Drucker and Buffet on Picking Leaders

I liked the Marketing Headhunter's article so much I rewrote it.

Peter Drucker defines leadership.

Leadership isn't rank. The leader is someone who sets and gets high levels of performance. To achieve them she teaches you to have a broader vision, to take more into consideration. And she engages you and builds your character by treating you with respect.

How would Drucker ID a leader?

1. Strengths are the key indicators of performance. Look at what the candidates have done to ID their strengths.

2. ID the key challenge in the hiring company. Compare the candidates' strengths with the company's needs.

3. Make sure the candidate has integrity. (Steadfast adherence to a strict moral code).

Young workers are going to model themselves on the leader. So ask yourself: Would you want your kid to work under this guy and be like her or him ?

So here is the leadership checklist:
1 respects workers
2 teaches broader vision
3 builds character
4 sets high levels of performance
5 strong morality

How do you rank candidates?

Warren Buffet ranked candidates according to his hunch about their earning potential over the course of their lifetimes. Who in this bunch is going to make the most money. And who's going to make the least?

Comments

[Cade Krueger]

I agree that you need to find those key strengths and indicators when trying to find a good leader. Thanks for rewriting the article to more understandable terms.

Quick question, the article mentioned integrity and morality being very important. Since ethics are measured differently/subjectively, how would you go about evaluating these important indicators?

[Malcolm Chlan]

All very important factors of being a leader. Also I would add to that list a leader knows how to spot talent. If you look at some of the biggest and brightest leaders they all know how to put together a team of stellar employees.