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The Culture+ Blog

Insights to help you create a compelling and connected culture

Differentiation for future leaders

When we talk about the concept of differentiation, we are usually referring to product or service differentiation. Like, what makes our product or service different (and better!) than our competitors’ product or service. This is important for sure. The concept of differentiation is not reserved for products or services. Indeed, we can co-opt differentiation and apply it to our organizations through the lens of attracting the best potential team members. Just as our customers are trying to figure out what makes our stuff unique and valuable, so too are potential team members trying to figure out what makes our organization unique and valuable. Training programs? Opportunities for quick advancement? Flexible working arrangement? A clear and compelling mission? Strong culture? Effective leadership? Safety? Opportunity to do challenging work that matters? These, and many more, are some of the metrics they are using. The question is: Do we spend any time creating a coherent set of differentiators? Or, do we just throw up a job description on Craigslist and see what happens? Great future leaders spend less time fishing for great team members. Instead, they create an organization that systematically attracts the best. 

by Jonathan

Jonathan Wilson is the CEO of Sandcastle, a leadership training and development consultancy. He frequently speaks and writes about building high performance teams. Jonathan regularly presents his latest findings and insights to business and government leaders at local, state, and national association events (both in-person and virtual). His first book, Future Leader: Rebooting Leadership to Win the Millennial and Tech Future is available now.

Published on: October 30, 2018

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