Leadership Insight-Hiring and Leadership
Get me a body. We have an opening and I need someone now. We can’t live this short staffed for longer than two weeks. Just get someone. We can train them. Call HR.
Whoa. Recipe for disaster.
Quick hiring, convenient hiring or insider hiring rarely works. There is reverse proportion between the timing of the hire and the quality of the hire. The quicker the hiring decision, the more likely the decision will be a poor decision. The more convenient the candidate (i.e. Bob in accountings’ sister in law) the more likely it will haunt you for a long period of time.
First, a couple of truths. It is hard to get rid of bad employees. Bad employees are rarely bad because of a lack of technical skills and are more likely bad because of attitudinal skills or a lack of interpersonal skills. Money is a bad motivator and a worse recruiting tool. Insider hires often blur the lines of accountability and ethics.
Effective leaders hire for attitude and interpersonal skills. Every big file sitting in the office of an employee relations manager is the result of poor communication, teamwork and adapting skills and not as a result of lack of experience. Rarely has five years of progressively responsible accounting experience ever caused workplace dysfunction. Bachelor degrees do not cause a team members to fuss with one another. Those problems occur because our team members lack the skills and attitudes necessary to be successful in the modern working environment.
Effective leaders hire for fit within the existing team and organizational culture. If the working environment is pretty low key and soft spoken, will the hyper-aggressive, I’m going to have your boss’s job someday type fit well? Will the quiet, understated type work well with the team of sharks you assembled? Those are the considerations that effective leadership considers when potentially placing a candidate.
Effective leaders search for growth and potential and not just a quick fix. Beyond the performance of the role in which they are being placed, what can the candidate become? Do their career objectives fit within the framework of the organization? Will they continue to be challenged? Can you offer growth opportunities to match their growth expectations?
Effective leaders understand the short-term strain of being under-staffed but hire based on long-term impact. Part of this is legacy management and understanding that the people you hire will be your culture champions and the long-term memory of your tenure at the helm. Long after you are gone, the people you hire will be running the show.
Effective leaders are not afraid to start over. The job ad was placed last Sunday. Seventeen resumes in. Six interviews. No one fits. No one has the interpersonal skill package. The effective leader will start over and not just settle for the best of a limited talent pool. They will expand the search criteria. They will fish in a bigger pond. They will evaluate and re-evaluate how they are attracting candidates.
The adding or replacement of team members is a significantly important event for any leader. It is one that requires thought, planning and time. With a great approach, you can continue a tradition of great results. With a rushed approach, you are setting the stage for consistent problems and turnover.
