"If you've got problems in your organization, almost always, you've created them. You get the employees you deserve, and you get the culture you deserve.” - Liz Wiseman

People are hard-wired for contribution. An underutilized team is an exhausted, underperforming team. Challenge that same team and ask them to stretch in a safe, supportive environment and they will contribute everything they have — feeling exhilarated in the process. This is what Liz Wiseman found after a decade of researching the best (and the worst) leaders in the world.

In her latest book, “Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Pay Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact,” Liz answers the question: Why do some people play at their full potential while others remain underutilized? Her comprehensive research of 170 companies decodes the mindset and behavior of high-impact performers and explains how peak performance is available to everyone.

Liz Wiseman is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, CEO of the Wiseman Group, and masterful researcher. Liz’s work — anchored in leadership and collective intelligence — has earned her recognition as a top leadership thinker in the world. A frequent guest lecturer at BYU and Stanford University, she often writes for Harvard Business Review and Fortune. An executive advisor who teaches leadership, her recent clients include Apple, AT&T, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Tesla, and Twitter.

In this episode, Liz discusses the five situations that set high-impact players apart and how teams can adopt the behavior. We also cover what law firms can do to attract an all-star team of top-performing talent.

For Liz, attracting and retaining the best talent for your law firm begins with great leadership, best described in two and a half words:

“Safety and Stretch. The ‘and’ is the half. The best leaders create an environment of safety where people can speak the truth. They have the permission to step up and lead. Even when nobody has anointed them a leader, they feel safe.” - Liz Wiseman

Great contributors want to work with great leaders. But what should a firm look for in a potential high-performing candidate? Liz recommends hiring people with the least coachable essentials: a sense of agency, willingness to learn, and informal orientation toward hierarchy. The rest can be developed.