Problem Statement:

We have senior leaders choosing junior leaders with no direct experience in how they manage other people because they have never worked under them. We need to find better ways to include input from the people who have.

Potential Solutions:

I can think of four go to data sources. First, if your company does 360 feedback surveys, this is a no brainer. Second, take a look at your company-wide engagement survey results. Most surveys include direct report scores in addition to overall team scores. If your engagement survey contains “my manager does xyz” items, this will give you a good indication of what his or her direct reports think of them. Third, if you routinely meet with your direct reports directs, you should have some idea on how they lead given the discussion and issues brought up during these sessions. Lastly, I recommend that you talk to your Shared Services partners such as IT, HR, and Facilities. Ask them about their interactions with the candidates you are considering. What is their overall impression? You’ll be surprised to see how consistent the feedback is across the different departments.

Of course, these sources only apply to internal candidates. Thoughts about what you can do to get more input on external candidates may come in a later post (I haven’t given it enough thought yet).

Click Here to watch the YouTube Video I based this post on.