CEO and Founder, Gary Tilkin Consultants, Inc.
To many times I have heard from upper level management that one of their associates was disappointing them and their team. When I inquired further, the reality was the associate in question was not well suited for the task and or assignment given. The conventional thinking was that anyone could do anything, if they JUST applied themselves. Allow me to give you a unique take on this interesting situation by categorizing our associates in three groups.
Group 1: Super Stars–These individuals seem to always “Knock the cover off the Ball”. They are the “go to” person when there is a goal or objective that absolutely needs to be accomplished. They are also the individuals that your competition want to lure away from you. When and if this were to happen, often a very interesting occurrence seems to surface. This Super Star ends up failing right on their proverbial face at the new organization. WHY; these individuals work well with organized and mature process, procedure as well structure. The new organization assumed that the Super Star could develop this environment for themselves, WRONG ASSUMPTION. SOLUTION: Continuously challenge these individuals with raising the bar but NOT re-inventing the wheel. Let these people know that they are important, however also let them know their limitations. These associates must learn to be a team player to be a long term asset to your organization.
Group 2: Organizer–This associate can go to an organization where it is a complete mess. No process, procedure or structure, hence the reason for wanting to hire away a Super Star. The Organizer creates the structure and more importantly, makes it work not only for themselves; they make it work for other associates. What these valuable associates cannot do is “Knock the cover off the BALL”. It is simply not in them. SOLUTION: Look for other area’s within your company were organization and structure are needed. Hold these associates in high esteem for what they bring to the table. It is both a talent and gift.
Group 3: Entrepreneurs–This is the most RARE of all associates. This individual has equal attributes that the Super Star and Organizer have. They can “Knock the cover off the BALL” and “Create Structure” that works for any organization. They are strong willed, opinionated, and very competitive. They are usually the most highly engaged individuals in an organization. They also really scare less capable people especially if that person is their direct report manager. What happens with these extraordinary people is they usually leave your organization to own there own company or you recognize their gift and develop them to be an “internal entrepreneur” within your company. SOLUTION: Make sure your recognize the talents when you see them, continuously challenge these individual and educate their direct report managers on how the work with these critical associates. It is not that you keep them for ever, it is how long they will stay that is the issue. Eventually, you must allow them to live their destiny because they will leave regardless.
Gary Tilkin