Leadership
Who Would You Pick as Your Number 2?
Balance your strengths or highlight them?
If you were given the opportunity to pick a partner at work, someone to be your “right hand” person, what are the top three attributes you would look for?
It is election season, and as Joe Biden selects a vice-presidential candidate to serve as a running mate, it brings up the question of what do you look for in a number 2?
A choice for vice president might have more to do with appearances than technical or operational abilities once on the job. So, who Biden chooses may be more of a window dressing to make his overall campaign stronger, and little to do with performance once elected. If you were choosing someone as a work partner, presumably you would want someone that would bring more than just an image to the job.
Would you select based solely on the other person’s abilities, or would you factor in how well they complemented your strengths? Or, conversely, would you look for someone with traits that fill in the low spots, or areas where you aren’t as strong?
Personally, I would go for a bit of a combination. However, there is certainly a case for industry-specific traits or abilities depending on your vocation. But, to keep it generic, absent any specifics necessary, these three traits are the ones I am looking for in my work partner.
One — Someone that won’t hesitate to tell me when I have a bad idea, or I am about to do something stupid. I am definitely looking for someone that is the opposite of a “Yes man”. I don’t need anyone to tell me that every half-cooked plan or idea is my best one yet.
Rather, I need someone that will be constructively critical. We can high five at the end of the project or initiative if it really does turn out to be brilliant, but prior to that point I want someone that is going to see the cracks and weak spots and call them out with impunity.
Two — Someone with a strong sense for ethics. Many times, the terms morals, ethics and integrity get thrown around as desirable qualities. For me, the only one that truly matters is ethics, as they pertain to the workplace, industry and community where you work.
Morals are a personal view and choice, and don’t necessarily factor into workplace behavior. Also, moral views can color ethical issues in a contradictory manner, i.e. an individual might allow their moral stance to subjugate the correct ethical response in a situation.
Meanwhile requiring integrity in the workplace is like saying the person must be breathing. It is redundant, as employees lacking integrity will simply get fired. However, a true ethical compass is necessary and not something all employees completely grasp. That is why I need my partner to have an extraordinary capacity for understanding the ethics of our mission.
Three — Disparate viewpoints and societal background. I don’t want a clone. The saying, “Two heads are better than one”, really works best when the two heads have very different and diverse filters on them.
We can’t solve complex problems with a monochromatic approach to understanding the issues at hand. I want a partner that sees things differently and can offer a unique perspective.
Thankfully, I am not running for president — or any office for that matter. I have never had a pull to politics and don’t expect one will naturally emerge in time. But I have had jobs where what I do could possibly affect many others.
In any case where your vocation can impact other people (which many of them do), it is important to carefully choose those that work closely with you (If you have the authority to do so.)
But, even if you aren’t the boss, or don’t have a say in who gets hired, you still should have a good idea about what characteristics are desirable in a work partner. Knowing ahead of time the person(s) that will be a good fit with you might allow to form informal alliances or maneuver a bit to get teamed up with folks that are going to make you shine, and vice versa.
So, what are your top three qualities you seek in a “running mate”? Take minute to jot them down and review them periodically, as things change over time. You may be surprised what you come up with as your top priorities in a work partner when you really sit down and put your brain on it.
Go on, get to work. You will be glad you did.
If you like this, you might like some of my other writing:
Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.