Issue No. 583 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting highlights a book that should be read by every leader and hiring manager. Just out today! And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 575 book reviews, and click here for my review of Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World.
Pop Quiz! What are the Top-12 traits you're looking for in your next hire?
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Spoiler Alert! Must-Read!
POP QUIZ! SPOILER ALERT! Right now…before you read beyond this paragraph, write down your Top-12 teachable habits (or traits) that very successful people practice. And in anticipation of interviewing your next hire, what are you looking for? (Don’t cheat!)
1) 7)
2) 8)
3) 9)
4) 10)
5) 11)
6) 12)
Well done! Now…compare your list with the “12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest” from the new book—just published today.
Be the Unicorn:
12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest
by William Vanderbloemen
In the foreword to this book, leadership guru John C. Maxwell writes, “…this isn’t just a book of case studies. You’re holding a manual for becoming unusually successful—as unusual as a mythical unicorn.”
Maxwell continues, “…becoming a Unicorn isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.” He adds, “…every day we’re either preparing or repairing. I encourage you to focus on what you can do each day to develop these twelve traits as you prepare to become a Unicorn.”
With that encouragement (and lifelong-learning inspiration), I eagerly compared my list to William Vanderbloemen’s list—and I was intrigued with his “data-driven” conclusions. At Vanderbloemen Search Group, the executive search firm—focused on “values and faith-based organizations”—has conducted more than 30,000 long-format interviews.
To identify top performers (“Unicorns”), Vanderbloemen “…launched a massive study, not knowing if we would find any commonalities. The results were at the same time stunningly congruent and shockingly teachable.” They landed on 12 “traits” and “habits” that were teachable.
You’ll appreciate the author’s background, humor, and humility. He served 15 years as a senior pastor of a Houston church. “This was the church that Sam Houston attended, the oldest church in the city. And they just hired the youngest pastor on record.” He had never led a large organization. He had never been a senior minister of a large church. “I hadn’t even been a member of a large church.” He adds, “One thing I did have going for me was that, because I was 31, I knew everything. Right?” (LOL!)
He admits, “I was in so far over my head. I didn’t know all the things I didn’t know.” He notes, “And I wasn’t lacking any vision, either. Okay, we can be more truthful here too: it wasn’t vision; it was shiny object syndrome.” And get this: today—had he been on the pastoral search committee—it would have been a thumbs down on his candidacy!
So why is the author’s story germane to this book? Well, he’s a lifelong learner—and he’s leveraged the last 15 years of executive search work to write a valuable book. Who should read this:
• Every CEO
• Hiring managers
• Students and the next generation looking for meaningful work and experiences
• Board members
So…what does the research reveal? What traits and teachable habits are common to very successful people—the unique team members that will grow your organization? I’ll give you six—but you’ll need to read or listen to the book for the other six!
#1. THE FAST. “Make it clear that quick response time is a company value.” (Worth the price of the book: try the “Vanderbloemen Fast Test” with your next hire.) Brilliant!
#2. THE AUTHENTIC. Why you should be authentically truthful in job interviews. Example: Why did you leave your last position? “I got fired!” (The author’s response: “That was refreshingly authentic.”)
#3. THE AGILE. The author asks candidates three questions (“Agility Tests”) to discover top performers: “1) What new skills are you learning? 2) What new hobby have you developed? 3) What part of history do you like studying the most? (Sometimes agility is the ability to look backward.)" Note: “Among our survey of Unicorns, 5.87 percent of respondents identified agility as their dominant trait.”
#4. THE SOLVER. “Not surprisingly, millennials value collaboration and are some of the most successful Solvers.” (Don’t skip what the author learned from a board member at his church who was head of Palm Pilot’s HR and people solutions. Way back!)
#5. THE ANTICIPATOR. Yikes! Vanderbloemen warns, “The pandemic has robbed most visionary leaders of the ability to see what’s next.”
#7. THE SELF-AWARE. The fourth-most common of the traits (8.38 percent are strongest in this category), the author contrasts those with and without self-awareness. “Narcissists may find some success, but as soon as they leave, the mess they leave is revealed.” But he adds that those who model self-awareness, “…their success has staying power because it’s never about them.”
You’ll appreciate the mini case studies of remarkable people that embody these Unicorn traits. I especially appreciated the short profile on Lynsi Snyder, the president and CEO of In-N-Out Burger, who became a billionaire on her 35th birthday. Her super strength: being self-aware. Read my review of her new book here, The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California's First Drive-Through and How it Became a Beloved Cultural Icon.
