A few weeks ago I had lunch with a senior leader at a Fortune 500 company. That means that her organization has a pipeline for new talent hiring.
And when I asked what her biggest challenges are, she said “diversity in the hiring pipeline.”
“But not by the traditional DEI measures,” she said. “The company is good at that. What I’m talking about is diversity in thinking.”
It seems that her organization, like many large companies, looks for good resumes…top colleges and business schools.
Here’s the problem: Succeeding by being good at following the rules can also make people risk averse.
So you have professionals who look great on paper, but don’t have the maturity to take risks. They might play the blame game instead of supporting colleagues and collaborating.
Importantly, you know that talent is in there, but it’s somehow stifled.
I call this the Confidence Lie. It’s when someone looks great on paper, but you never quite get the best from them because they don’t really have the confidence to take initiative.
And less initiative means less innovation. At a time when business needs innovation more than ever.
So what do you do?
I’ve said many times that having employees who:
And when I asked what her biggest challenges are, she said “diversity in the hiring pipeline.”
“But not by the traditional DEI measures,” she said. “The company is good at that. What I’m talking about is diversity in thinking.”
It seems that her organization, like many large companies, looks for good resumes…top colleges and business schools.
Here’s the problem: Succeeding by being good at following the rules can also make people risk averse.
So you have professionals who look great on paper, but don’t have the maturity to take risks. They might play the blame game instead of supporting colleagues and collaborating.
Importantly, you know that talent is in there, but it’s somehow stifled.
I call this the Confidence Lie. It’s when someone looks great on paper, but you never quite get the best from them because they don’t really have the confidence to take initiative.
And less initiative means less innovation. At a time when business needs innovation more than ever.
So what do you do?
I’ve said many times that having employees who:
- Understand the Impact of their strengths
- Know how to Influence others with strong communication skills
- Can manage their inner critic and take Initiative
- Will lead to safe psychological spaces that support Innovation
Hiring talented and mature leaders, every time, would be fantastic. But if your new leaders sometimes have talent that isn’t shining as bright as it could, how you build their confidence can go a long way.
My best,
Claire
My best,
Claire