How to Pick Leaders

And be consistently successful at it!

Michael Lovas and Pamela Holloway

What would you do if the CEO of your firm came to you and said, “I need your help.  It is imperative that we start hiring better leaders.  I need you to figure out how to recognize them in an interview.  Can you do it?”  What would you do? 

 

Across America and in every possible industry, companies are crying for effective leaders.  But they don’t know how to find them.  They don’t know what psychological characteristics make-up a leader.  Do you?  And even if you did, would you know how to spot it in an interview?

 

Across America, around the globe, organizations are pondering these questions:

•  How can you spot a leader? 
• What characteristics do they possess? 
• How do they think? 
• How do they make decisions?

 The EEOC has a problem with giving a psychometric assessment to determine if someone meets a certain criteria.  So, you can’t use Myers-Briggs or DISC or any of these types of instruments. So, what if you could recognize leaders by the way they talk and the things they say?  What if you could read beyond the content and facts in their conversation and look deep into their minds, simply by paying attention to the way they talk?  You would be significantly more effective and successful. 

 

Let’s look at the characteristics you might want in a leader. 

 

Vision.  An ability to see into the future and spot problems and opportunities

Confidence. Not arrogance or hard-headedness, but confidence in their ability to make things happen

Energy.  The energy to initiate activity and energy to keep going

Creativity.  The ability to come up with different approaches to age-old problems

Goal-driven. People who focus on goals achieve them more than those who don’t.

People-focused.    Leaders motivate people.  The people who focus on people have the best chance of influencing them. 

 NOTE:  This list is based in part on research conduced by Bruce Avolio, Ph.D., director of the Center for Leadership Studies at SUNY-Binghamton

 

The way AboutPeople finds those characteristics is by looking for “Mental Filters.”  That’s the pedestrian way of referring to a specific area of psychology called “Meta Programs.”  These Meta Programs are the sixty individual switches inside a person’s mind that determine how he or she filters for and uses information.  Each Meta Program can be visualized as a continuum.  Specific behaviors are determined (driven) by specific Meta Programs.  AboutPeople refers to those driving Meta Programs as a person’s “Mental Filter configuration in a given context.”

Let's take a look at the qualities we identified above and what we might look for in an interview.

 

Vision.  The ability to see into the future is held exclusively by people who fall on the intuitive side of the Sensor/Intuitive continuum.  They talk about ideas, concepts, possibilities. 

 

Confidence.  True confidence is actually a measure of where the person’s standards for good and appropriate are set.  If you can recognize where those standards are established, you will know if the person is confident or needs support and encouragement from others.

 

Energy.  The key to this mental filter is in the initiation, and the key to recognizing it is in listening for action verbs.  People initiate activity, think and speak in active verbs.  Those who don’t speak about doing, jumping in, getting involved or other activities will more than likely be passive.  Good leaders are not passive.

 

Creativity.  You’ve heard the expression, “out of the box.”  That refers to someone who is able to succeed in new or untested water.  The Meta Program for this is called “Options.”  And, it refers to someone who needs to find a new or different way to do something. 

 

Goal-driven.  People who focus on and are driven to accomplish goals will tend to achieve more goals.  This Meta Program is called “Toward,” because that’s the direction they move in. 

 

People-focused.  If you compared a typical engineer and a typical HR professional, you would find that the engineer focuses on things, and the HR person focuses on people.  The simple rule is, people who focus on things find it difficult to motivate other people.  And, you can’t be an effective leader if you can’t motivate people.

The Secret to Likeability

By Pam Holloway

 

Strange as it might seem, likeability is not a gift – it’s a skill set.  Is it worth developing?  You decide.  Here’s what we know about likeable people:

• They are more successful in business and in life. 
• They get elected, promoted, and rewarded more often than those less likable. 
• They close more sales and make more money. 
• They get better service from all types of service providers, including Doctors and other health care providers – which means they probably live longer as well!

Still not sure?  Take a look at these studies.

A Columbia University study by Melinda Tamkins shows that success in the workplace is guaranteed not by what or whom you know but by your popularity. In her study, Tamkins found that, "popular workers were seen as trustworthy, motivated, serious, decisive and hardworking and were recommended for fast-track promotion and generous pay increases. Their less-liked colleagues were perceived as arrogant, conniving and manipulative. Pay rises and promotions were ruled out regardless of their academic background or professional qualifications."

The Gallup organization has conducted a personality factor poll prior to every presidential election since 1960. Only one of three factors - issues, party affiliation, and likeability, has been a consistent prognosticator of the final election result.  Of course, the factor is likeability.

