 | | ASK ROXI | Q:
What should I do about a direct report who simply keeps hiring the wrong people? This is an expensive screw up every time and I always end up having to clean up the mess!
A: I am going to start my answer to your question with a few Q's of my own for you to consider...
1) What are the HR System checks and balances in the hiring process that are being bent or broken or ignored to allow someone to hire so poorly?
2) What have YOU done to be clear about expectations and to train and support the search process your direct report manages?
3) And finally, do you see a pattern? Does she/he hire friends or people weaker than she/he is -people that are "safe?" Is there any other pattern in the failures?
I believe the root of the issue here can be found in both process and structure. There is a loop hole somewhere in the hiring process that is allowing someone who is not trained well in hiring to make hiring decisions. There are several likely fixes. 1) Expectations need to be crystal clear for both the hiring leader and the potential new employees. 2) Hiring protocols need to be clear and trained and followed. 3) Making a string of bad hires has to have career consequences to the hiring leader ONCE you've made sure #1 and #2 are in place.
When you look carefully at the reality and the patterns, you'll likely discover which of these is the biggest culprit. OR...It could be a combination of all three. You, as this person's leader, are not going to get off the hook, though. Like it or not, it IS YOUR JOB to make sure your direct reports have the information, processes, and support they need to do their jobs well. And it's your job to hold them accountable for their actions, behaviors, and results. There is a clearly a gap that you and your HR person(s) need to identify and then coach your direct report so that they can learn from you what is required to do this part of their job well.
Once you do this well, then the responsibility for results rests squarely on their shoulders - and you will have made clear the consequences to a poor hiring decision in the future.
********************************* LET ME KNOW YOUR QUESTION AND YOU MAY SEE IT HERE NEXT MONTH!! |
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Greetings!
It's a NEW YEAR, a great time for NEW BEGINNINGS! I am sending this newsletter to you because we have, at one time or another, been connected in a leadership class, at a topic session, or in some way discussing the importance of conscious leadership. I am excited about sharing news about upcoming programs and topics you can use and enjoy.
Within the newsletter will be my "ASK ROXI" column which will address one or two sticky leadership questions people often ask. I'd like to know what YOU need and want me to cover in future newsletters articles, so please tell me your thoughts via the enclosed mini-survey.
My #1 goal is to help you continue to rejuvenate, enhance and improve your leadership skills in direct, applied, real-world ways. We'll know it's working if you are able to take the information and apply it directly to your life and work. Please take a minute or two to let me know what you want or need, including any "ASK ROXI" questions you would like me to consider.
You'll see information below about our upcoming "Leading with Impact - Your Ripple Effect" 5 day leadership intensive scheduled for April 16-20, 2012 at Highland Lodge Center, our training facility. I will be personally teaching this course and would love to see you! A registration form is included in case you and/or a colleague would like to attend. Registration deadline - 3/10/12.
Newsletters from me will include short, timely, helpful articles and resources you can apply directly to your work as a leader. And...it's FREE!! It's my gift to you. Who couldn't use continuous learning about this magical thing we call leadership? YOU MAKE AN INCREDIBLE DIFFERENCE every day! Let me help you fine tune one of the most important roles anyone can undertake - the job of successfully mining the best from other people's talents to strengthen and grow your organization. I hope you will join me in this journey - we're going to have a lot of fun! |
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In the heart of the beautiful NY Finger Lakes
at Highland Lodge Center
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| | Registration Deadline: March 10, 2012 |
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RESILIENCE
Bouncing Back IS NOT a Spectator Sport!
The last few years have been - shall we say - tumultuous? Our organizations and our lives have been, at best, on uncertain ground, at worst, turned upside down. Interesting things are spawned by uncertainty. Relationships are tested "you find out who your real friends are..." is a saying that comes readily to mind. And...each of us is tested. The question "what really matters" pops up to smack us in the face, and even when the dust settles, if it settles, we may still feel smacked. I know NO ONE in my life who hasn't been touched by the economic tsunami we've been living through. If it's not their real estate, it's their job, or their kid's jobs, or their parents' health and retirement funds, or their career dreams... We've been stressed by just living in the world. We've had to become change maniacs looking for some solid ground. It has not been pretty. Am I right?
This month, I was asked to give a talk to about 130 Cornell University Human Resource professionals about the topic of Resilience. I realized I'd never really thought about it in depth before. I needed and to "unwrap" how I and others "bounce back" from trauma, pain, loss, disappointment, and plain old "bad luck!" I also realized, having just put my own resilience meter through an extreme test this year, there might be something I had learned and could share with others.
Wow- was that true! I spent nearly a month looking at a plethora of current research and reading excellent articles about the subject of "resilience." I landed on a book called "The RESILIENCE FACTOR" by Reivich and Shatté. There are 7 KEY Factors the authors' research identified as critical for measuring and increasing resilience. They include a self-test for these factors. It was fun and eye-opening to work through. Here is a short summary of the 7 Factors:
1.Emotional Regulation: the ability to stay calm under pressure
2.Impulse Control: the ability to delay instant gratification/action
3.Optimism: the ability to believe things can change for the better
4.Self-efficacy: the belief we can solve the problems we face
5.Causal Analysis: the ability to accurately identify the causes of our problems
6.Empathy: the ability to read and respond to other's state/situation
7.Reaching Out: the ability and willingness to ask for and give help
There is a path people tend to follow under stress...
a negative event occurs ---> we assign belief --->then we react
There are a number of very useful strategies to build resilience in real time for yourself. Awareness is the first step of course, and then REACHING OUT is, in my view, the most critical factor in building and strengthening your personal resilience. I concluded the talk with these three points:
*It's about CHOICES - your attitude, your decisions, your behaviors, your actions
*It's about PAYING ATTENTION - to what pushes your buttons, your beliefs about those things, and then what you feel and do about it in the moment and in the long run
*It's about taking back YOUR POWER and taking control of YOUR CHOICES
If you want to learn more about this topic, let me know. In the meantime, get out there and build your "bounce back" muscles!
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5 THINGS GREAT LEADERS DO
- Listen deeply - each person is important and can tell when they are being heard or not
- Tell the truth - always - this means do not lie; if you cannot share the whole story, say so, but what you share is the truth as you know it
- Do the right thing - every time - this is about your integrity and there is no such thing as a small lapse in integrity
- Treat all with dignity - humans are born with acute radar and know whether or not you respect them
- Walk the talk - great leaders model great leadership, they don't talk about it or about themselves
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5 THINGS FAILING LEADERS DO
- Lie, cheat, steal... - resources, people, credit for ideas/work
- Say one thing and do another - talk the talk while not being accountable for their behaviors and actions, blame shifter
- Listen mostly to themselves - and those who agree with them
- Ignore their impact on others- because they have the "right" to do whatever they like
- Treat people unfairly - demonstrate favoritism
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I hope you enjoyed our very first newsletter. Highland Consulting Group, Inc. is changing and evolving like wild fire in 2012. Please stay tuned for information about our VERY EXCITING and unique on-line Leadership Learning courses launching this fall. It will feel like having your own personal leadership coach in your living room at your leisure, at your pace. And...if you want your organization's leaders to all get the same learning at the same time, we will have great packages for multiple licenses and lots of real time practice built in that I can help you integrate into your leadership development plans. I've not been this excited about a new venture in a long time. I hope you will stay tuned to learn more!
Warmest Wishes for a safe and FABULOUS 2012,
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