A good friend that knows my passion for all things leadership, recently switched jobs and offered some comments on the nature of his dozen or so interviews.  I paraphrase:

My leadership skills, experience or approach were not discussed during any of the interviews.

I was shocked. 

None of the top executives that I spoke with singled out and discussed leadership or people development during discussions about their business and strategy.

I started to get depressed.

And: Nope, it wasn’t covered with the recruiters either.

I had a headache.

What gives? 

I’m not sure whether it is a continued human tendency towards
self-absorption or narcissism, or an inherent assumption on the part of
a hiring executive that experienced, well-pedigreed candidates "get
leadership" otherwise they wouldn’t be sitting there.  Regardless of
the root cause, I have a hard time comprehending that the topic of
leadership and people development as anything other than a strategic
issue in this era.  Frankly, once I’ve established a candidate’s
technical competencies, all that I care about is how they lead, develop
and impact others.

Here’s why I believe that leadership is THE fundamental discussion point in hiring a top executive:

-More than ever, an organization’s fate is determined by how
effectively it channels the talents, ideas and passions of its’
employees into ideas that create value for customers.   A leader’s
ability to support, inspire, motivate and to create the environment
where the talents of employees are truly valued and leveraged is his or
her top priority.  Bar none. 

-The command and control style of leadership that many of us grew up
with is dead.  Try it—it doesn’t work with any of the generations now
in the workforce.   The effective leaders today and of tomorrow get
this, and have developed a style and supporting approaches that get the
best that people have to offer without leading by barking orders and
demanding compliance.   I want to know whether my top hires get this
key point.

-Everything about finding, reaching and cultivating customers has
changed.  Every executive should read Seth Godin’s, Meatball Sundae,
(about a 2-hour investment of your time and well worth it), and then
take a look at their own organization’s approach to these key tasks,
and shudder.  Adapting to, surviving, or hopefully, prospering in the
Web2.0 world will require leaders to think, organize and operate very
differently.  If I’m hiring a top executive, I want to know how they
are going to help me navigate in this new world. 

-Piling on the theme of "Everything’s Different," the world is
increasingly shaped by the macro-forces of demographics, globalism and
change.  Markets are born, mature and die seemingly overnight.
Competitors and disruptive offerings arise from places we never had to
think about before and deliver value to clients in ways we never
imagined.  (Imagine ordering your lunch in a drive-through in Chicago,
while the order is being entered into the POS System in Bangalore.
It’s happening!)

More than ever, a firm will rely on cultivating and developing
knowledge workers with the formal and informal leadership skills either
to respond to change or more importantly, to pro-act and innovate
around emerging forces.


The bottom-line:

Leadership counts, now more than ever.  I still have a headache
thinking about what my friend experienced or did not experience during
his recent interviews.  Fortunately, he gets it and understands what it
takes to lead in this new era.  However, it doesn’t excuse hiring
executives everywhere from ignoring this critical issue in hiring and
in setting their strategy and execution programs.  C’mon leaders, start
focusing on assessing your hires around their ability to positively
lead and impact others.  This skill-set will be the difference between
success and obsolescence.