Get Them To Think

Finding the best talent is fun. It can also be daunting, frustrating, tedious, and packed with pressure.

I have spent a great deal of my adult life trying to find the best fit, whether it was as a college basketball coach, a VP of a national recruiting firm, or as CEO of The Molitor Group.?

One of the things that almost always seems to come up in the conversation is a person’s upside, their potential.

Potential is defined as having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.?

Potential can also be a security blanket as well as a band-aid that we use to cover up the open sore of a person’s current reality.?

We can use it as a crutch when we do not want to have the tough conversation and let someone go. If we do not think we are going to find someone better, we may lean into the potential of a candidate as a selling point to convince ourselves that we should pull the trigger and hire them.?

I want potential that is going to work hard as we all know that “hard work beats potential when potential doesn’t work hard.”

I want potential that has character and substance as well as a burning desire to learn.?

Potential is a funny thing because it can be a burden that will push people’s performance in the other direction.

Years ago when I was an assistant basketball coach at Texas A&M I had heard about a freshman point guard in Chicago who was a phenom… the next coming of Isiah Thomas.?

Then, in 2000, I was on the coaching staff at DePaul and I found myself walking him to class on a snowy Monday morning. I remember it like it was yesterday because it was one of those quiet snows when everyone seems at peace and happy.?

I wasn’t happy at all as I should have been in my office watching a game film but instead, I am walking this extremely talented 18-year-old kid to class because he is not disciplined enough to do so himself.?

As we were walking, I asked him two questions:

• Do you have any idea how special you can be??
• Do you care enough to do what it takes to get there (including going to class on your own!)?

After he answered yes to the first question what he said next absolutely startled me way more than any cold, snowy Chicago morning ever could.

“Coach, I would have to be a dumb a-s not to know how good I can be ‘cause it is all anyone in my life has talked about since I was in grade school.”

He went on, “There is a reason Duke stopped recruiting me.” “I am not a Duke kid… I don’t want to do what those guys do and I have never had to.”

“It is great that everyone has it figured out for me though and has all these big plans for me.” “ I just make bad decisions.”

Everyone was writing his story for him and did not take the time to let him find his way nor equip him with the necessary mental tools.?

He had never been allowed to own “his” dreams and vision and not those of others in his inner circle.?

They just wanted him to maximize his potential as a player and get paid the big $ one day.?

And he could have.?

His game was a thing of beauty. This kid did things with the basketball that made you leave the gym scratching your head and asking how he could handle and score like that.

The question that got louder as his career went on was, “What is wrong with him?”

The answer to that was simple, he had never been taught how to think on his own.?

And, I figured that out when it was too late which is a whole other story.?

I moved on the following year and was out of his life (yes, I am intentionally not saying his name) just as quick as I was in it but have thought of him often over the years and what might become of his professional and personal life had the leaders/influencers in his world done the hard thing.?

Teach him how to think, make good choices, and connect the dots on his own.?

Often as leaders, the hardest thing to do is the right thing.?

Instead, we want to tell our folks what is best, how to solve a problem or make the decision for them.?

I get it.?

We are veterans, we have been there, and we speak from experience.?

Our intentions are great, but this is where we need to be intentional and push them to think on their own.

Just yesterday I was coaching an amazingly cool and brilliant client who heads up several projects for a successful private bio-pharma company and this was the focus of our conversation.?

Let’s call her Jan.

Jan is one of six emerging leaders I am coaching for this bio-pharma firm in my 90- Day ELCP (Emerging Leader Coaching Program) and she will be an amazing leader.

She is driven by her desire to win by leading people according to their unique individual characteristics, traits, and behaviors. Jan is always looking for ways to learn and grow and loves the creative ideas that come out of that process.

But, one of her struggles was trying to understand why it is challenging for others to connect the dots. Jan thought it should be more intuitive for them like it is for her.?

Let me wrap up the conversation and put a bow on it for you.

Many times, the most powerful and effective way you can share your knowledge is by the quality of the questions you ask.

Get them to think for themselves.?

Have a strategy and be intentional.

This will empower them to be more creative, make better decisions, and become more independent thinkers which will result in a higher level of self-confidence which will fuel their drive in working toward their potential.

Keep doing great things!

Ed