Page 87 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

how committed he was to managing people, to paying atten-
tion to their needs, and to helping them feel connected to
the organization. He was a bit surprised when Dave sug-
gested that helping his employees be happy was only the
beginning point—hiring the right employees in the first
place was another part of the journey. Such hiring is based
on a simple criterion, not easily implemented: Are you hiring
employees your customers would want you to hire? Are you
the employer-of-choice of employees your customers would
employ? Apple customers expect innovative design in their
Apple products and service. Apple leaders need to make sure
that new employees have creativity strengths and identity.
We don’t always have the luxury of hiring the perfect
employee or working at the best-fit job, however. We don’t
believe we have to start with a perfect fit in all cases or that
we need to fire anyone whose signature strengths are not
optimally aligned with corporate goals. For example, Raghu
tended to be more comfortable in follower roles. His com-
pany was expanding and needed new leaders familiar with
their customers and goals. They saw leadership potential
in Raghu that he did not see himself. His manager began
to assign him increasingly responsible leadership roles. He
nervously accepted each assignment and did his best. Over
time he recognized and developed his strengths as a leader
and found great satisfaction and personal meaning in his
new skills. He made valuable contributions to his company’s
emerging success.
Human resource systems like training and compensation
may be used to help employees recognize and expand their
strengths. Training opportunities provide forums to learn
and apply new ideas, and pay programs may reinforce using
those strengths.

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