Doctors give more time to patients they like and less to those they don't. According to a 1984 University of California study, there were significant differences in treatment, depending on the characteristics of the patient: The combination of likeable and competent was significant.  Patients perceived as likeable and competent would be encouraged significantly more often to telephone and to return more frequently for follow-up than would the patients who were either unlikable and competent or likeable and incompetent. The staff would educate the likeable patients significantly more often than they would the unlikable patients."

In a survey of twenty-five hospital doctors initiated by Roy Meadow, a pediatrician at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, England, researchers studied what happens when both likeable and unlikable parents bring in children. Considering what you’ve already learned about likeability, it’s not surprising that children with likeable parents received better health care and were more likely to receive follow-up appointments.

What makes you likeable?

We find a plethora of opinions as to the specific elements that contribute to likeability.  Tim Sanders in his book, The Likeability Factor notes these 4:

1. Friendliness: your ability to communicate liking and openness to others
2. Relevance: your capacity to connect with others' interests, wants, and needs
3. Empathy: your ability to recognize, acknowledge, and experience other people's feelings
4. Realness: the integrity that stands behind your likeability and guarantees its authenticity

Webster's defines likeable as ….having qualities that bring about a favorable regard: pleasant, agreeable. 

Synonyms include: agreeable, amiable, appealing, attractive, charming, engaging, enjoyable, friendly, genial, good-natured, nice, pleasing, sympathetic, winning, 

7 Components of Likeability

In our own research and experience, we see these seven elements:

Positive mental attitude
Likeable people exude a positive mental attitude. That does not mean they are silly or giddy.  They don’t ignore hardships or failures, but consciously reframe those difficulties and negative emotions to healthier positive ones.  Positive means that you can find a better direction out of a problem, rather than wallowing in the problem or negative emotion.

Non judgmental
The truly likable are non-judgmental. They recognize that everyone is trying to get by the best they know how, and they treat everyone with respect and understanding.

Open
Passing critical judgment is a sign of inflexibility, a highly unlikable trait.  The opposite of that is what we call “openness.”  The truly likeable are open to new people, other ideas, and different ways of doing things.  They demonstrate openness in their behavior, the tone of their voice and in their language.

Secure
Likeable people are, “comfortable in their own skin.”  They don’t feel the need to talk over, correct, constantly make jokes or laugh nervously. They don’t brag, talk incessantly or hide behind details or humor.  

Vulnerable
One of the most likeable characteristics is vulnerability.  People who can say, “I don’t know,” who are able to admit mistakes or show a sensitivity, are seen as more likeable.

Able to get outside the Self
Those whose primary focus is themselves rate low on the likeability scale.  Conversely, those who are secure in themselves and able to turn their focus outward rate much higher.  It’s part empathy – our ability to recognize, acknowledge and experience other people’s feelings, which is a key attribute of likeability. This is more than the ability to be empathetic.  It is the exercise of this ability.  It is about becoming relevant. We become relevant in the lives of others when we learn about their interests, wants and needs.

Like me

We like people who like us.  We also like people who are like us.  As humans we are constantly seeking points of similarity.  We look for and are attracted to people who are like us in terms of values, interests and experiences.  Studies suggest we are also attracted to people who physically look like us. 

 

We like people who are like us
Ever notice how we tend to naturally gravitate to people who are like us – those who share our experiences, interests and values.  Studies suggest we also gravitate to people who look like us.  It seems we are constantly seeking points of similarity.  Dr. Karen Stephenson describes it as “an ancient skill encoded in us by our forebears.”

“In the small talk of cocktail parties, humans are at random walk, desperately seeking points of similarity through visibility: height, girth, dress, gender, race, accent, hair and eye color, etc. Reading the audience and working a room are ancient skills encoded in us by our forebears who sat cheek by jowl around the campfire; an earlier and more primordial form of cocktail party. I confess to having attended countless cocktail parties and continue to be amazed how, after just a few drinks, I end up with people who are like me in some way – same experiences, same clothes same interests, etc. It's not the alcohol talking, but the ancient drive of seeking similarity: 'You look like me, you think like me, you dress like me ... you're one of us.' When people connect at this basic level, they are engaging in an embryonic form of trust with each other. What began as a room full of disconnected people may end up as a network of people connected in invisible lines of trust.

As a fun illustration – take a look at the two photos below.  I found Dr. Karen Stephenson’s articles on the web quite by accident. I connected with her work and her words immediately.  It wasn't’t until much later that I noticed the physical similarities.  That’s Dr. Karen on the right and me on the left.

