MARCH 2014
ISSUE: 22
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HIRING RIGHT


HIRING FOR ATTITUDE

Greetings!
Since SPRING is...perhaps...in the air, I thought I should improve my attitude about this very long, cold winter. I am going to focus on what's working in my life and stop complaining about those things over which I have no control. Really - if I don't like the weather, I could move!  Or any number of other options...

This concept is also true when deciding where to work and for whom you would like to work. Let's explore hiring from those TWO perspectives:
1) the hiring organization and
2) the person being hired

The link in the Red Box above is about Mark Murphy of Leadership IQ. He often has some clever things to say. His book, "Hiring for Attitude" is an interesting and useful read. It will give you some fresh ways to look at the way you think about hiring.  While I don't agree with everything he says, I do agree that ATTITUDE matters a lot  - on both sides of the hiring table.

Let's talk about YOU first. Say you want a new job, either inside your current organization or somewhere else. There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to either choice. Inside knows you. Outside doesn't know you. You know inside. You don't know outside. Your negotiating power may be greater outside than in, or not.  You do have to weigh all the logical and emotional factors to discover where you'd be happier and more fulfilled at work and why.

Here's my biggest piece of advice. If you are a star or even a solid good performer; if people often ask you to be on their teams, or help find solutions...don't look for a JOB; do look for the right BOSS and the right TEAM. Look for the people who will challenge you and from whom you will learn, where the values and culture FIT your values. Learn how to ask "culture" and "boss" questions. Believe you are stronger for having good questions than just being a "pin cushion" for questions about you.

5 KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK ANY PROSPECTIVE  EMPLOYER 
SEE BELOW... 
 
2 More Things to Remember: 

- Only interview for positions you really want unless you just want the experience and practice of interviewing.
- The employer is as lucky to hire you as you are to work for them - IF and only IF the job, the boss, and the culture are a good fit for YOU.   

Now let's look at the other side of the coin: Hiring Right. Books have been written, videos made, and training developed, about different philosophies and methodologies for hiring well.  I have no intention of bogging you down with a bunch of them today. My goal right now is to give you a BIG reason to be motivated to hire a whole lot better than most hiring leaders and their organizations do right now.

It will give you the edge!

NO ONE CAN AFFORD A BAD HIRE!

Fact 1: Nationally, about 50% of hires, fail. Of those that succeed only about 20% are top performers.
Fact 2: 90% of failures are UNRELATED to brains and technical skills.
Fact 3: The cost of a bad hire is up to 2X the person's annual salary and benefits... until you fire them or they leave. How much you lose depends on how awful they are and how much time, money, and productivity is flushed away in the meantime. Then...add another 2X to 2.5X their salary costs to replace them. 
Fact 4: Turnover in any position costs you real money. Turnover of good people leaving because they don't want to work with your bad hires, costs you even more.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?

This is not theory - it is fact. And yet...we hire most people and positions based on shiny new degrees and/or technical skills along with perceived or tested IQ. We now KNOW, for a fact, that EQ (Emotional Quotient/Intelligence)  is far more important for success in most jobs, and definitely within leadership roles. Still,  we continue to hire and promote people, including leaders, largely for IQ and technical skill sets. "The best salesperson will surely be the best leader of other salespersons," right? WRONG!

It just gets dumber and dumber. We keep getting the same lousy results and yet we have not substantively changed the hiring practices in most organizations.  It is mind-boggling! I believe Albert Einstein had something clever to say about this phenomenon being related to insanity.

Whatever methods (legal and ethical of course) you use, you need to discover at least these SIX key things about your candidates BEFORE you hire.

A: Attitude: Is theirs one of abundance and can do, or scarcity and focused on obstacles?

B: Brains: Can they do the job or learn quickly how to do the job?

C: Character: What are their core personal values?

D: Drive: Are they self-motivated to achieve their goals and yours?

E: Experience: What have they done in the past that prepares them or makes them ready for what you want them to do now?

F: FIT: Will they truly FIT into your culture, your organizational values, help you accomplish your mission, and advance your vision?

If you said NO or Can't Tell,  to even ONE of these about the candidate, do not hire that person. Seriously - don't do it!

Trust the answers to ABCDEF & trust your GUT. If the person doesn't feel right to you or others, he/she probably isn't right.  In any case, it's rarely, if ever, worth the risk to you and your team.
5 KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK A  
PROSPECTIVE BOSS OR  EMPLOYER
       
1. How would your team describe You/Your Style as their leader? Listen very carefully to his/her self-description.  (Ask her/his direct reports and look for matching answers)
 
2. How will you measure success of the person filling this position?  If it were me, how will I receive constructive feedback about those success metrics?

3. In what ways do people have fun together at work here?

4. What are the operating values of the organization/department/division?
(If he/she has to look them up or there are none, run - don't walk away!)

5. How are people rewarded when meeting or exceeding expectations, and held accountable when they don't? 
 
 

Ask Roxi  
MARCH
Question

As a new leader for my team, how can I help ensure a welcoming environment so the past culture of "turf wars" will change?

ANSWER:

You will need to quickly create a new set of Ground Rules together - ones that everyone is willing to live by in their dealings with each other on projects, in communications, in meetings, etc.  The group has to decide how members will DEAL with a violation of their ground rules  - in respectful and effective ways.

The sooner you can build this team, the better. That means getting on the same train with Mission, Vision, and Values.

In the meantime, MODEL the behaviors and attitudes you wish to see in others.

And person by person, be very clear on your behavioral and business result expectations -  then hold people accountable.

I find that most people don't really like to fight at work or mean to undermine each other. These behaviors are usually FEAR based. Do what you can to get to the root cause of each person's fears, listen to them, and help them feel valued as an important member of your team. 







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QUOTES    
OF THE MONTH


"I will pay more for the ability to handle people than for any other talent under the sun."
John D. Rockefeller

  

"Some say
knowledge is power, but that is not true; character is power."
Sathya Sai Baba


*********************

Do you know the difference between a PURPOSE and a
GOAL?

Read Roxi's Article HERE

In American City Business Journals
I encourage you to share this newsletter with anyone you feel would enjoy it. Remember, past newsletters on a wide variety of leadership topics are located in my archive in the link above. Just click and read.  See you later in April!
 
Rightly Yours!
 
Roxi Bahar Hewertson
AskRoxi.com
highlandconsultinggroupinc.com

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