I once gave a talk at the National Association of Personnel Services conference in San Antonio for owners and managers who also run their own desk. ERE ran the highlights. Here they are, refreshed, with a link to the original below.

Create Reputations for Your People

When I joined Ryals and Associates, my boss Paul Austin told everyone I was a superstar big biller. I wasn’t, not yet. But I had a choice: explain that I wasn’t, or grow into the reputation. I grew into it and doubled my billings the next year. What reputation are you creating for your people? Speak life into them and give them a reputation to live up to.

Don’t Coach Forever

A mentor of mine, John Adams, 20 years and many millions ahead of me, gave me advice I never forgot. Once you start coaching someone to correct behavior rather than to improve, the odds of turning them into a star are slim. If someone isn’t thriving with you, sometimes the kindest thing is to help them find a place where they will. As my friend Jim Ashworth says, “Don’t be more committed to their success than they are.”

More Lessons for Managers

  • Spend your time where it’s deserved, not where it’s needed. Invest in your best performers.
  • People stay when they’re appreciated and it’s fun.
  • Give your best people a stake, even a small one, and the title of Partner.
  • Ask yourself, if this person resigned tomorrow, would I be upset?
  • Keep reading: Good to Great (Jim Collins), Topgrading (Bradford Smart), GMP (Michael LeBoeuf) and 1001 Ways to Reward Employees (Bob Nelson).

This article first ran on ERE in December 2007. You can read the original on ERE here: https://www.ere.net/articles/can-i-herd-my-cool-cats-and-still-be-the-top-dog.

I’m Joe Pelayo, an executive recruiter for 40 years and founder of Joseph Michaels International here in Dallas. We recruit for roles with base pay from 75K to 2 million, and one call to me reaches our network of 700 recruiters. Right now we have 1,619 open jobs.

Let’s Talk

Building a team or looking for leaders who can? Let’s talk.

Call me at 1-800-786-1099 or email info@josephmichaels.com.

Joseph Michaels International, 13355 Noel Road Suite 1360, Dallas, TX 75240