Find people’s passions. Define the individual’s passion, what their strengths are. In ‘Good to Great,’ there are three intersecting circles — what are you absolutely passionate about in a work environment, what do you feel you’re the best in the world at, then the third intersection is the economic engine.
Ask them — you don’t define it. It starts at the interview process. We have to understand you on a personal level to make sure that whatever we structure doesn’t interfere with your personal life. Ask them to define their passion and tell you what they like and what they don’t like. What is your passion on a personal or work level? Do you enjoy working long hours? Do you enjoy a sense of freedom and entrepreneurial kinds of things in a work environment? It’s telling me more about who you are and what environment you should be working in.
You have to be a good listener. If someone says a word, the way they say it and what they say is important because you can probe into that — ‘I really enjoy working in partnership taxation.’ What does that mean, ‘really enjoy’? Does that mean you enjoy doing the details? ‘No, I enjoy the big-picture part of it.’ You have to be a good listener and try to determine what they’re saying and feeling. If you’re passionate about talking to people and listening, it doesn’t make any sense to make you a widget maker. You’d be really unhappy, so there’s a logic behind it.
Be there for people. I’m an introvert — a lot of leaders are introverted. You have to force yourself to get out of that box sometimes. Reach out to people and ask how they’re doing and what’s going on. You can’t do that with everyone. If you have 50 people in the company, you can, but if you’re at 5,000, you can do it through the leaders under you — you create a model that other people follow.
Walk into someone’s office and say, ‘How’s it going? What’s going on? Do you need me?’ The word need is a very important word. If any one of our children ever says, ‘Daddy, I need you for something,’ everything stops. Somebody can’t say they need something unless it’s important.
If people are asking you questions or want to talk to you about something, you have to say to yourself that they’re there for a reason: There’s a need, and you have to be patient and listen to them. Sometimes it doesn’t require an answer, and sometimes it doesn’t require a decision. Patience is a major part of being a good leader. Just listening and saying to yourself, ‘Don’t tell your story; they’re there to tell you what they want you to hear.’
Availability is another part. You’ve got to be available. You can’t be a good leader if you close your door. Closing your doors says to people, ‘I don’t want you here; I want you out.’ You’ve got to have your door open.
How to reach: Aarons Grant & Habif LLC, (404) 233-5486 or www.aghllc.com