We’ve been in a series of blogs titled, “What does winning look like?” This week I’d like to pick up a principle that author Jim Collins made very well known. He stated, “Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats…”

Winning looks like hiring the right people. To do that, you need multiple people interviewing the applicant. Have three to five trusted individuals involved in the interview process. You, as the leader, should be the last person to speak with them. Once the candidate has gone through all the interviews, get those who conducted the interviews in a conference room or on a video call and compare notes. Listen carefully, ask questions, and make sure the person is a culture fit. Someone can have the right skills but be a jerk. If the candidate doesn’t play well with others then you don’t want them on your team Very rarely do you achieve great things alone that’s why you need to the get right people on the bus.

Collins also wrote, “get…the wrong people off the bus…” Why do we allow the wrong people to stick around so long? It can be out of a fear of hard conversations, avoidance of false guilt of having to let someone go, or a desire to be liked by everyone. Leaders overcome those obstacles to build the best team possible.

Keeping the wrong people on the bus only hurts the team and the organization. Underperformers will frustrate those who want to win. People who have an excuse for everything will make the burden heavier on those willing to get their work done. Instead of just being responsible for their work, they’ll often pick up the slack of the lazy and excuse laden.

Get rid of the wrong people. Fire the underperformers. Escort bad attitudes out of the building. You’re not a leader to be liked by everyone. That role is yours so you can make the organization more successful. The only way you’ll make the company better is by getting rid of those who do not fit. You must be willing to put the good of the team ahead of the good of one person. Get the wrong people off the bus. When you do, your team will be happier, and they’ll perform at a higher level.

Once you have the right people on the bus they must be placed in the right seats. Don’t just hire warm bodies. Recruit individuals with great attitudes who can do the job. When a person has the right attitude and occupies the right seat on the bus then the organization begins thriving. People want to enjoy what they do and make a difference while doing it. Putting them on the right bus and in the right seat will result in the leader having fewer hard conversations.

Success isn’t easy but you can take some steps to make the path a little less rocky. Get the right people in the organization. Put them in the right positions. Make moves to get rid of the problem people.

Do that and you’ll see what winning looks like.

Leadership Matters,

Brian