Other notable profiles: Marc Benioff of Salesforce, Dolly Parton, NFL Quarterback Aaron Rogers, Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, Warren Buffet (trait: Authentic), former CEO of Xerox Ursula Burns, and Richard Branson (whose “headmaster predicted that he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire”).
Your HR team will want to read the section in every chapter, “Why Hiring Managers Love…” (example: “Why Hiring Managers Love the Self-Aware”). Their traits: “They’re less likely to take up unnecessary space in meetings, waste your time, or make others uncomfortable.” (Note: These traits reminded me of the EQ literature.)
After Vanderbloemen culled their database from 30,000 interviews—to find the Unicorns—they surveyed these top performers and learned what percentage of them scored high on each of the 12 habits. Fascinating!
Note: Many readers of Your Weekly Staff Meeting serve as board members, CEOs, and leaders of faith-based organizations. My guess: chances are high that you may get a call in the next year or so from Vanderbloemen Search Group about a possible new position. Suggestion: read this book now! This helpful book is also endorsed by Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado, Max Lucado, Carey Nieuwhof, Craig Groeschel, and Dave Ramsey.
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, by William Vanderbloemen. Listen on Libro (4 hours, 55 minutes). And thanks to HarperCollins Leadership for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) One person profiled in Be the Unicorn demonstrates his self-awareness by asking himself, “What is it like to work for me?” And “What is it like to be married to me?” (Now the author is meddling!) This reminded me of the 20 workplace habits you need to break in Marshall Goldsmith’s book (my 2013 book-of-the-year). Read my review. Who have you tasked with pointing out your blind spots?
2) In the book, The Softer Side of Leadership: Essential Soft Skills That Transform Leaders and the People They Lead, Eugene B. Habecker notes that all leaders have blind spots. The problem: we’re blind to our own blind spots—and that creates frightening situations. He quotes Henri Nouwen in the important chapter, “Welcome Self-Discovery Learning.” Are you gutsy enough to read a book that might spotlight your blind spots? Which book? Will you order it right now?
BONUS BOOK: Randy Frazee received the leadership baton from Max Lucado at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. In their book, Next: Pastoral Succession That Works, William Vanderbloemen and Warren Bird describe Frazee’s “humorous visual picture” one Sunday morning. “Visiting the church shortly before it hired him, Randy publicly addressed what many recognized as the elephant in the room. Six inches shorter than Max Lucado, Randy asked him to come on stage. The two tried on each other’s shoes, to no avail. Point made. A standing ovation ensured.”
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 9: Five Powerful Assessments
Book #53 of 100: What You Do Best in the Body of Christ
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #53 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
What You Do Best in the Body of Christ:
Discover Your Spiritual Gifts, Personal Style and God-Given Passion (revised and expanded—with assessment tools and discussion questions)
by Bruce Bugbee
Books #51 through #55 spotlight five team-building books I’ve labeled “Five Powerful Assessments.” The literature on spiritual gifts warns that while you may be leveraging your God-given spiritual gifts (such as administration, or mercy, or teaching) in your current job, it’s also possible that you don’t have passion for your organization’s mission. (That’s a problem!)
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: What You Do Best in the Body of Christ
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson).
Bruce Bugbee writes, “God has created and designed us with a purpose in mind. We are ‘wired’ to care about some things more than others. We have been given spiritual gifts to competently accomplish ministry tasks. We have also been designed with a personal style of relating to others and the world around us. We have been given a passion.” So…knowing all of that, what has God designed you for?
In the must-read book, Unhealthy Church Boards: Bringing Health to Unhealthy Ministries, the authors list 12 types of unhealthy church board scenarios with strategies for each type. They include: The Dominating Pastor Board, The No Term Limits Board, The Untouchable Pastor Board, The Passive and Ineffective Board, The Details Focused Board, and The Post Conflict Board. Do you recognize your church’s board? If not, check out the other six types. Read my review. And for more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.
The Meetings Bucket:
Memo to Your Boss!
The Meetings Bucket chapter in Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook includes the popular template, “Weekly Update to My Supervisor.” Used appropriately and with humility, it’s a weekly reminder to your boss about your “3 Powerful S’s” including your God-given spiritual gifts. Download the form and the commentary here. Read more in Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook: Management Tools, Templates and Tips from John Pearson, with commentary by Jason Pearson (2nd Edition, 2018).
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PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. What healthy traits do you look for when hiring marketing and communication team members (or agencies)? Recommendation: take a page from the highly-regarded executive search firm, Vanderbloemen Search Group, and discern which of the “12 data-driven habits” might be essential prerequisites for your next hire. Read or listen to Be the Unicorn. Need help? Call me: Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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