Bob Hague doesn’t blame anyone but himself when his company experiences failure.
“As leaders, we have an obligation to the people that work for us to lead them to greatness,” says Hague, president of Hague Quality Water International. “If they don’t, first and foremost, it’s our fault.”
On the flip side, successful companies are more than just a one-man show. They incorporate the skills and talents of other employees in the organization who have a knack for leading and attempt to put those skills to use.
“I don’t find that I have too much leadership,” Hague says. “I look for it wherever I can find it.”
Hague’s ability to develop leaders has helped the 100-employee manufacturer of residential water treatment equipment grow, as export sales have increased 87 percent over the past five years.
Smart Business spoke with Hague about how to develop leaders.
Q. How do you demonstrate leadership?
Somebody on the factory floor will come to me and have a problem and drop it in my lap. I start asking questions. ‘When did you notice this first happening? Has anything changed in the process?’ At some point, I’ll ask, ‘What ideas do you have as a solution?’
Surprisingly enough, I’d say 80 percent of the time, their response matches up with what my idea of the solution would be. They just don’t want to make a decision. They feel it’s something above their pay grade, so they won’t make a decision.
Probe them a bit so you make sure you fully understand what the problem is. If they don’t think you understand the problem, they will have no confidence in your solution.
If you go ask somebody for something and you don’t think they really heard what you said, I don’t care if they are 100 percent correct, you won’t have any confidence that they have the right answer.
Earn their respect. They know that I understand that they have a brain. I don’t want them to check it at the door. I want them to use it at work to help us solve these problems. If I have a solution in my mind and they’ve got one in their mind, I always go with their solution.
Q. How do you make a good appraisal of someone’s leadership skills?
Look for people who take on additional responsibilities on their own, the kind of person who doesn’t require someone over them all the time to direct their activities. Someone who will look ahead a bit on a manufacturing process and will say, ‘I can see I’m about to run out of this, so rather than wait until that happens, I’ll go ask my supervisor about it.’
Look for people who see a little bit bigger picture than just, ‘I need to do A, B, C and D.’ Look for the respect of their co-workers. If they have that, that indicates there is some leadership quality there, as well.
