I’ve been studying go-to people for decades now. Whenever I work with organizations, I ask everyone, “Who are your go-to people?” And I pay attention to the individuals (or types of individuals) whom others cite most frequently and consistently.
Go-to people come in every variety and work at every level and are found in organizations of all shapes and sizes, in every industry. There are as many different styles and stories as there are go-to people. But when I look for the common denominators, what unites them all is that they know how to make themselves valuable to others, consistently, in most every interaction, and they do so over time.
You might think that go-to people must be technical experts with very sharp skills for important tasks, responsibilities, and projects. And, of course, go-to people must certainly be very good at their jobs. But that’s just table stakes for the go-to person, like hard work and a positive attitude.
More to the point, not all technical experts are go-to people. I’ve seen a zillion cases where an employee is, by far, the most technically skilled at doing their job, but nobody’s first choice of somebody to go to. Perhaps they have a bad attitude and are not very good at interpersonal relations. Perhaps they just don’t get enough done.
Sometimes, the technical expert is an annoying know-it-all. They can be so convinced they’re more qualified than everyone else, they spend too much of their time complaining and finger- pointing about everything they see wrong in the company, its management, its processes, and its personnel. Then, when they themselves fail to deliver, they can always tell you why it’s somebody else’s fault.
Nobody wants to work with that person. Most people would much rather go to a colleague who might be less of an expert but willing to take personal responsibility for working through obstacles and getting things done. Personal responsibility and getting things done are important qualities of go-to people.
But that doesn’t mean they are steamrollers who won’t take no for an answer. Or sly organizational politicians who grease palms or flatter to get things done. Or rule benders who are always willing to end-run the chain of command or find a shortcut or a workaround. Yes, tenacity and creativity are important, but most people prefer to steer clear of steamrollers and slick politicians, and very few want to risk getting tangled up in unnecessary trouble.
Most people prefer instead to go to colleagues who know how to work professionally and methodically within the system, follow the rules, and stay in alignment with the chain of command. Things tend to work out so much better that way.
Sometimes when I get to this point in my seminars, participants will remark, “Well, this is just the basics.” Indeed, much of what makes go-to people go-to people is very much a back-to-basics approach.
The game is moving to a higher level, competition is fierce, and if you want to stay ahead, you’ll have to keep raising your own game—just as the corporate overlords have been saying.
That’s when some of my seminar participants will begin a volley of objections: “What you are saying is impossible to maintain. All these extra relationships and all the extra work. Working double-time, triple-booked, missing vacations, never sleeping. It’s unsustainable. There has to be a limit.”
And, of course, they are right.
Why do you think there are so many would-be go-to people who don’t succeed? Why are there so many wannabes, imposters, and most of all, sometimes or episodic (and sadly, even former) go-to people?
Because being a true go-to person today means accepting some hard realities:
Improving the quality of your leadership, no matter your role, is one of the best career investments you can make: