by Adam L Stanley | Apr 14, 2016 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
Find the right “fit” for the role
“If you read the papers, you’ll see that people are hired for what they know, and they’re fired for who they are. Hiring for knowledge is a mistake management makes all the time.” — Unattributed, World 50 Member
So, I heard it again the other day. What, you ask? I heard the famous “he just wasn’t a good fit” for the team. The problem is, I get it. But that word has always driven me crazy because it was often used to deny people of different racial, religious, and gender backgrounds from roles. “Not a good fit” meant not part of the same country club or socioeconomic circles. But, as much as I hate the word, “fit” does matter. But in my case, I choose to define fit as having similar character and values. Character and values transcend race, gender, religion, etc. — and they are very important in hiring decisions. The fact is, outcomes are greater when you hire employees with values in sync with the values you hold as a manager, and more importantly, with the general values of the company. You are adding valuable people and you want them to be happy, engaged, and aligned.
Why this matters
Lots of really smart and really successful people talk about this yet some of the lowly C-suite mortals like me often neglect it.
Sir Richard Branson, billionaire mogul of Virgin Group: “If you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others you are on to a winner. …. Personality is the key.”
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and the increasingly ubiquitous Tesla car: “[My biggest mistake is] weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality…it matters whether someone has a good heart.”
These men are incredibly professionally and financially successful, as are their organizations. They recognize that values tie to performance. In fact, character and values oftentimes tie back to a new hire’s attitude. Mark Murphy, the author of Hiring for Attitude, conducted a study based on 20,000 new hires. He found that roughly half failed within the first 18 months on the job, and 89% of those failures came from problems related to attitude.
Amazingly, that same percentage — 89% — has been tied to hires not working out due to cultural fit in another study.
Character and values set the culture of an organization. Character and values drive the attitude of an employee.
See how this is crucially important?
Of course, hiring for character and values is tough, and it’s understandable why so many people do not intentionally do so. The way most companies set up headcount protocols means that when a role is open, a crucial metric becomes “time to hire.” When you combine the regular daily responsibilities of HR and hiring managers, you can have rushed processes based on video screens, 30-minute interviews with mostly generic questions (“What’s your biggest weakness?”). Furthermore, applicant tracking systems weed out potentially good candidates based on keywords and character does not always come through in print or catch phrases. Hiring for character and values takes time, and time is our most precious asset.
So, is it achievable?
How can you hire for Character and Values
Here are some quick tips:
Use LinkedIn recommendations.
I look closely to see what people have said about a key recruit. How does he or she lead, make decisions, and team with others? Is there a high level of energy and passion in her effort? I look for works like “trust”, “integrity”, and “fun.” If they do not have any, ask for references from a broad group and ensure you get detailed feedback on character and values. References are hard because they’re very curated — obviously if a past manager didn’t like an employee, he/she probably won’t post that on LinkedIn because of professionalism. (And if he/she does, the employee has the option not to show it publicly.) But looking at crucial words is valuable.
It’s ok to have a social component of the interview process.
Doesn’t have to be drinks, but if you are going to be in the trenches with someone, you must spend time with them outside of the office. Over coffee. A breakfast. Drinks. Plan, within HR rules of course, an interaction outside of the office where the plan in not to talk specifically about the company for which you are hiring. Talk about what matters to the potential employee. What makes him or her happy?
Ask probing questions about the “how”.
Resumes and bios often highlight the “what” and I find it surprising when interviewers spend half or more of an interview asking for a restatement of what is clearly written. I want to know how you delivered something as much as I want to know what you deliver. John Wooden is one of the most successful coaches of all-time in any sport — nine NCAA titles, 88 straight wins at one point — and a major psychological research study done around his processes showed that he overwhelmingly focused on the “how” as opposed to the “what.” Again, model success — it can work in hiring.
Always ask what they disliked.
It’s tough, and yes you will get canned answers sometimes. The famous “I just hated that guy that did not work to my level of expectations. It is hard for me to deal with people who have less of a work ethic”. BS. We all read that same book. I REALLY want to know who or what you didn’t like. If a lot of what you DO NOT like exists in my company, we would both be miserable if you join me. You would not be happy and therefore your performance would be subpar and thus I would not be happy. Work is a two-way street: you get money in exchange for performance, but the performance is within a context of co-workers, clarity of information, job description, skill set, and more. If you know you’re not a good fit for certain types of offices or organizations, be honest about that. You hurt everyone — from yourself to future co-workers — when you try to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Have them meet their peers.
