How to Be Discovered and Rewarded by a High-Performance Leader

By Vic Downing

© Vic Downing March 2007

Build a magnetic reputation in three ways:

1. Do excellent work.
2. Get to know leaders who welcome intelligent initiative.
3. Promote the business first and you second.

Your reputation or “brand” is to your career what location is to real estate.

86% of high-performance leaders selected as their #1 method of finding a new member for their team: “Work my personal networks.” What a high-performance leader hears about you when s/he asks a colleague about you will have more impact on your future than your resume, education, or performance in an interview. Your job is to make sure “the buzz” about you is true and compelling.

The specific reputation high-performance leaders are looking for is some version of:

• Always gets the work done in an excellent fashion.
• Builds relationships and adds value without being asked to do so.
• Sees the world from the business perspective… rather than a career perspective.

1. Do Excellent Work

If you don’t get the work done in an excellent fashion, you are not in the running for any position with a high-performance leader. Period.

I’ve watched high-performance leaders for nearly 30 years. The ticket to competing for a place on the team is performance… not good intentions, potential, style, personality, education, or connections. Can you prove that you always do what you say you’re going to do? There is only one acceptable answer.

“Excellent work” does not mean perfect work. High-performance leaders live in the real world. They know “things happen” that derail a superior effort. These leaders are looking for people who never whine, never make excuses, and re-bound fast. People who hide problems, “spin” failures, or defend sub-standard work are people who will never be considered for a position on the team.

Question 1 in our survey was, “What factors most persuade you to give a promotion, raise, or special commendation to someone who works for you?” I was so persuaded of the excellent work prerequisite that each of the six choices offered in the survey began this way: “S/he gets the work done, is ethical and…” If you can’t do that, then you and the high-performance leader have nothing to talk about.

What (in addition to getting the work done) constitutes “excellent work?” 48% of high-performance leaders selected as their first choice from six options: “…takes the initiative to identify problems and suggest solutions that help our team/group meet or exceed our accountabilities for the year.” 24% chose as their first choice, “…takes the initiative to build strong relationships between our team and other teams and/or customers.” The guidance is clear:

• Take initiative… don’t wait to be asked.
• Know enough about the business to make realistic suggestions for improving the work of the team/group… don’t wait to be asked for suggestions.
• Build relationships between your team and other teams… don’t wait to be asked to build those relationships.

2. Get To Know Leaders Who Welcome Intelligent Initiative.

High-performance leaders are confident. They don’t need and don’t like “yes-men.” They have no need to always “get the glory.” They are focused on delivering extraordinary results year after year and they know they lack the personal bandwidth to make that happen.

Their only hope of achieving their goal is to attract people like you: people who take initiative to build relationships that solve problems that are important to customers… and are able to do so under adverse conditions.

With that in mind, your job is to find leaders like that: people who welcome intelligent initiative. Start asking your colleagues: “Tell me about your boss. How does s/he react to direct reports that take initiative, build relationships without being asked and suggest solutions and alternatives on their own?” When you find one leader like that, then identify the other leaders that leader spends time with. Those are the people on whose teams you want to be.

How do you “get to know” high-performance leaders? First, be seen by another high-performance leader. When we asked, “Which way of persuading you to consider a potential member of your team/organization would have the most positive impact on you?” 64% selected as their first choice, I am “…able to observe this person in-action.” This is rarely easy. Your job is to find out what the high-performance leader is working on or thinking about and then do some work that s/he is likely to observe. Volunteer for a cross-functional team that involves his/her organization. Offer to send the findings of your project to this leader because you know the data will be valuable to his/her current initiatives. Get yourself a presentation slot at a conference that this leader is likely to attend.

High-performance managers are focused on delivering extraordinary results year after year and they know they lack the personal bandwidth to make that happen.

The second avenue available to you is for you to be introduced by another high-performance leader. 22% of respondents said, “…being introduced or recommended by someone I know and respect…” is the best way to gain a hearing. The best way to make this happen is to do excellent work in your current position.

If you can’t be seen and can’t be introduced (possibly because your current boss is not a high-performance leader), then what can you do? Take initiative. When asked, “How do you prefer someone find out what’s most important to you-the-manager?” 70% selected as their first choice, “Ask me.” Contrary to popular opinion, high-performance leaders welcome your intelligent questions… even without an introduction. This requires that you have done sufficient research to know what is of concern to the leader. A full 24% selected as their first choice, “Take a look at my team’s deliverables for this year and/or the people I have promoted and have not promoted, draw some intelligent conclusions, and then check these conclusions with me.” (See The Informational Interview Exposed for more information on how to do this.)

3. Promote the business first and you second.

A career is like a business: success is the result of satisfying customers. In your career, your first customer is the leader for whom you work. What is important to that person? The answer to that question determines what you promote first.

One of the most definitive responses in the entire survey was given to the question, “Which of the following six choices is most indicative of exceptional-potential individuals who fail to become exceptional-performance individuals?”

42% selected as their first choice, “They appear to be more concerned with their career advancement or their point of view than with the achievement of our team’s deliverables or with the satisfaction of our customers’ requirements.” (All of the other options were selected as the first choice by 4% to 18% of the leaders.) In other words, most high-performance managers assume that a primary orientation to your career over a primary orientation to the team’s deliverables or customer satisfaction is a clear indication of a person who will fail to perform at high levels even though the person has the potential to perform at high levels. You don’t want to be in that category!

Once you are able to have a conversation with a high-performance leader, what do you say? When we asked high-performance leaders, “What do you look for in the applicant interview?” 58% selected as their first choice (from four choices), “A person who is able to ‘translate’ his/her experience into statements and questions that are important to my team’s current business challenges.” This was more important than “good chemistry” between you and the leader (22%), the ability to ask intelligent questions but not translate his/her experience (18%), and very much more important than your composure (2%). In other words, high-performance leaders want to hear you talk about their business challenges and how your track record might help them succeed with those challenges.

High-performance managers said the #1 indication of a person who will fail to perform at high levels is a primary orientation to career, as opposed to the team’s deliverables or customer satisfaction.

What criteria do high-performance leaders use when assessing the value you might add to their organizations? 36% said, “the ability to talk—in specific, and current terms—about my team’s business challenges and how the applicant can add value,” 26% said, “providing examples of previous work products or services,” and 20% said, “evaluations of examples of previous work products or services.” Only 16% selected “personal recommendations” as their first criterion, 2% selected “length of time in previous positions,” and none chose “education or training” as a first criterion. The messages are clear:

• Develop in-depth knowledge of the leader’s business challenges and how you can add value there.
• Provide specific examples of your previous work products or services that relate to the leader’s business challenges.
• Offer proof that you have done what you claim to have done in providing work products or services.

Excellence is Essential and Not Enough

A successful career is a lot like a successful restaurant: you must serve great food and provide delightful service …and people have got to know you are there. So too in a career: you must do excellent work …and high-performance leaders need to know you are there. It is the second part (i.e., making sure leaders know you are there) that many high-performance professionals overlook… they assume that being good is good enough.

I urge you to do both: excellent work and excellent marketing. Be careful with the marketing: make sure it gives first priority to the leader’s priorities. Having given first priority to the leader’s priorities, get out there, build relationships, ask intelligent questions, offer alternatives… act like the leader you want to work for!

About The Data

This article is based on a survey sponsored by Global Advantage, Inc. in August-September 2006. The unique feature of the survey is that only high-performance persons were invited to take the survey.

“High Performance Leader” is defined as a person who consistently achieves all of his/her accountabilities and consistently exceeds some of those accountabilities.

If you would like to look at the detailed responses to this survey please contact us.

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