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This is not the first time you’ve heard us say “hire hard or manage hard”. That’s because we can’t say often enough that who you hire is a critical component for being successful. New hires must complement your existing team while supporting the values of your work culture.  If they don’t, you’ll be spending more time than you’d like addressing the actions and behaviors of the “misfit”.

Career consultant Joseph Liu provides 7 factors to consider for finding the best fit:

1. Emotional Intelligence
Ask your candidate to share personal examples of how they changed their work culture in the past. What struggles did they observe? Were they sensitive to the needs of others? What was their approach?

2. Resilience
How adaptable is the candidate when faced with obstacles, failure, or stress? Again, ask for specifics for the actions taken for attaining desired results.

3. Empathy
Is there sensitivity for colleagues when they are experiencing challenges outside of the workplace? How did they help a colleague work through their issue? Did they truly seem to care?

4. Adaptability
Many workers are now working remotely; some readily accepted this change while others struggled. Ask the candidate to share how they were able to transition from an “in person” work environment to one of teleconferencing.

5. Initiative
How have they prepared for the interview? Did they research your company and the position? Maybe even you? Are they able to self-motivate and influence colleagues? Ask for examples.

6. Tenacity
What does the candidate do to manage setbacks and challenges? Do they maintain their focus for achieving the end goal? Ask for examples.

7. Relationship Management
Working remotely can impact relationships. What or how does the candidate stay connected with colleagues and build relationships? How do they create a strong boss/subordinate relationship?

Don’t neglect required technical skills, but soft skills must be valued. When hiring, look for candidates that possess skills that will positively impact interactions with your team members, and will also be a good fit for your ideal work culture. If not, be prepared to “manage hard”!

Difficulty adapting to challenges in the workplace is not new, and as leaders we need to ensure that we influence our teams to continue to support our company values, strategies, and the processes required to achieve operational excellence as we deal with changes across the globe. These changes may be major and impact not only new roles and relationships, but also require new behaviors and approaches for how we work.

Ronald Heifetz (founder of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School) and
and Donald Laurie (corporate adviser), share what they view as the differences between “Technical or Routine Leadership” (Style A) compared to “Adaptive Leadership” (Style B) for the following leadership responsibilities:

DIRECTION
Style A – Defines problems and provides solutions
Style B –Identifies the adaptive challenge and frames key questions and issues

PROTECTION
Style A – Shields the organization from external threats
Style B – Lets the organization feel external pressures within a range it can stand

ORIENTATION
Style A – Clarifies roles and responsibilities
Style B – Challenges current roles and resists pressure to quickly define new roles

MANAGING CONFLICT
Style A – Restores order
Style B – Exposes conflict or lets it emerge

SHAPING NORMS
Style A – Maintains norms
Style B – Challenges unproductive norms

Does one style sound more like you than the other? Perhaps you’re a blend? Being a leader is not easy and it’s up to us share when and how our work culture values must change, and what’s required of us (and others) to adapt to those changes.

We need to be aware of both the existing challenges that are being faced (as well as the potential challenges), understand when stress exists, when change is being resisted, and encourage open communication.  

Granted we’re in the coaching business, but we wanted to share that clients have told us that coaching has changed their lives, not just from a business perspective, but also from a personal and family perspective.









Coaching is experiencing explosive growth. Why? The investment pays off.





Is coaching for everyone?

That depends on whether the person is committed to making changes and is willing to hear things they may not initially agree with.

Some individuals don’t want to hear that they have opportunities to be more effective, and that quite frankly, they themselves may be derailing their own ability to succeed.

They also may be unwilling to step out of their comfort zone and commit to making the time for self-development

Coaching IS for those that have made the choice to become more effective and productive, and understand that others can see things in them that they can’t. They also understand that a coach will help them reach their highest potential.

Per Forbes writer William Arruda, coaching has become a key ingredient in professional success.