  

 

 

 

 

More Exposure: Familiarity Breeds Likeability

Recent studies have shown that more exposure is sufficient to increase the likeability of a person (or an object).  In short, we are more attracted to and tend to like people who are familiar to us.  So, in a selling situation, if the prospect likes you a little when you meet the first time, he may like you even more the second time and so on.  With that in mind, your objective is to continue to increase the numbers of exposure to your prospects.

How Likable Are You?

How well would you say you demonstrate those likeability characteristics in your meetings with prospects?  The key word here is “demonstrate.”  You can “feel” as though you are being open, relevant or empathetic, but that doesn't’t necessarily mean that’s how you are being perceived by the prospects.  

On a scale of 1-10, where 10 is Extremely High,  how would you rate your demonstration of:

• Positive Mental Attitude
• Non-judgmental
• Open
• Secure
• Vulnerable
• Able to get outside of self
• Like me

In Conclusion.  Likeability is not magic.  It’s not luck.  It’s not a gift inherited by only a few anointed people.  It is merely a skill set.  Luckily for you, it happens to fall into our area of expertise.

How to Thrive in a Flat World

By Pam Holloway

December 2005

I’ve just finished reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat.  This book is a must-read for every business professional, investor, and human being on the planet.  How’s that for a a recommendation? I’ve included a snipet from one of the reviews on Amazon.  Following that we discuss the implications of Friedman’s conclusions for financial services firms and in particular for financial advisors.  

 

What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": Lowering of trade and political barriers and technical advances have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well.

 Your world has changed. 
Have you?

 

Your world has changed dramatically already and will continue do so at an increasingly rapid pace. As Friedman points out its flat and getting flatter.  You’re getting new competition from unexpected places.  There is increased commoditization and decreased differentiation in all areas of business, and yours is no exception.   Understanding your changing market and changing what you’re doing and how you’re doing it in order to respond, is essential to your survival. 

Success today and in the future comes to those who not only recognize the shifts and trends in the marketplace, but who are able to re-valuate, re-focus and re-vamp themselves in order to respond accordingly. 

 

Three Key Questions

 

There are three important questions you should continually ask yourself and respond to in order to stay competitive in a flat world. 

1. How easy is what you do and provide your clients to duplicate?
2. Are you providing services that your clients highly value?
3. How good are you at anticipating your client’s needs?

  

1.  Are you easy to duplicate?

 

How easy is what you do and provide your clients to duplicate?  Are you really that different from the guy or gal down the street?

 

Take out a pen and write down the 3-5 key services you provide your clients.  Now ask yourself whether there is really anything different or better about what you do and how you do it?  Be honest.  I’m willing to bet that most of you will find that not only are you exactly the same, but you describe yourself and what you do with identical words and phrases. 

 

Now, let’s go one step further for those of you who do see yourselves as doing something just a little bit better than the competition.  Answer this question – Just how difficult would it be for the guy or gal next door to do the same thing?  Are you easy to duplicate?  If the answer is “yes”, then you’re in trouble. 

 

 

2.  Are you providing services your clients perceive as highly valuable?

 

Every time I ask advisors this question, I get a resounding “Yes!”  When I then ask for proof, or better yet ask their clients, the same question, I often get a different answer.  Many advisors have an even more telling response  “My clients certainly should value these services.”   That’s a dangerously arrogant response.  It implies that you know better than your clients what’s best for them.   Even if that’s true, and I seriously doubt that it is, it’s a lousy way to run a business. 

 

If you pay attention to nothing else in this article – hear this – It’s not what you think is best or most valuable to your clients that matters – its what they perceive as valuable that’s important.  

 

You have a choice.  You can figure out what it is your clients value most and give it to them or watch them take their business to someone else who can and does deliver these highly valuable services.

  

3.  How good are you at anticipating your client’s needs? 

 

How good are you at anticipating your client’s needs – in other words knowing not only what your clients want and value today and giving it to them, but knowing what they’ll want tomorrow and being prepared to respond before the competition?

 

Recent research comparing the results of a customer satisfaction focus to a customer anticipation focus found that strategies that ANTICIPATE customer’s needs are 10 times more predictive of success than those focused on customer satisfaction.

Why?  John Naver of the University of Washington Business School describes it this way "Customers' expressed needs and benefits can be known readily by all competitors - a situation that leads typically to competitors offering the same benefits to a given set of customers and then having to engage in aggressive price competition in the attempt to create superior value."

 

Got it?  Customer satisfaction is not enough.  Continued success comes to those who can anticipate client needs – figure out what they want and give it to them before they’ve even had a chance to communicate it.

