8 Tips to Leading a Rockstar Team with Jeremy Hirshberg
Going through a series of job changes, six moves in under 8 years, and a serious health scare, Jeremy Hirshberg, COO and Management Consultant for Transitive Media, Specific Performance and LeadClient, amassed a wealth of life experience early in his career, as well as a keen eye for identifying the right job fit.
Whether it’s about finding the best candidate for a position, the barriers impeding progress, or the right solutions for maximizing impact, Dr. Hirshberg’s diverse expertise in coaching, talent management, culture transformation, and organizational and leadership development gives him the unique ability to deliver impressive results for the organizations he has worked with.
We took away some invaluable insights and advice from our conversation with Dr. Hirshberg and felt our readers would greatly benefit from hearing them too, so we drew up a shortlist of some of our favorites here!
To listen to the full episode, subscribe to the Everyday Leader Podcast, or click here.
Now for our shortlist of favorite life lessons, hacks, and pointers from Dr. Hirshberg:
#1 “Hire slow, fire fast”
Critical advice that he uses to inform his approach to talent acquisition and management. Adopt a zero tolerance policy for the underperformers on your team because they are a detriment to the rest of the self-starters and rockstars you’re trying to lead. On the flip side, be prudent – and thorough – when bringing on new members because a mismatch also has the potential to severely derail team synergy.
#2 Leverage data, but don’t forget to talk to your people too
Dr. Hirshberg calls himself a data junkie! He uses it to track performance both at the team- and individual-level, over the days, weeks, quarters, and years. He considers correlations as well as the differences in what sets top performers apart from the average, but also remembers to gather information first-hand from employees on what is and is not working for them. Together, these insights facilitate a more well-rounded solution to figuring out how everyone else can be brought over to the right side of the curve.
#4 Listen more, talk less
Adopting a more natural, servant-style of leadership, Dr. Hirshberg sees the greatest returns in the development and performance of his team when they are empowered to self-direct and create solutions for themselves. He prefers to use inquiry over advocacy when communicating – asking more questions rather than giving direction. Inspiring this sense of ownership and commitment when solving problems is key, and can really maximize impact and follow-through from any team.
#5 Recognize your limits
For most of us driven, high-performing, and high-energy leaders, our ambition and desires to help others succeed is what fuels our go-getter attitudes. But too much of this, over extended periods of time, can also be a hazard to our health – literally. It’s important to remember where to draw the line, know when we’re taking on too much, and truly respect and recognize our limits.
#6 Stay active in little ways
You have to take care of yourself to keep up with the pace of work today, and a busy schedule is just no excuse for not getting your daily dose of activity in. If you can’t block out a straight hour on any particular morning or afternoon, no biggie. Just break it up. Do a couple 20-minute blocks spread about the day, or get a short walk in whenever you’re on the phone. A little activity is better than none.
#7 Practice what you preach
Lead by example! Dr. Hirshberg’s 7-year-old is quick to remind him that if his screen time is being closely watched and controlled by his parents, theirs should be too! Other tidbits of advice we took away here: Don’t make life at home about work, be fully present, find that headspace, and truly unplug when you’re spending quality time with your loved ones.
#8 Take risks
Life is too short not to take chances and seize opportunities. If you have an idea, don’t wait around for others to run with it. Take initiative and make it happen for yourself. Embrace a “what’s the worst that can happen?!” attitude. At first, you’d probably think that getting fired, or simply just failing is that worst thing… but if you think about it, this can also really be the best thing, because it’s in these moments when we learn the most, make progress, and become infinitely better from each day.
To hear more about Dr. Hirshberg’s unique approach to leadership, his take on the best times of day to talk strategy, and hacks on finding solutions to help people get unstuck, click on this link to listen to the full episode or subscribe to the Everyday Leader Podcast on iTunes.