For some reason, early in my career I came to expect to meet several peers during the interview process. They were interviewing me as much as I was interviewing them. As I advanced, I noted that these kind of interactions became more sporadic. If you are hiring, make sure to add a couple of peers to the interview schedule. If you are contemplating joining a company, demand to speak with your peers. Quick story about this from a collaborator of mine: after business school, he interviewed for a job based in Texas. He met a few (2-3) of the Texas-based team. Within a week or two of starting the gig, though, he realized he pretty much only worked with the Seattle-based team of the same company. They had barely met him and had no context for him, and he was sitting 1,200 miles away from them. That creates reduced productivity and bad teams, which shouldn’t be a goal for anyone. So meeting peers is important, but make sure they’re meeting the right peers.
Obtain senior buy-in
This comes up in any business article, of course — you have to make sure there’s senior buy-in on any major decisions in an organization. Hiring is maybe the most major decision; it’s half your money going out, and your people are your greatest strategic advantage. Hiring can sometimes be ignored by the top executives — they view it as the domain of HR or specific hiring managers, and because it’s harder to measure, they don’t focus on it as much. Hiring needs to be a focus of your executives. They need to be regularly telling people around the org what culture, values, and character traits they want to see. It needs to be commonplace for a C-suite leader to tell a middle manager what values should be in the company. Otherwise it becomes the domain of specific silos, and finance has a certain type of employee vs. marketing with another vs. Ops with another. Then when those teams need to collaborate, it can be a mess. You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. And you can avoid it by aligning around character and values.
I’ve spoken about the perfect team traits and the importance of thinking of every employee as allies on a tour of duty. If you are going to make a significant hiring decision, bringing on another comrade on the tour, why not spend the extra time to make it the right decision. Hire for “fit” for character and values. You will be happier. they will be happier. And, the company will benefit for the extra time you took.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Be well. Lead On.
Adam
Related Posts:
Defining the Perfect Employee – Top Traits Series
Trait 1: Hard working AND talented
Trait 2: Pride in work product
Trait 3: Fun to work with
Investing in talent for the long-term
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
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by Adam L Stanley | Apr 2, 2016 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
Top Traits: Defining the perfect employees
I recently wrote a series of blogs on top traits that define the perfect employee. I suggested that the perfect employee is:
(1) both talented and hard working
(2) shows pride in the work they produce, and
(3) is fun to work with.
Many of you commented on these and agreed they are critical traits. But some things were clearly missing from the list. I did not discuss things like “passion”, ambition, or loyalty. Do I think these are important? Absolutely. In hiring and promotion decisions, most managers consider all three of these as well as the quality of work. Do I think either of them make a perfect employee? No.
But a while back, I received an email from a LinkedIn connection, who asked the question “What do you do when your teammate has lost their passion for their work but still keep the other traits? They still work hard and have a smile on at the office (or worksite) but you know they don’t have a burning desire to deliver their work?” I found that question fascinating and thought I would reply here.
A few thoughts:
1) Is “burning desire” to deliver necessary?
Let’s face it. I don’t live to work. I work to live. Anyone that knows me understands that I find life fulfilling because it consists of my job, my family, my friends, and all kinds of other things. I’ve blogged about “Finding Balance” and while I don’t always listen to my own advice, I do feel I am pretty good with my priorities. While I think pride in work product is important, it is completely respectable if you truly feel that you would quit immediately if you won the lottery. 😉
2) Can an employee without passion be fun to work with, continue to work hard and have pride in product?
I tried it once. I was miserable, working with an awful human being that sucked the joy out of everyone around him. Of course I am generally very hard working and consider myself very talented (self-pat on back) so I continued to deliver, working hard to both deliver on needed changes while also engaging colleagues and trying to work on culture. But, eventually, it became harder and harder to put on that happy face. One day, one of my direct reports came to me and told me that he (and others) had noticed I just was not my normal self. I had lost my Henry V: my passion and drive to lead the troops into battle. The miserable individual was “winning” and none of those above me were willing to do anything about it. And my team noticed.
This overall idea of ‘employees without passion’ is a fairly common problem in the American workplace: Salary.com studies show that 23 percent of employees look for a new job every single day, and per Gallup only about 31.5% of American workers are engaged in their jobs.
Give or take, that means 7 in 10 people you work with probably lack passion (i.e. they’re not engaged).
