As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process. Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”
This is the third in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.
Andy W. Mattes was named president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Diebold, Incorporated in June 2013. He is responsible for driving the company’s global strategies and performance in the integrated self-service, security and services business.
With more than 25-years of experience in corporate management, executive oversight, mergers and acquisitions, growth strategies and equity management, Mattes has a strong record of driving growth and improving profitability in large, global businesses in the information technology and telecommunications industries – primarily with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and Siemens AG. Mattes most recently served as senior vice president, global strategic partnerships at Violin Memory, a manufacturer of flash memory computer storage systems.
Please share with us the top five characteristics (in priority order, first to fifth) of the most talented people you have encountered during your career, and your definition of each.
Competence
To contribute true value to the organization, employees need to have the right skills necessary to meet the company’s goals and their goals. It’s very important to have the right mix of attitude vs. aptitude, as the smartest individual without the right attitude is of no value. But if an employee can’t do the job, it doesn’t matter if they’re a good match for the culture. Remembering coworkers’ birthdays is just an added bonus.
Creativity
One of the biggest things that drags companies down is inertia — or always being on the “safe side” of life. When you’re going somewhere no one else has gone before, it’s OK to make creative mistakes. It’s important to understand that not everything we do is going to be super smart – or right. But chances are, you’ll still end up at your destination before your competitors. It takes creativity to develop unique solutions and reimagine the future of an industry. Our goal is to “fail fast”.
Curiosity
Einstein claims to never have said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” But we can all agree it was said by someone smart. Unfortunately, it’s an error that many companies make.
We need our employees to make new, better mistakes tomorrow — and encourage their co-workers to do the same. In order to attack any challenge in the workplace, we must learn as much as we can about the situation: what’s been done in the past, what competitors are doing, and what the future might hold. The smartest people working in Silicon Valley, for example, have a thirst that pushes them to iterate quickly and switch direction if something isn’t working. People who are willing to look at every angle can often find a new way of doing things. This is a competency our company is trying to develop and is an important trait in the people we bring on board.
Competitiveness
There’s no way to win a fight if you don’t show up. Competitive employees hate to lose, and get energy from pushing themselves to accomplish better results faster. We like our people to embody Muhammad Ali’s quote: “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” The culture we’re trying to create requires a team that knows what it takes to win, and doesn’t play the game not to lose it.
Commitment
We are in the process of turning Diebold around, which requires a deep commitment from every person on the team. Employees who really understand where the company has been, as well as where it is going, are invested in its future. We would never have been able to achieve the early results we’ve accomplished in our turnaround without the diligent work of people who understand and embody our core values. And we’ll need continued commitment in that regard to accomplish our mission.
How do you communicate these characteristics to your HR and senior management team?
Finding a company’s leaders should never be delegated. Senior management and HR need to share an understanding of what qualities are needed to build the team we need to succeed in the future. Great minds really do think alike. Our candidates are often referrals from current and former employees who understand the culture and mission of our company and recruit people who share our views.
How do you handle challenges to the existing culture by talent you have brought in?
Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, incoming talent enhances everyone’s point of view and picks up everyone else’s game. It’s important to communicate to our incumbent talent that new employees are not a threat — they’re here to help us get better as a company and individuals. Every person brings something unique to the table – and “new blood” can help bring out the best in those who maybe need a fresh way of looking at things. Change is not a process – it’s a mindset. And if the existing culture is comfortable with that, then a lot of good things will happen.
Andy W. Mattes was named president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Diebold, Incorporated in June 2013. He is responsible for driving the company’s global strategies and performance in the integrated self-service, security and services business.
With more than 25-years of experience in corporate management, executive oversight, mergers and acquisitions, growth strategies and equity management, Mattes has a strong record of driving growth and improving profitability in large, global businesses in the information technology and telecommunications industries – primarily with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and Siemens AG. Mattes most recently served as senior vice president, global strategic partnerships at Violin Memory, a manufacturer of flash memory computer storage systems.
Prior to taking on a full-time advisory role in 2011, Mattes held a series of senior leadership positions at a number of high-tech companies, including HP where he oversaw the company’s outsourcing and applications services business. Most recently, he served as the senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Services for the Americas. In this role, Mattes oversaw 40,000 employees and was responsible for approximately $10 billion in revenue. Mattes was instrumental to the successful integration of EDS into HP. Under his leadership, 2010 was the best sales year in the history of HP/EDS. In 2008, Mattes helped turn around HP’s outsourcing business and it was noted as the best performing year of HP’s outsourcing business ever.
Mattes, a 20-year Siemens veteran, spent the majority of his career holding a variety of senior leadership positions from 1985 to 2005 at Siemens, based in Munich. These culminated into his role as chief executive officer of Siemens Communications Inc., USA, in Boca Raton, Fla. Under his leadership, Siemens won the Wall Street Journal Innovation Award for the product line, IP telephony, which was core to Siemens’ portfolio.
Mattes has served for more than 10 years on boards of public companies and currently sits on the advisory board of Violin Memory. Mattes also served as a member of the board of directors of Radvision, a video conferencing software design company, and as chairman of MphasiS Limited, an Indian infrastructure and business process outsourcing company. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Mattes received a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes to study business management science at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. He graduated from the university with a Diplom Kaufmann. Mattes, his wife Andrea and their three children currently reside in Atherton, Calif., and plan to relocate to Ohio in the future.