A Leader’s Most Important Decision
Great Leaders Engage and Develop Others.
During one of Peter Drucker’s public addresses late in life, he was asked about the most important decision an executive (leader) makes. His answer was simply: “Who does what.”
The longer I’ve been in leadership, the more I’ve come to believe that statement. At Chick-fil-A, we’re blessed to have very high retention. When asked for the reason, I confess that there are probably many. However, I think the greatest factor is selection. We work tirelessly to get the right person in the right job.
The first part of Engagement is who you recruit and who you select. As I’ve talked with other leaders about this, everyone agrees in principle. But how does your belief actually translate into the practices of your organization?
Here are a few practices to consider that could enhance your selection process:
Multiple interviews – Not two or three, maybe 8-10 or more!
Behavioral-based interviews – The best indication of future performance is past performance. Look for specific, tangible examples from the candidate’s past that build your confidence in their ability to perform.
Allow the candidate to interview the hiring manager. Give the candidate time to prepare and let them ask you the hard questions.
Provide the candidate with personal and professional references of the hiring manager. You’re going to check their references; why not let them check you out.
Targeted referencing at the end of the process – After 6-8-10 interviews, members of your staff may have specific areas they want to probe. Use their input to craft the questions you’ll explore during referencing.
Finally, try to talk the candidate out of taking the job. If you can, you should. If you can talk them out of it, there’s a good chance they’re not a good long-term fit.
Think about how many of your problems would go away if you get the right person in the right job.

Meet The Author, Mark Miller
Mark Miller’s passion is serving leaders. He has traveled to dozens of countries around the world in an effort to fulfill his calling. Whether speaking to global audiences or individual leaders, his message is consistent and pragmatic: Lead Every Day.
His career at Chick-fil-A began over 40 years ago as an hourly team member in one of the local
restaurants. Shortly after that, he became Chick-fil-A’s 16th corporate employee. Since that day, he
has worked all across the business but recently retired as the Vice President of High-Performance
Leadership, where he was a principal architect in building Chick-fil-A’s renowned high-performance
leadership culture
For the last twenty-five years, he focused much of his time on helping the organization grow its
leadership capacity. Mark and his team at Chick-fil-A invested a quarter century and tens of millions
of dollars searching for and validating ideas that work. Over the years, they focused on numerous
topics, including High-Performance Teams, High-Performance Organizations, Employee Engagement, Execution, Personal Leadership Effectiveness, and, most recently, Culture. These projects have each culminated in globally acclaimed books. Today, over one million copies of Mark’s books are available in 25+ translations, including national bestsellers and a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. His approach to writing and speaking has always been to find what is true in principle and apply it to the real world. Because of this, Mark is best known for his ability to unlock the full potential of executives and teams to create High-Performance leaders and organizations.
When not practicing or studying leadership, Mark is an avid photographer. His expeditions have taken him to some of the world’s most difficult-to-reach destinations. He has photographed silverback gorillas in the jungles of Rwanda, the icebergs of Antarctica, the Maasai warriors in East Africa, Nepalese culture at Everest Base Camp, and much more. More adventures are in the works.
Mark is married to Donna, his high school sweetheart. They recently celebrated their 40th wedding
anniversary. Mark and Donna have two sons, Justin and David. Justin is married to Lindsey and they have three children: Addie, Logan and Finn. If you are a follower of Mark on social media, you will likely see them make a debut on his Instagram feed.
Learn more about Mark: LeadEveryDay.com