That’s a huge number. On your way to get coffee, you’ll pass more people lacking passion than having passion for the work. If most people you work with are losing or lacking the passion and drive, what can be done? That brings us to our next question.
When an employee loses the passion
3) Can a manager help to reignite that passion and make the perfect employee perfect again?
Absolutely. Here is how:
- Talk to your employees regularly and help them find the kind of projects and challenges that inspire them to greatness. And when I say talk, I mean actually talk — not e-mail. Call them or stop by their desk.
- Share your business goals and objectives and illustrate how the work they do ties to the objectives. This is the idea of tying ‘purpose’ back to the overall goals and objectives of the place (how it makes money). Many organizations and managers miss the importance of this tie.
- Support passions outside of work. If an employee wants to participate in a community organization or charitable event, encourage it. Finding balance in life is hard, but having a boss that encourages you to enjoy those things that matter outside of the office makes it easier.
Here’s something thought-provoking to end on, courtesy of Thought Catalog and The Washington Post. There are two theories on passion at work: “fit” (that you need to find the perfect spot for you) and “develop” (that you can evolve to fit in at a place relative to your surroundings). Across four major psychological studies, researchers found equal levels of satisfaction in people who believed in “fit” and “develop” approaches. This goes to show that passion can be developed and cultivated, even in people who aren’t “believers”. A lot of the process of developing passion will come back to relationships, and especially relationships with your direct manager. That’s why the bullets directly above are crucial.
Be sure to view all of the Top Traits:
Trait 1: Hard working AND talented
Trait 2: Pride in work product
Trait 3: Fun to work with
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Be well. Lead On.
Adam
Related Posts:
Who Am I?
Expectations of Leaders at all Levels
Khalil Gibran on Leadership
Lessons from Henry V
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
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by Adam L Stanley | Feb 2, 2016 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
Allies on a tour of duty.
LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman and fellow entrepreneur Ben Casnocha wrote a book called The Alliance in which they argue that investing in your employees is good for both parties in the relationship. I could not agree more and have strived to live this principle throughout most of my career. Sadly, I have not seen consistency in the level of personal support for me. I suspect that many managers still do not consider it a critical endeavor to invest in talent beyond “today.”
Hoffman and Casnocha actually refer to providing opportunities for development as an obligation. Their suggestion for solving the problem employers face with wanting high output from employees who do not have a guaranteed long-term company commitment? Stop thinking of employees as family or free agents, and start thinking of them as allies on a tour of duty. LOVE IT!
Those who have worked with me the past several years tend to hear certain things over and over again. I hope they don’t get annoyed with repetition but I truly, truly, truly feel that talent is not everything: It is the only thing. Therefore, it is key to effectively empower employees to do their jobs, trust one another to be honest and upfront about success and failure, and to hold people accountable. These are the best ways to build a respectful organization that drives value. The Alliance framework reminds us that, even with the best intentions, companies must make changes. For instance, in each of my last three companies, we have had significant reductions in force that were not driven by weak talent as much as they were by financial constraints.
In environments of rapid change, employees must feel that there is benefit to their hard work. That there is benefit to the sometimes long hours. That the uncertainty and the added challenges that come with events like acquisitions and divestitures, when appropriately focused, can be tremendous improvements to their resume, their experience, and ultimately their futures.
Ok, so this is one of my favorite slideshares. Hope you get it as well.
Talent Matters!
Click here for the slide show – The Alliance: A Visual Summary from Reid Hoffman
What do you think?
Do you agree with the concept of a joint partnership on a tour of duty? Do you feel, as Hoffman and Casnocha, that it is critical to train and develop an employee, regardless of whether the training is good for your organization today or simply for the employee’s long-term value? As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Be well. Lead On.
Adam
Related Posts:
Who Am I?
Expectations of Leaders at all Levels
Khalil Gibran on Leadership
Lessons from Henry V
Adam Stanley
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
Follow me on Twitter | Connect with me on Linked In | “Like me on Facebook
by Adam L Stanley | Dec 14, 2015 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
You are the leaders of this organization and hold the keys to success.
At the heart of any mission is talent. Whether building the new rocketship to take us to Mars, raising money for a charity, designing a new service online, or working to be the best manufacturer of the latest series of widgets, talent matters. Which is why it is part of so many of my blogs and why I want to quickly share some thoughts for leaders. This one is targeted to leaders that are at the director/senior manager level, typically CEO – 3 layers. In my org, this would mean people that report to my direct reports. Beyond that, I think they could really be considered for any leaders of teams.
