

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Performance versus proficiency 

Performance management, in this case, is the art of building performance by increasing efficiency or productivity in some way. Before leaders dive into managing performance, they must first establish proficiency. In many organizations, leaders need to take the time to understand their team members’ proficiency in new skills and tools. It is why there is high turnover when employees transition from training to production. Effectiveness and repetition are essential factors to consider in measuring proficiency and performance. 

Repetition

It supports consistency and is critical in the process of development and proficiency. There is a rule around how many hours it takes to master a new skill or task. Of course, this would be with something that is not familiar at all. Many skills are built from the foundation of other skills. 

Effectiveness

The crucial factor that is used in proficiency and performance is effectiveness. However, no leader is so good that they can introduce a skill and get performance without proficiency. Evaluation of the progression through repetition, while comparing results to benchmarks, will help to identify which phase a team member is in. 

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Life-cycle

A great way to think of life-cycle in the development process is like practice. Having benchmarks is great, but the rate also needs to be considered. What is observable? How is the skill used? Break it down into practice swings and work to decide how many it will take to achieve proficiency and master it. 

Example: Imagine a world where a hammer is a new tool, and you have never used one. After being walked through the best way to hold the hammer and a nail, along with how to set and strike -how many practice swings would it take to get proficient and then excellent at it?  

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Not meeting, meeting, exceeding – measure through consistency

The ratings we see so often should only be used if consistency is well understood. Often ratings are not just about a moment or a single task. Instead, it is about the trends and actions observed as part of the routine influencing results. The rater must ask themselves, “Is this occurring consistently through this lens?” Do the activities and actions reflect results that consistently do not meet expectations? Not utilizing this method leads to conversations and development that do not focus on the correct outcomes. 

All new leaders will go through a proving ground of credibility. Credibility will produce the flash to ignite momentum but lacks the stamina to convert into fire. Validity is a different skill than credibility; great leaders effectively use validity to perform consistently. Without it, nothing seems to get done. 

New leaders do not often think of their efforts in these terms, nor do they connect the work back to it. Over the years of observing most operational managers, forward-thinking or introspection is a state of utopia. Most days are spent hopping from one meeting to the next, and free time is used to address personnel issues or get in a quick heart-stopping cheeseburger. 

Let’s break it down

Credibility must be established for all leaders. People will only be inspired to work with a credible leader. Credibility can be identified through the trust given by the people that work for them. When leaders develop the right culture, then there is a belief that everyone is working towards similar goals. Team members understand that working with each person and increasing sustainability will only create opportunities for everyone involved. 

Credibility can be established in several different ways. Having a title of leadership alone may be enough. Others want to know if their leader has a similar understanding or expertise for their work. People use several tactics of influence to help to establish credibility. It is essential to call out that efforts should remain genuine and authentic. There are dangers to be aware of with credibility and why it cannot be relied on for consistent performance. Loyalty can quickly blind the tangibles of credibility -when not managed, blind faith will take root removing all accountability placed on the leader. In this stage of lost accountability, we bring in our trusted skill of validity. 

What it looks like?

To be clear, all leaders need a certain level of credibility. When leaders lack validity and supporting skills, they will find themselves stuck over-indexing on credibility. Similar ways to view the trust of credibility are convincing and believable. However, those words do not ring as true towards being authentic or genuine. These leaders can achieve day-to-day tasks but need more discipline and intention for consistent performance. 

Have you ever worked for those leaders where everything seems to come back around? They share ideas, but very few go anywhere, and they likely use words like discipline and rigor often when talking about what is missing to achieve performance. Other challenges quickly start to seem to appear. They might look like poor follow-through or the talk track is more focused on using powerful words than sharing precise details and facts. Often these leaders can accomplish staying under the radar because they create comfort for the people reporting to them. The longer and deeper it goes, the more it will deteriorate the ability to maintain culture or create a high-performing team. These signs should not be hard to call and review for any organization. 

What is validity?

Validity at its foundation is about facts and logic. However, a leader should consider a large part of validity is about being able to do what you say you can do. A leader must have a certain presence and level of engagement in their business to know and understand their business. High levels of credibility may allow for good communication, even inspirational, but these leaders will struggle to convert it to tactical or execution. A large part of validity is missing without accurate knowledge of the business, its details, and the people. 

How to observe validity?

Validity should be observable through tangible skills. These leaders deeply understand the systems involved, including workarounds that may present roadblocks. When asked, these leaders can quickly point out the broken processes or dead ends that impact the overall experience. Often these leaders do not like sitting in conference rooms or small chat. They have a specific focus on their work and people. Ultimately they often are consistently top performers. 

Note: Traditionally, these leaders are very good at setting standards. However, they often are challenged in consistently managing expectations around their standards. 

How can it be developed?

As hard as it might be to believe, the high leaders climb up the ladder, the higher the risk they are a leader over-indexing on credibility. 

First thing is first:

• How are skills inventoried, and which are critical for driving the business in each role? 
• What process is used to observe and assess, and who inspects and oversees it?

Reviewing what in the business is accomplished proactively versus what is addressed reactively is an excellent activity for executives and above. Where are leaders effective in driving results in their business, and more importantly, what proficiency of skill with systems and processes? Why does the QA process stop at the front line, and what measures the effectiveness of acumen? 

Basics are fundamental

•  All levels need observation and feedback and should be able to trend to show the progression or lack thereof. 
• Skills need to be attached to specific activities, and the raters/observers need to have the skill to be calibrated/aligned. 

Scorecards and KPIs are overused and again dilute the ability to develop these validity skills and, when managed poorly, create an environment ripe for too much credibility. Adopt a measurement that can look at the work more than the result. Being overly focused on the result and not the supporting activities only teaches leaders to fear the day performance gets questioned -they won’t know why or how to fix it. 

Measure lead activities that make the results.

• Productivity is foundational. The rate of work or how much of it is getting completed will never fail as a measurement. Get creative in assessing proficiency and performance. 
• Trend how the work is getting completed versus the results to manage skills development. There needs to be a cadence to drive progression versus an approach that seems like leadership completing a task. 

Note: Develop measurement and skill-building attached to executing and accomplishing the day-to-day work. It should not be an extra task. Often shoulder to shoulder is the best way to make this happen. 

Credibility is needed but must be used to leverage validity, and this is where leaders should focus on their own development and how they tell their career journey.