The title of this post is takien directly from HBR’s Hire Leaders for What They Can Do, Not What They Have Done. Josh Bersin and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic recommended three questions to help determine whether you’re considering the right peron:

• Does the candidate have the skills to be a high-performing contributor or the skills to be an effective leader?
• Can I really trust this candidate’s individual performance measures?
• Am I looking forward or backward?

My point is not to summarize the article (the link is above), but to highlight an individual who this made me think of, Jennifer Ruiz, FMP, SFP and take a moment to brag about her and how lucky I was to have worked with her.

I met Jennifer when I was recruited to help guide the operation through change.

The operation I took over was part of a legacy team from a 2007 acquisition that after several years was resistant to change, and was not aligned to the organization’s mission and vision.

Jennifer joined the organization 2011, and after some time in the corporate office decided to transfer to operations in early 2015. She was welcomed into the operations team, but was relegated to the status of junior member who had to prove her worth to the team because of her lack of operational experience. For some reason, her lack of experience was the first thing that was brought up in discussion regarding opportunities for Jennifer–yet I never heard efforts to help her gain experience.

When a leadership role opened up reporting directly to me, I interviewed several people who were recommended by the senior leaders reporting to me. There was nothing wrong with them, in fact they had many years of experience in facility services, and many years with the company, they new the local market, and intimate knowledge of our clients. I also saw that they were being recommended because of their past performance and success.

I also knew that the individuals who were being recommended did not have working MS Excel knowledge, could not read a P&L, and were apprehensive about taking initiative and making a call. I knew that the organization was changing and the aforementioned skills were vital to future plans.

Jennifer did not have the many years of facility service experience, but she can dole out a spreadsheet in seconds, she has an accounting background so she knows a P&L. She was in the procurement department so I can trust her to read a contract. She is also a former teacher so she can present in front of customers, employees, and colleagues, and teach/coach her team.

I promoted Jennifer and did not regret it. She exceeded my expectations and continues to amaze me. In addition to successfully running her account, she sits on the board for the San Antonio Chapter of IFMA where she is chair of Professional Development. She is also on the board for Prospanica San Antonio. She does all that while being a mother to her daughter and wife to Dr. Ruiz.

I don’t know how many times I have had someone ask me how is Jennifer able to be everywhere all the time. Well, let that be a testament to her organizational skills and ability to prioritize effectively.

Rounding this back, I have to ask myself the questions with which I started this post:

• Did Jennifer have the skills to be a high-performing contributor or the skills to be an effective leader?
• Can I really trust Jennifer’s individual performance measures?
• Am I looking forward or backward?

I have not had one regret promoting Jennifer, and I see great things in store for for her in the future.