 

 

A Flat World Requires a New Approach and New Skills

 

A flat world requires a new approach, a new consciousness and application of new skills.  As Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.”

 

In order to thrive in a flat world, you must:

 

1. Pay attention to what’s going on in the world – technology advances, business challenges, social and cultural shifts.   
2. Recognize how these changes effect your market, your clients and your business.
3. Continually re-assess the needs and wants of your target market and ensure you’re providing what they want, how and when they want it.
4. Go beyond mere client satisfaction into client anticipation.  Get out in front of the changes and position yourself to respond quickly and effectively.
5. Continually reassess your business and yourself against client needs and wants and against your competition.  Strive to provide services that are A) difficult to duplicate and B) of high value to the client.

Most Important Skills for a Flat World

 

If there’s one thing that rings out loud and clear from all the trends and changes we see happening in our industry, it’s the need for advisors to better understand their clients – both their needs today and anticipating their future needs.  With that in mind, I believe the single most important skill requirement for financial advisors is understanding people – both at an aggregate  or market level  and at an individual level.

 

This skill is followed closely by the ability to respond.  It’s not enough to know, you must also do. 

 

Third, response requires not only that you know your clients but also that you know yourself and how and where you best add value.  This requires continuous self-assessment, self improvement and alignment to your clients.    

Managing and Coaching Different Personality Types

Expressive

These people are like high-performance athletes.  Their intuitive people skills, communication skills, drive and enthusiasm often make them natural relationship builders and motivators.  And, that makes them natural salespeople.  Your job as a coach is to keep them focused and channel their energy.

 

What would kill their energy and enthusiasm?  Tedium, micro management and/or personal stagnation.  Be careful to insulate the Expressive from detailed paperwork and administrivia.  They hate it and they’re not good at it.  They get bored easily and hate being controlled. 

 

Expressives are receptive to coaching – if the coach can establish a relationship of relevance.  Hint – relevance to an Expressive is based in his or her values.  So, frame your comments in terms of that person’s values. 

They have a need to grow and improve, so challenge them.  They enjoy learning new things, and new ways to be more effective, but they are hypersensitive to the control issue.  So, direct them in either what to do or how to do it, but not both.  As long as you’re making positive suggestions and giving them alternatives, you’ll help them make forward progress. 

 

You need to give an Expressive plenty of space.  Expressives are uncomfortable with formal structures, particularly the corporate hierarchy.  So, don’t box them in.  They can be good at corporate politics for short periods of time.  However, they invariably run into trouble because they have an innate compulsion to express by speaking their minds. 

 

Expressives learn visually and by doing.  Do not give them a manual to read and expect them to get new skills out of it.   Show them someone whose behavior you want them to model and they’ll copy it. 

 

They are excellent project starters.  Unfortunately, they tend to start more things than they finish.  As their manager, you have a choice:  1) give them the responsibility for up-front brainstorming.  Or, if you absolutely need them to take the project all the way from idea to implementation, help them be selective about what to start, and then provide coaching on how to complete one project before starting another.

 

Reward Expressives with recognition, gold medals, and incentive pay.

 

 

Driver

Working with Drivers is like having Navy SEALS on your team.  Managers need to be very specific about assignments and expectation, because Drivers need to know exactly what is expected of them and the rules or procedures established for accomplishing the objectives.

 

Drivers are high-energy doers and seek to quickly climb the ladder of success.  You’ll be managing a person whose short-term goal is to get your job.  Like the old pro who is coaching a young quarterback, you can coach Drivers into operating at the top of the game – if you handle them right.

 

They are good at facing a challenge or problem head on.  They’re good tactical planners as well, but they really excel in situations in which there are important decisions to be made.  They love “running the show” and will seek out opportunities to be in control and make decisions.  That’s why you find so many Drivers in management positions.  This includes business, sports and the military.

 

Drivers are similar to Expressives in that they learn by doing seeing and doing.  They are good at copying the behavior of someone else they perceive as successful. 

 

Drivers take great pride in being right and in doing things right the first time and every time.  They often have difficulty being flexible in their communication because, in their minds at least, there is only one way to do things – their way!  To coach Drivers into greater flexibility, you need to show them the simple causal relationships, “If you do __________, you’ll get _____________ .

 

Drivers are the most efficiency of all the social styles. They thrive on accuracy and efficient utilization of time and materials.  They can handle the paperwork and other administrative details associated with the job, because they recognize the importance of paying attention to procedures, rules and structure.  Conversely, Drivers are uncomfortable with ambiguity and lack of order.  Playing it “fast and loose” works for the Expressive, but not for the Driver.

