Great leaders are Curious George and My Way IS the highway, according to my research. In other words, these few ask great questions and, under pressure, make great decisions. Don’t miss the “and.”
You, most likely, struggle with at least one side or the other. Some, sadly, struggle with both. As I watched two teams this week during the bomb shelter practice, I simply looked for two things in one order. I looked to see who began curious and who finished decisive. As the ipad timer wound down and the seconds timer began to beep, most teammates went turtle. Normal. The few leaders who may have been curious or strangely quiet up until crunch time, got all kinda “My way is the highway” when it mattered. Good.
Southwest Airlines uses this same “bomb shelter” tool as an interviewing technique. They agree with BTL even though we’ve never met. They want to hire associates who are genuinely curious and decisive under pressure. And, their policy is to be decisive toward their customers. They are not perfect in their execution, neither are any of us. However, SWA & BTL both agree that great leaders are hard to find and two key ingredients are an insatiable curiosity and decisiveness under pressure.
Want a few better leaders around you? Ask better questions during your interviews. Put people under pressure early and often. Be on the lookout for the quiet and curious. And, be more leery of the ones who look and play the part. Bomb shelter kinda simulations are fun and tough but they don’t do anything unless you, the observer, know what to look for.
Curious and decisive. Look for it. Good…
BUILT TO LEAD 