Will the charismatic leader please rise...

Those of you who have been in contact with me as a candidate will know that I have two standard questions: “What is a good leader” and surprise surprise the follow-up question “would you consider yourself a good leader”.

As you may have guessed…no one answers “no” to the second question. Opinions on what makes a good leader however come in large varieties.

Leadership covers many grounds and as it is one of my favorite topics, this will not be the only blog I will ever write about the subject but today I want to talk about what first comes to mind: charisma.

When I think of charisma, words such as engaging, charming, captivating automatically come to mind. Images of Steve Jobs announcing the newest Apple bestseller, Emma Watson in the HisforHer speech…pop up in my head. And you? What do you think of?

These images however are build on perception so to get to the bottom of what makes a charismatic leader in the business world, I decided to look back at my previous bosses.

Some of them have been very charismatic and they all shared the same trait: they were capable of inspiring me and made me rise above what I thought I was capable of doing.

How did they do it and would someone be able to learn it?

Charisma is a combination of interpersonal skills and communication. Most important factors are

• Believe in yourself

It is easier for others to believe in you if you believe in yourself. How else would they feel confident that you will show them the right way?

• Be authentic

Being charismatic does not mean that you have to be the life of the party at all times. Even with an introvert personality, you can be charismatic provided that you are genuine and people feel your true interest in them.

• Communicate clearly

Explain in a clear and concise way what you expect from someone and what the bigger picture is. Tell a story that is personal and engaging, a story that people can buy into.

• Listen to others

Listen with interest, be engaging and empathic. Everyone enjoys talking to people who make them feel important.

• Trust

The most important factor of charisma is trust: making people feel that you trust them to do a good job, empowering them to rise above themselves.

• Body language

You can have all the skills that are described above but if you don’t model them in your behavior and your body language they will loose their impact. You need to exhume drive, engagement and enthusiasm in order to get others engaged.

All of these skills can make someone charismatic. It is not a guaranteed recipe for success but it provides a solid building ground.

Consequently it is not a born quality. You can learn it, even the most engaging leaders have to work on their impact. Look at the people that you find charismatic and learn from them. Copy their behavior and adjust it to fit your own personality. Practice until it becomes part of your natural behavior.

And you…are you already a charismatic leader? Or can I help you in identifying those areas that you still need to work on?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Ooops...the story does not stick...

As I was flying to Zurich last week, I was in good company. A best-selling author of cooking books and an advocate for a healthy life style, was sitting 2 rows in front of me. Needless to say that I was very curious to check whether she was as healthy looking as her approach promises.

I was disappointed to see that her appearance, without the make up, was not as glowing as I would have expected….I even secretly thought that I looked more radiant J.

It only goes to show that stories are subject to reality-checks. Which brings me to my last blog and my promise to talk in a sequel about pitfalls.

For every good story, there is a least one that does not stick. Most of the time it does not have anything to do with the content of what you are telling but with the way the story is being told.

The one thing you should always keep in mind is the objective of the story that you tell…in this case, you want to attract the right type of candidate… a candidate who will fit in your team and who will thrive within the organization.

This does not automatically mean that you should tell the same story over and over again. Always using the same strategy will make you lose diversity among employees.

Depending on the role people will have or the type of personality you are looking for, you can differentiate or stress other aspects of your story while keeping the overall framework the same.

As the world is becoming smaller, the importance of having a story that is spread throughout the organization becomes more important. The really good candidates (and those are the ones you want to attract) actively search for information on potential employers through on-line media or through talking to (former-) employees. Therefore it is imperative that stories are aligned. This does not only mean that everyone should tell the same story, preferably spiced up with their own personal experiences but also the website and all social media should breathe the look and feel of that story. Even the reception and the atmosphere during the interviews should convey the same message. Images and feelings have a stronger attraction than words.

To prevent these pitfalls there is an easy solution: build a genuine story, one that reflects reality. A story that all employees can relate to and that shows the company as it stands today. It does not have to be an idyllic picture but a personal story that reflects your drives, your challenges and your enthusiasm for the organization that you work for.

Let me know your story, and I’ll tell you whether it sticks!

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Help...I did not get the job!

It’s candidates’ week this week! Every day I have several candidates meeting with my clients.

I find this a really exciting time. Curiosity combined with excitement and a little fear…how would the interview go?

I am cheering for each and every one of you but in the end, I can make only one person very happy (hopefully) with a job offer. There are always more people that I have to inform that they were not ‘the chosen one’.

I always dread writing these e-mails or making these phone calls. I know you are waiting for my call or my message and hoping for a positive response. And I so do not want to burst your bubble but I have to.

People respond in different ways to a rejection…some never get back in touch, others start debating on the reasons for not being chosen…thank god I never got anyone who got really angry with me.

They say that rejection is like a trauma. It takes time to get over it.

However, the way you respond to this trauma may be crucial for your future. Your response will leave a bigger mark in my memory than the reasons for not being selected.

Not being the chosen one has most of the time nothing to do with your experience or skillset. The fact that you made it to the client interview usually means that you have what it takes to do the job from a technical point of view.

It could just be that another candidate had a better fit within the team or that your people management style was not in line with the company culture.

So leave it to rest for a few days and then ask me for an honest feedback. You may not like what you hear or I may not be able to give you a response that answers all of your questions but use my feedback for what it is intended. It is not to judge you but to mirror the way you came across.

Does this mean that you have to change the way you act… not necessarily. Authenticity remains the strongest selling point. But if your responses or body language are not in line with who you are, that should be food for thought.

Try to see rejection as a way of leaving a positive mark in my memory and who knows, there will be other, maybe even better, opportunities to come.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Are you a good candidate or are you a great one?

Last week, I got stood up. The candidate I was supposed to meet was a ‘no show’. Imagine me sitting there, in the hotel lobby, trying to figure out if any of the other people could be my lost candidate…I called her, texted her, checked my e-mail to verify whether I had the date right…30 minutes later still no one to be seen.

As I was driving back (trust me, I was in a superb mood), it got me thinking how people can forget that events like this have an impact that reaches beyond current time.

Being an excellent candidate is a combination of little things. Things that are not necessarily related to the technical aspects of the job but little events that distinguish a good candidate from a great one.

Finding the right candidate is a search that does not begin nor end with the face2face interview. Every contact provides me with little bits of information on who you are and what you value.

It goes from the time it takes to schedule an interview to the way someone reacts to an offer. Even then it can happen that I start having doubts about the right fit.

I always love it when a candidate calls me after a client interview to tell me how it went. It shows drive, passion and a genuine interest.

It always surprises me when people start bitching about their current employer. Although the bad relationship with your boss may be the driving factor for searching another opportunity, it makes a better impression to give it a positive twist.

Finding the right candidate is about investigating which person is the one with the best fit in the team, with the right mentality and with the necessary toolbox to become successful. Identifying if you are that person goes beyond what you are saying during a one-hour discussion.

Before I scare everybody off…not every word that you say is evaluated against the perfect profile. But the whole process is about getting to know you better, not only for that specific opportunity but also for future possibilities.

The latter seems to be something people too often forget. Getting into contact with a headhunter is not a one off thing. It is through the little things that I can detect whether you are a good candidate or a great one.

My lost candidate apologized the day after. I appreciated that but I might hesitate to contact her again for future opportunities.

And you…are you a good one…or are you a great one?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch