“Do we have the right people”?

This is a great question for a leader to ask.  Like all good questions it is simple, forthright yet profound.  One could answer a simple “yes” or “no”, but a silent breath waiting for the rest of the answer would follow that monosyllabic response.

 

There is no simple, definitive answer.  Like any good question, this question raises many more:

• What does “right” mean?
• What are the skills and attitudes that constitute “right”?
• What is the context that defines “right”?
• Right people to do what?
• What are the results to be accomplished by these “right” people?

 

But back to the question “Do I have the right people”?  If the answer is “Yes, I have the right people”, then the further questions are:

 

• How do I KNOW they are the right people?
• How do I help them perform at their best?
• How do I help them grow and develop?
• How do I make sure that they continue to be the right people when things change?
• How do I keep them current?
• On what do I focus them?
• How do I keep them focused on the right things?
• How do I make sure that I keep them in my organization?
• How do I make sure they are happy?

 

If the answer is “No, I do not have the right people”, then you also have some further questions:

• How do I KNOW they are NOT the right people?
• Do they have the potential to be the right people?
• Is there anything I can do to help them become the right people?
• How can I get the job done even with the wrong people?
• How can I work with them?

 

And if all else fails:

• How can I gracefully release them from my organization?
• How can I replace them with the right people?
• What must I do to attract the right people?

 

But fundamentally, a good leader will ask him/herself:

• What type of leadership do the right people need and respond to?
• What kind of leader must I be to lead the right people?
• Am I the right leader?