Steve Wilson can’t lead without followers. So if you ask him to share his leadership secrets, the answer has nothing to do with him.
“The key is the people you surround yourself with,” says the chairman and CEO of LCNB Corp., the holding company for LCNB National Bank and Dakin Insurance Agency Inc. “My biggest job is to put round pegs in round holes — in other words, to get people in a position where they can succeed.”
Wilson starts with a thorough hiring process to identify which pegs will make the best fit at the company, which had $42.8 million in gross revenue and $650 million in assets at the end of 2008.
Then he keeps communication flowing, both to track progress and gather input. Along the way, he offers development opportunities to keep his 250 employees keen.
“The success of your organization is 100 percent directly related to your people,” Wilson says. “So if you’re not being successful, you probably have a people problem.”
Smart Business spoke to Wilson about building a business with the right people.
Hire for a fit. I look for people not necessarily trained in what I want them to do. I look for quality people that are enthused about doing a good job, learning, having a lot of pride in what they do. If I had two people, one that was enthusiastic and excited about working, versus a person that was well-trained at the task I was hiring for, I would hire the former person 100 percent of the time.
I try to talk to [candidates] multiple times, and I try to see them in more than one setting. Just having them come to my office and sit and talk would not be enough. I want to give them a tour of our facility and watch how they interact with other people. I want to see how much they care about different aspects of what we do. I want to watch their eyes and their smile, and I can sense when they’re excited about something.
You look if they care about other people. Are they self-centered and constantly bringing the conversation around to selling themselves? Or are they genuinely concerned about the goals of the organization, the people they meet?
If the most important thing is the people you surround yourself with, take plenty of time with that. Don’t short-change that process. Just like somebody you would meet at a picnic, just naturally if you spend some time with somebody, you begin to understand their character and their motivation.