 

Drivers are also natural politicians.  They respect the chain of command and know how to work it. Smart managers will learn how to leverage this skill.

 

Reward the Driver with increased responsibility, leadership positions, promotion, pay raise, bonus or award.

 

  

Analytical

These people are at their best with analysis and strategic thinking.  From your perspective, this probably looks like demonstrating credibility and relevance, strategizing, solving client problems or developing new and better ways to do things.

 

Analyticals are low- to medium-energy workers who are driven by intelligence.  If Drivers are your best decision makers, Analyticals are your best researchers and strategists.  They are motivated by learning and demonstrating their superior knowledge. 

 

To be an effective coach for Analyticals, you must first gain their respect.  They have to believe that you are as smart as they are, preferably smarter.  Then, give them ample opportunities to learn and demonstrate their knowledge.  Conversely, Analyticals are without a doubt the most difficult salespeople to coach.  This is because of two things:  1) they have difficulty accepting that they don’t already possess all the answers;  and, 2) they are proactive in accumulating information, but they are reluctant to share it unless directly approached for it.  Your Analytical might have the solution to a problem in his or her files but be reluctant to volunteer it.

 

In selling situations, because Analyticals place great value on information, they tend to do the “data dump” on clients.  In other words, they point out things they find fascinating, but which the client may not.  Their love of information is often misdirected in that they don’t understand where to focus it.  Your job is to teach them that the information they gain must be tied to making sales.

 

The most effective way for Analyticals to sell is to leverage their natural drive to learn and love of questions.  Work with them to turn a sales meeting from data dump into an interview.  Tell them to think of their meetings as information-gathering and problem-solving sessions.  The consultative selling approach is the best one for Analyticals.

 

Analyticals automatically focus on data, processes and systems.  What they don’t automatically focus on is people and human behavior.  In other words, they often have a difficult time reading nonverbal behavior and emotional cues.  As a result, they may not know what to do if the sales call is not going well.  They are primarily left-brained and uncomfortable with emotions.  Your job as a coach is to help them regularly tap into more of the right-brain behaviors.

 

As you would likely guess, most Analyticals tend to be process oriented.  So, work with them to map out the explicit procedural steps of the sales call.  Break it into an if-then format.  “If the client says ______, then you do _________.”

 

Analyticals often have a difficult time asking for the business.  Because they need time to think about it, they assume everyone does and they won’t push to close.  Their major Achilles heel is fear of looking stupid or making a mistake.  So, they unconsciously avoid situations where they might be rejected.  In their minds rejection comes as a result of making a mistake or doing something stupid. 

 

Reward the Analytical with autonomy, title and guru status.  Give them more time alone to do what they love - work through strategies, solve client problems, and develop better ways to do things.

 

Amiable

Amiables are natural rapport builders and people instantly trust them.   They excel in corporate cultures that are truly client-focused, because they instinctively focus on the other person. 

Amiables instinctively home in on two things:  people and comfort.  They are superb at building and maintaining relationships because they make people feel comfortable.  Flip side – they can focus on the people issues to the exclusion of the business.  While most people are quickly drawn to Amiables, they don’t necessarily buy from them.  Your job as coach is to teach them how taking care of the business is taking care of the people, how to ask for the business, and how to deal with objections. 

 

Like Analyticals, they are medium- to low-energy workers.  They work at a slower pace than other social styles and make decisions more slowly, too.  Amiables prefer structure – an established way of doing things, and occasionally need a bit of prodding.  Show them what to do and give them plenty of time to get the job done.  Amiables lack the drive of the Expressive or Driver and have little in the way of competitive spirit.  They are the polar opposite of Analyticals in their values and interests – people rather than data.  As a coach, you want to inspire them by showing how their performance benefits the client or the team, rather than highlighting their personal reward.

 

Amiables typically like being part of a team and are much more comfortable with team presentations.  They usually don’t like being the center of attention.  In fact, calling public attention to them can embarrass them and cause great stress.  So, when you reward them, do it in a private moment in an atmosphere of sincerity.

 

Amiables take their responsibility very seriously and would be extremely uncomfortable suggesting a product or service unless they were 100% certain it was appropriate for the client. 

 

In coaching Amiables, first make sure you establish a trusting relationship.  Once this is done (and you make sure you don’t do anything to damage the relationship), the Amiables will listen and act on your counsel.  Give them reassurance that they are meeting your expectations, that they are appreciated and valued as a part of the team.

 

Reward Amiables with a job security, personal, thoughtful gift, one-on-one praise, flexible work schedule, or more time off.