The crux of the message is this: You are the leaders of this organization and hold the keys to success. When given a role as a leader, you must immediately transform yourself from an individual contributor that must manage up, to a leader that must manage up, down, and sideways. And, from time to time, you will need to transform again as peers and managers change significantly, or you go to a new company. In many ways, the global leadership team (my directs) need to serve in the capacity of “Chairman and CEO” of the company we are building. They need to be the ones setting the strategy, selling the vision, and building the dream. But if the next layer down is not willing and ready to be the “President and COO” of our company, the dream can never be achieved.
People may think that I want the directs of my directs to be “empowered”, “trusted”, and held “accountable” because that is the right thing to do for team engagement. Bullocks. Yes, its good for the teams to be treated with respect in this way. However, it is not purely altruistic that I form teams in this manner. The fact of the matter is, our mission DEPENDS on this. We simply cannot be successful if leaders at all levels do not step up to the challenge they have been given to drive change independently. The directs of my directs, I call them the XLT, run our business. That means we expect a lot of them and, likewise, they should expect more from us. So, I wanted to share some thoughts on leadership and my expectations. I am sharing these with my team as well as with my friends here in the online world.
What we expect from you as a manager
- Ownership of transitions Remember back when you were in grade school? Don’t worry, I don’t remember much either. However, I do remember that each new year was a new adventure pretty much directed by my teachers. They showed me how my last year’s learning tied to the new year. They led exercises to introduce me to my new classmates, courses, and books. But in the corporate world, on our mission, we do not always have that luxury. And, frankly, the higher up you go, the less assistance you will get with transitions. Things move faster and are not always as structured as grade school. That means you are in some cases you will be leaving behind responsibilities to take on new ones before fully completing your prior responsibilities. As leaders, you are expected to manage transitions, ensuring that your responsibilities are not only well in hand but all key stakeholders are informed of the change. This is a critical mission success factor.
- Setting expectations I was the News Editor of my college newspaper, Student Life, at Washington University. At the beginning of each editorial cycle, I worked out a set schedule of articles our reporters were expected to write, with dates they were due and no leeway for being late. For a newspaper that came out twice a week, there was only so much flexibility. But the MAJORITY of corporate decisions are not actually this tightly time constrained. So, leaders must help manage expectations. You know your workload, skillsets and available tools better than anyone else. And you are a leader. If you get a request to drive something, you must set expectations. When should I hear from you and how often will you provide updates? Where does this fall within your priority list? Are you not the right person for the job? If you do not set expectations appropriately, the best possible outcome is that you unwittingly meet expectations set by someone else. The worst case is that the expectations that were set were completely unrealistic and you will fail.
- Communication to your teams and peers – Every day, I think about what I want to wear to the office. That is perhaps the only decision I make each day that does not require input from others. Even that one is influenced by others based on conversations I have had about a particular type of shoes (“Adam is the only c-suite exec here that has a pair of Blue shoes”) or my choice of casual or formal business attire (“still wearing a tie, eh, Adam?”). But in a fast-changing, active decision environment, communication is critical. Especially during times of change and transition, our colleagues need to hear from us much more. Decisions are being made that impact lives, impact our clients, impact the markets and how our competitors react to us. We can get into a trap of having so many meetings and conference calls that we forget the basics. Pick up the phone. Reach out to someone for coffee. Write a personal thank you note.
- Driving independently In order for any organization to deliver effectively the massive change programs underway in a competitive environment, we must hold our leaders accountable for driving independently. We must empower them to make decisions without funneling every action through hierarchies. We must trust them to get done their component of the work. And we must hold them accountable for delivering and punish/reward them based on agreed expectations. I blogged on this a while back (See Blog and a poster with these three words in on most of my team’s desks. We must expect XLT leaders to deliver on change programs with less direct intervention. Clear objectives set up front, guidance and support when needed, and recognition/credit when complete. The mission depends on this, as every hour spent by me working on a component of the mission is an hour I cannot sell the dream, build the vision.
What you should expect from your manager
It is easy for senior level executives to set expectations on their subordinate leaders. However, we must recognize that relationships go two ways. If I truly want my leaders to act a certain way, managing transitions, communicating to their teams, and driving independently, my leaders must be able to expect certain things from me.
