Leadership Viewpoint

Over the past couple of years, we’ve witnessed a very strange shift in the world of job search. We have received a number of inquiries from parents, looking for leadership development positions for their children. Can you imagine learning about leadership from a person with so little initiative and self esteem that he or she allows mommy or daddy to conduct his or her job search? We cannot.

In response to these requests, we inform the parent that the mere fact that the applicant is not inquiring personally disqualifies him or her from consideration. Most parents have been appreciative of the direct feedback. Yesterday, however, an irate mother fired back an angry letter quoting a leadership firm in Toronto that responded favorably to the same inquiry that we had rejected. Besides relief that we will not be involved with an angry and dysfunctional family, we are left to ponder reasonable standards for the workplace. As trainers and consultants, we place high value on “teaching others to fish”. Yet, in this case, an industry colleague has dropped reasonable standards.

As business leaders, it is incumbent on us to place high expectations on our people. We’ve heard rhetoric about the ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’, typically from President Bush referring to students from poor areas. Politics aside, ‘low expectations’ are extremely damaging in the workplace. When we open the door to low standards for one person, it becomes too easy to rationalize it the next time. Clearly if you want to build a great business, it is critical to hire and develop a great workforce to run it. Aim high, and encourage your workforce to join you at the top!

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