Change is a constant. Re-organizations, re-structuring, lay-offs, and looking at ways to cut costs are likely to continue. Knowing this, it’s more important than ever to have the right person in the right job.
Hiring that “right person” is a challenge faced by all leaders. It’s important to be clear on job functions, responsibilities and behaviors to help grow results. It’s also equally important to spend sufficient time looking for qualified candidates that would be a good fit for your organization.
In the early days if we had made the wrong hire just once, we would have been done. Hire good people who are a lot smarter than you are. Treat them well, love them, and embrace them.
–Jay Stein, CEO Steinmart
Your hiring options may include both external and internal candidates; both have benefits, both have disadvantages. High potential employees will already be familiar with the culture, and it saves hiring costs, but you may need someone “fresh”. We once worked with a senior leader who believed in alternating internal/external hires so he could promote from within and inspire existing employees, and then hire externally to create greater diversity among his team.
And just to be clear, we’re using the term “diversity” to include not only race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc, but to also include a variety of personality styles and leadership behaviors.
The candidate obviously needs to possess the technical skills/expertise required for the position, but you also want a well rounded team. Many of you are familiar with Myers-Briggs and DISC profile results which highlight style preferences.
Ideally you’ll have all the styles represented on your team. These differences create a balance for obtaining and driving results while ensuring sufficient analysis and due diligence is conducted before making decisions. You want direct styles to be balanced with reserved styles, you want individuals that are “people” people and take into account feelings and concerns, while others are deep thinkers and focus on the business needs. If everyone has the same behavioral strengths, innovation and growth may be stifled.
As leaders, we need to understand the skills, talent, and passion our staff brings to the table, and we must leverage these skills to support achieving our organizational goals.
“Hiring hard” will position you to have the right person in the right job and will prevent you from spending countless hours of “managing hard”!
QwikTip and QwikCoach
PeopleTek’s Strategic partner, E-Coach, specializes in online coaching tools.
QwikTip for Becoming a Leader With a Vision
And for those with a QwikCoach license, refresh your existing skills and acquire new skills by visiting the QwikTips library for leadership ideas and techniques.
If you don’t have QwikCoach, it’s an excellent resource for growing your leadership skills remotely that you should consider.
Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!