- Support for this process, including patience and understanding as they build plans, outside assistance if justified, and help identifying the right person to whom you should transition if needed.
- Leading by example when it comes to communication and team engagement.
- Unless you lead them to conclude otherwise, your manager should trust your judgment and be reasonably accepting of the expectations you set.
What are some expectations you have of your leaders and how have you seen them help your mission? Is your manager providing effective space for you to grow as a leader?
Be well. Lead On.
Adam
Related Posts:
Investing in talent for the long-term
Expectations of Leaders at all Levels
Khalil Gibran on Leadership
Lessons from Henry V
Adam Stanley
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
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by Adam L Stanley | Oct 14, 2015 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
How do you describe yourself to new colleagues?
Perhaps the most common thing I heard during the first few weeks after my firm joined forces with another firm was this seemingly simple yet incredibly important statement: “I don’t know Adam’s style yet.†That can’t really be rectified with an email, or a blog, and frankly most teams will just have to get to know their new boss as a matter of course. That said, I was curious to know how many people are asked this question and how do you answer it.
Do you talk about your personal life and what matters outside of work to allow them a glimpse of who you are? Do you talk about your operating principles, your values?
I will suggest there are a few things that make me who I am and I am happy to share these things. But I’m not sure if this actually answers the question.
Who am I?
1) I am passionate about diversity in all aspects of the word. Born and raised in Chicago, I have lived in St Louis, New York, Philadelphia, London and Johannesburg for periods of time and have become who I am from a bit of each of those experiences, plus my travel to over 40 countries. Being “global†is to me the greatest way to leverage and learn from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Anything that prevents truly gaining this leverage is a problem. In this way, I am a bit stubborn (cue the next bullet)
2) While on the cusp, I am primarily an extrovert in that I get lots of my energy from others. On the Myers Briggs scale, I am an ESTJ (“Executiveâ€) with all the positive and negatives of that personality type. (I do, however, feel that I am an ISFJ in my personal life and as I get closer to a team, I start to lean a bit more in that direction.) I love building and managing teams, organizing them for success, and moving on to the next initiative or program. When I have gotten myself to a certain model, I do struggle at times changing my mind. Yes, I can be stubborn. You can ask my partner or other family members!
3) I believe that leaders emerge from all levels of an organization and have personally seen relatively junior colleagues rise through the ranks with a little nudge and lots of support. Nothing excites me more than witnessing this, even when it means someone that has developed with me outgrows the nest and must go elsewhere. I want to be a part of this journey for colleagues in my current team.
So, how does this work? If you are unable to work with me for several months, to truly get to know my style and values, would these three items give you a clear enough sense of who I am? How would you describe yourself to a new team? As importantly, what would you want to hear from your new boss?
Be well. Lead On.
Adam
Related Posts:
Expectations of Senior Leaders
Expectations of Leaders at all Levels
Khalil Gibran on Leadership
Lessons from Henry V
Adam Stanley
Adam L. Stanley Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
AdamLStanley.com
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by Adam L Stanley | Oct 30, 2014 | Leadership, Relationships, Teamwork
Inspiration and courage must come from every level of your business if you are to be successful.
Most of us have read dozens of articles about amazing leaders and superstar management teams that make all the difference. And I do completely agree that success without good leadership at the top is near impossible. But a recipe for personal failure is to expect all wisdom and guidance to come from on high. I continue to hear people ask for vision and inspiration from the top. And, yes, I agree this is critical. But it is important we remember just how inspirational we can be to each other. A group of smart people in a room thinking positively and acting on such positive thinking can go so far.
I often talk about leaders at all levels and encourage you to be the leader that drives the change you want to be. There are people out there that are looking to YOU to make them feel purpose, to make them want to stick it out and fight as hard as necessary to get things done. Yes, they will enjoy watching CEO videos, seeing values presentations, and the like, and they will get vision and inspiration from there. But YOU have the power to influence daily and I urge you to do so.
Be well. Lead on.
Adam
Adam L. Stanley
Connections Blog
Technology. Leadership. Food. Life.
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3) Can a manager help to reignite that passion and make the perfect employee perfect again?
Perhaps the most common thing I heard during the first few weeks after my firm joined forces with another firm was this seemingly simple yet incredibly important statement: “I don’t know Adam’s style yet.†That can’t really be rectified with an email, or a blog, and frankly most teams will just have to get to know their new boss as a matter of course. That said, I was curious to know how many people are asked this question and how do you answer it.
