This week's self-aware leadership pitch is about the need for mastering "chemistry" or "fit," and using it in everyday leadership.
Whether you're managing a troubled team, merging / acquiring, hiring, coaching performance, working with your board of directors, or finding the right role for yourself, chemistry is king. As actual clients have said:
"The integration was smooth, and the P&L looks good so soon because the merger was just a great fit."
"When the chemistry is there between a CEO and what the company needs and wants, it's hard to beat."
For example, don’t hire Steady Eddy the CEO when the company needs a growth boom. It’s a bad fit. You can do thousands of Euros in leadership team work, and waste your money if the chemistry of the team is wrong.
Ignore the need for a great fit (in addition to your other requirements or standards), or let it fly under the radar of consideration, and you create avoidable problems. Use it / master it, and it’s an extraordinary advantage. I see its impact on leaders and organizations every day
Think about it: have you ever had a time when you, your job, your boss, and the organization were a great fit for each other? Now think about a bad fit in your professional history. How did that work out?
Other than choosing a romantic relationship, we just don’t give the concept of chemistry enough air time when it comes to our professional life.
When hiring an executive, consider their abilities and track record, how they’ve handled similar situations in the past, their connections, recommendations, and so on. Yet what about fit?
Turn off the logic. “Fit” means you walk into the house you might buy and know in your bones that it’s meant for you / meant to be,
and not settling for less. It requires you to listen to the instincts and opinions of your right brain—the side that handles non-linear, non-checklist, intangible processing.
Consider the following example “fit” questions, and see what you notice:
- Are my role and this organization the perfect fit for me?
- Does my leadership team have great chemistry?
- Does that project fit perfectly with what we need / where we’re heading?
- Will there be a great business, cultural, and political fit between us and the company we’re planning on acquiring / selling to?
- What holds you back whenever it’s time to say, “He / She / it’s just not a good fit, and that’s it.”?
There -- you now have Carte Blanche to trust your instincts when it comes to fit. “Show me the chemistry!”—a good fit is worth its weight in gold.
David
