The most effective leaders I know are keenly aware of an important objective that defines their legacy: developing a successor that will shepherd the organization to an even greater level of success and impact. These leaders understand that their ability to identify and groom talent is key, but they’re also aware that it’s not easy. Leaders can devote years to developing a team before the degree of each person’s balance between talent and temperament is understood — an essential trait in one seeking to reach a leadership level. This reality was reinforced recently during a client conversation with Chris, a senior executive, considering two team members for succession.
“Both Adrienne and Greg are very accomplished technically,” Chris shared. “They know our products and customers inside and out. But I must give Greg the edge on experience. If I had to choose someone today, he’s got a better foundation than Adrienne. He has been in the business longer and weathered more challenges. I’m just worried about his temperament and awareness when interacting with others.”
As I worked with the team over the next several months, Greg demonstrated traits that confirmed Chris’ concerns, and unfortunately, the behaviors seemed hard-wired. While inquisitive and very knowledgeable, Greg was “me” focused to the detriment of the team. The behaviors he repeatedly demonstrated were:
- An obsessive need to be seen and recognized: During team meetings, Greg routinely jockeyed for position at the table, making every effort to sit nearest to his boss, Chris, or another person of higher authority. This enabled him to engage in sidebar conversations that excluded the rest of the team, which made others feel undervalued.
- Unhealthy mirroring: Over time, I noticed Greg developed a practice of dressing like his boss whenever Chris was scheduled to meet with the team. He, of course, seated himself next to Chris and mirrored Chris’ hand gestures and body language whenever they engaged in conversation. While these techniques are used to build rapport during negotiations, Greg was using them to ingratiate himself with his boss and was overdoing it to the point where his own identity was in question.
- Hijacking conversations: During one meeting alone, there were five occasions where Greg interrupted or talked over someone and took the conversation in a completely different direction. This behavior was especially common when the person speaking was a subordinate, making it difficult for more junior employees to shine or share their knowledge. As an outcome, it limited the diversity of input the team had for making important decisions. Instead, they often pursued Greg’s ideas, overlooking better ones.
- Focusing on “I” more than “we”: While career growth depends on your accomplishments being recognized when you lead others, those achievements are the result of a team effort, not your contributions alone. Greg had developed a bad habit of taking credit for his team’s work rather than acknowledging the contributions of each member. This act would have better demonstrated his effectiveness as a leader.
- Chasing the wild goose: As an intellectually curious person, Greg enjoyed examining issues from every angle, which is valuable when seeking novel solutions. His challenge, though, was in letting go of his position when it became clear his idea wasn’t appropriate to the problem at hand or economically viable. Instead, he directed the conversation down a rabbit hole, taking the team on a sometimes hours-long road to nowhere. This self-indulgent behavior frustrated his colleagues and delayed them in finding real answers.
When I raised many of these observations with Chris, they came as no surprise. He’d observed some of the behaviors, and though he tried coaching Greg, any change in him was fleeting. But he was alarmed to discover that the team viewed him as preferring Greg over others. He didn’t realize the impact of Greg’s attempts to gain favor by dressing like his boss, mirroring his behaviors, positioning himself near Chris during meetings and holding sidebar conversations. These acts demotivated team members who were trying to contribute, so much so that some were now actively job hunting.
Upon learning this, Chris became determined to broaden his perspective on grooming a successor and re-examine his investment in Adrienne and other team members. Chris determined that he would hold experience and skill in anyone he developed in the future in equal regard with the quality of their temperament. Without this balanced focus, the team he spent years building would not realize its full potential, and Chris would fail at his most important job — creating a lasting leadership legacy.
Have you determined the talent and temperament needed in your successor?
This article was first published in SmartBriefs, January 2025.