I regularly interview executives who effortlessly reel off strings of accomplishments, some seemingly single-handed, that have contributed to the success of their employers. These are impressive ‘A’ players who, to hear them tell it, border on near perfection. When the discussion turns to my clients’ particular needs and the suitability of the candidates’ to address them, they scoff. Of course they will succeed, they never fail!
While these individuals may dazzle with their sparkling resumes and confidence, in my line of work, ‘perfection’ is asterisked in red, as in red flags. In some instances I am being gamed with an over-the-top narrative the candidates believe I want to hear. In other instances the executives do not know themselves well enough to speak to the full complement of experiences that have formed them. Or maybe, just maybe, the executives have been blessed and skilled to go through life without any major stumbles. If so, I cannot help but wonder about leadership blind spots in the wake of their growing cockiness and hubris? And what will happen when they do trip? How will they deal with it? What if that first time is while working for my client? Wouldn’t it just be safer to let that inevitability occur somewhere else?
Adversity and failure are almost always discussed in tandem with the attributes they test, namely determination, resilience, optimism, courage, loyalty and character. Anyone following the US Presidential election will know that these are central questions as citizens compare and weigh the life experiences, decisions and future decisions of two very different candidates. In other walks of life, a recent article told of how singer/actress Julie Andrews failed her first screen tests; how JK Rowling was turned down by 12 publishers before someone saw the potential of her Harry Potter; how Decca Records turned down the Beatles; how Walt Disney was fired for lack of imagination and how Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team during his sophomore year.
Failure and adversity are the proverbial pain from which many derive their greatest developmental gain. Profound learning is made possible when outcomes violate our predictions, when we are forced to decide, adapt, step back, get back up, and take stock. Such times are often stressful and coincide with trigger events such as job loss, financial stress, marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, illness and death. These are the moments which corner us into reflecting, into making some sense of what is happening to us, into changing, and invariably into growing. This is the good stuff….
But while everyone may agree that failure and adversity build and test character, few voluntarily swim those choppy waters. And there is the rub….for most of us, daily life is too hectic and noisy to find the time for those quiet, honest, difficult, sometimes painful discussions with ourselves. Many do not want to go there irrespective of how busy their lives may be. But a life that goes unreflected improves haphazardly, if at all. And that is why adversity and the occasional failure are so formative. It is also why the most impressive candidates, young and old, have been tested, weathered and made stronger by rough waters and can openly talk about it. And that is why I’ll take failure over perfection, any day.
Looking for a dynamic HR role? Stay away from the entrepreneurial tech sector.
January 1, 2012
In a recent survey of HR graduate students, the technology sector rated among the most coveted destinations to ply their trade. It is viewed as a world of innovative people, technologies and approaches where progressive talent management, OB/OD and related HR work awaits.
The Cry to Replace RIM's CEOs – A Truly Dumb Idea
October 13, 2011
Leaving aside the recent service outages, the shellacking of RIM in the press is a tad surreal to behold.
For the few Luddites not familiar with the firm, Research in Motion is the successful Canadian smart phone pioneer with revenues of $20bb per year, no debt and cash in the bank. They manufacture products that remain popular around the world and continue to boast technological innovations unmatched by any competitor. Their most recently launched smart phone devices have been well reviewed and appear to be selling well. And though the company's first version of its new tablet, the Playbook, has room for improvement, it is a promising piece of technology.
Context: When Companies Confuse Start-up Experience for Start-up Experience
October 7, 2011
I had the occasion this week to chat with an entrepreneur still licking his wounds from a stalled startup venture. His tale is a reminder of how easily companies misunderstand organizational context when hiring. For startups, such a misunderstanding can be fatal.
The CEO Hiring Practices at HP
October 3, 2011
The press tells us that Hewlett Packard is the largest technology company in the world with revenues of $126bb. Impressive as those numbers may appear, they do not seem to impress HP's Board of Directors. You see they do not believe that any of the firm's 324,600 employees are capable of leading it. Not one person. Not this year or last year when CEO changes were made. In fact they were apparently not capable six years ago or even eleven years ago when CEO changes were also made. But before summarily indicting the firm's succession planning/leadership development programs, it is useful to consider the track record of the external candidates who were considered better choices than the firm's internal candidates. This analysis decidedly shifts the spotlight to the competence of Hewlett Packard's Board of Directors.
The Folly of Believing What You Read
September 19, 2011
Some time ago we posted a blog titled ‘So you REALLY want to be a CEO?' which looked at the human costs of climbing the upper rungs of the management ladder. The blog was based on a series of articles immediately following the ‘resignation' of Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler. All of these articles presented a cautionary tale of life in the fast lane, the long hours, the extensive global travel, and the shareholder pressures that accompany an uncooperative stock price. They also spoke poignantly of the physical and emotional toll that such unrelenting pressure took on the Pfizer CEO who eventually resigned in order to attend to his family and health. As it turns out however, much of this narrative may not have been true
Before sending us your resume (and then getting frustrated with us) ask who we work for
July 25, 2011
A friend of mine is a trustee in bankruptcy. As his title suggests, he and his firm serves those contemplating the ‘cleansing' process of personal bankruptcy. Potential customers compare service providers, select one, and then pay the chosen firm a fee to initiate and manage the ensuing process on their behalf. However, as soon as the relief-seeking customer signs on the dotted line, the trustee's allegiance shifts to the creditors for whom they then seek to maximize debt recovery. This shift in who works for whom must be a tad unsettling for people who already have a heap of problems and stress on their hands.
What Dating Services Can Teach Companies About Hiring
June 1, 2011
Executive-level hiring is a decidedly aspirational endeavor. Organizations idealize their workplace cultures, select for attributes that will fit into those romanticized environments, and then immerse unsuspecting hires into their ice-cold reality of their works-in-progress.
How to Survive a Startup - by Jill Ram
April 20, 2011
If you're an executive and you're thinking of joining a start-up, know what stage of a start-up to join. If the company is in its first year or so, don't expect to make significant changes. If you join after the company is somewhat established and mistakes have been made and learned from, you'll likely be more successful from the outset. If the founder has stepped aside, well, by then, the company is likely not considered a start-up anymore. It won't be functioning like a big company yet, and it won't have all the structure in place that it needs, but it will be run with more practicality and with less emotion. Timing is everything so choose it well.
Good News for the Old, Overqualified and Overlooked
March 18, 2011
It is expected that a significant percentage of the baby boomer generation will drive right past the Freedom 55 highway exit. For many the goal of early retirement will have proven to be unattainable hype, while for others the ups and downs of working will appear more attractive than the prospects of working up and down the local lawn bowling leadership board.
Pressed for time? Blame those Benedictine Monks.
February 24, 2011
It is among the principal reasons candidates tell us they are open to consider a change in employers. They are tethered to it, yet somehow it still flees. It is time, the most precious of resources, and for many harried executives they want some of it back.
Though their relationship with time may be strained, it is worth pointing out that it was not always this way. In his fascinating book Time Wars, Jeremy Rifkin chronicles the evolution of our modern relationship with time. He points out that in traditional agrarian and pastoral cultures, time was a very naturalistic notion maintained in cyclical, repetitive, biological and even sacred terms. The ‘passing of time' was cued via the changing seasons, biological lifecycles and lunar patterns and thus, the cadence and tempo of those societies were finely tuned to the cyclical rhythms of their physical environments. As he states, "Our early ancestors coveted the circle, perceiving time as eternal return, a ceaseless repetition of an endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth". Since these cyclical rhythms could neither be accelerated, nor altered, the cadence of these societies' was natural and harmonious.
Why I Love Failure
August 1, 2008