I love leaders who execute. Leaders who get it done.
Leaders who can take a project across the finish line.
When it comes to hiring new employees, no other characteristic is more important than someone who can finish. It is the #1 trait related to work ethic that I look for in a new hire.
Anyone can come up with a new idea, a new concept, a new pithy word, a new organization, or a new perspective. What ultimately matters is whether you can take an idea from concept to completion. And to do that, you have to have finishers on your team. The folks who are intrinsically wired to make things happen, and bulldog their way to the finish line. They find joy in checking things off the list. But not just a task machine. Anyone can take an order and then go complete it. What matters is whether you can carry the ball all the way down the field and cross the finish line.
Take a moment and think about who that is on your team. If you don't have someone in this role, go find them immediately. This is incredibly important if you are the leader- you have to have someone on your team in whom you have ultimate confidence that if you hand them a project, they will get it done... and without your constant management of them. The answer can't constantly be "we're still working on it....". That is an excuse for either being lazy or unfocused. You're either moving forward or backwards.
For our team here at Catalyst, it is imperative that everyone plays the finisher role. Now some have to more than others, but no one can only be the "idea" person. Everyone is required to execute and own projects from start to finish. It's a non-negotiable. We take incredible pride in being able to take a concept and turn it into a finished project. This is a distinctive part of our culture here. We're serious about it. It's part of our DNA.
Be a finisher.