Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Leadership

Beyond Leadership is Horizon Point’s line of resources for managers of people. Managing ourselves is a distinct set of behaviors from managers the work of others, and we are here to help. Read stories in this category if you are ready to take the next step into people leadership (or if you’re looking for articles to send someone else…).

  • Be Aware, Be Very Aware: Why “Healthy Paranoia” is Killing HR

    Be Aware, Be Very Aware: Why “Healthy Paranoia” is Killing HR

    As a part of a subcontract I work on, I just sat through a 30 minute plus online compliance training video. If you want to leave yourself paralyzed to make business decisions, I’ll send you the clip. It will leave you questioning the world in general.

    I know we live in a world of terrorists, computer hackers and people who want to do harm, but the video left me thinking that their approach to business was to scare the living daylight out of every employee thinking that this would help prevent mishaps, lawsuits and wrong actions.

    Although I can appreciate what I’m sure are good intentions behind why the company sees this as a need (I bet they have born the brunt of a lawsuit or two) I question whether or not it is going to make them any safer as an organization from the ills it is trying to combat. And, is having every employee, contractor, vendor, supplier and subcontractor (basically everyone the company does business with) spend over half an hour doing this the best use of thousands of people’s time? Will it make the company more profitable? Will it make anyone better? And will watching it keep the people who want to do harm from doing it? Doubtful.

    When we paint a picture that everyone should “be very, very aware” and have a sense of “paranoia” (these are specific terms from the video about conducting day-to-day business like sending emails) we leave people paralyzed to make decisions, which does not make individuals or organizations better. It leave them scared, or wanting to scream.

    Instead, why don’t we ask employees to ask themselves two questions before making decisions or acting:

    1. Is doing this/not doing this going to advance my company and myself in an ethical manner?
    2. If I do this/don’t do this, what is the worst that could happen?

    Or better yet, spend half an hour teaching them about values of your organization and treat them like adults who are capable of living out those values through their actions. Explain the big picture why instead of giving a detailed list of don’ts.

    What other questions do you think we need to ask ourselves that keeps us from needing compliance videos that scare and detract?

  • Realistic Job Previews

    Realistic Job Previews

    3 Reasons to Make Realistic Job Previews a Part of Your Hiring Process

    What’s the best way to determine if a person is right for the job? What’s the best way for a job candidate to know they are accepting the right job? Traditional methods for employers tell us to screen resumes, interview candidates and make a decision. In the case of hiring recent college grads, traditional wisdom tells us to look at their G.P.A. and their major to predict success. That’s the way most companies do it; it must work.

    For job seekers, traditional wisdom tells us to take any job (a still recovering economy tells us this), and if you have multiple offers, pick the one that pays the most.   And make sure you strive for a 4.0 if you are in college and want job prospects.

    But data tells us that the traditional methods aren’t producing results for the employer or the employee. Recent employee engagement statistics indicate only 13% of the worldwide workforce is engaged at work and data shows G.P.A. and major don’t predict job performance. Just ask Google.

    Is there better way to hire where both employer and potential employee benefit?

    Yes. Do a Realistic Job Preview

     

    Why Do A Realistic Job Preview or Request One as Candidate

    Although realistic job previews may not be, well realistic, for all industries and jobs, they are extremely helpful to both employer and potential employee because:

    1. They tell you if the candidate can do the job/if you’ll like the job.   Quite simply, it demonstrates whether or not the candidate can perform the tasks for the job and if you are the job seeker, it helps determine if you would actually like doing the tasks of the job.
    2. They tell you if the candidate has the “soft” skills to succeed/ if your potential boss is someone you would want to work for. Things like time management, communication, problem solving, etc. are hard to measure in an interview even though behavioral based interviewing is the best way to do so. Giving assignments, setting deadlines and leaving people to do the work gives a true picture of these soft skills. Realistic job previews also help you as the candidate understand how your potential boss communicates and if you would like to work with their style of leadership and personality.
    3. They tell you if there is “fit”.   We all have different values and priorities.   Employees are more engaged on the job and therefore more successful when the values and priorities of the organization align with personal values.  These aren’t right or wrong values, they are just preferences and personalities that people (and organizations) have. The better we are at matching individual values to organizational values, the better match we create which leads to higher job satisfaction, engagement, productivity and profitability.
  • Why interviews aren’t the best way to hire right

    Why interviews aren’t the best way to hire right

    We’ve had two young men as career coaching clients lately. Although pursuing different types of opportunities, they are both in their early to mid-twenties and are having a hard time finding a job in their respective fields- both of which, by the way, are in demand.   Both have been getting called for interviews, but something seems to fail in the interview every time and they haven’t been offered jobs.

    So, we’ve been working with them to help improve their interviewing skills. Both of these guys are technically minded. They are smart, good, hardworking people. But they are introverts. Situations like interviews are not their strong suit. In reviewing the little bit of feedback they have been given by those who have interviewed them, they get comments like “You need to be more animated.” Or “You need to be more excited and passionate.”

    I’m all for finding people who are passionate about the field they are pursuing, but I sometimes want to say to employers, come on, you are hiring an engineer, not a sales person.   Do they really need to be Mr. Personality or do they need to be technically competent and, yes, personable enough to get along with others, but couldn’t being introverted actually be something that is desirable for a role like an engineer?

    While we need to help people become better at conveying who they are and why they would be a valuable asset to an organization, I think we rely on interviews entirely too much when making hiring decisions. Yes, they are necessary, but I think we establish a certain set of criteria for interviewing that seems to always judge people on their gregariousness or lack thereof and of course a person’s physical appearance instead of what is actually needed for success in a role.

    In light of this, we are going to look at some innovative ways and tools to make screening better in order to hire right:

    1. Implement a pre-screening assessment that assesses people for organizational fit. You automatically screen out those that would not fit with the organization’s values and culture, because as we wrote about previously organizational fit is more important than job fit. There is more here on how to select the right screening assessment.

     

    2. Implement a mechanism to see if the person can actually perform the job like a skills-based assessment, in-basket exercises, assessment center techniques or a realistic job preview (more on this next week). Many of these tools also involve some type of interaction with organizational stakeholders that gives you an idea of how well they will work with their potential team. A cool company that is combining many of these tools is Shaker Consulting Group and it’s virtual job tryout.

     

    3. Consider if competition based recruiting could be a viable option for your organization or certain types of positions within your organization.

    More here on this new trend:

    Contest Recruiting

    Competition Based Hiring Whitepaper

     

    4. Improve your interviewing tactics.

    Some innovative tools for this: Hireology and Hirevue

     

    Some other thoughts on improving your hiring process: Hire Slow

    What have you found to be the best hiring practice?

  • 4 Ways to Pass the Informal Leader Test

    4 Ways to Pass the Informal Leader Test

    With a growing need to manage project based work coupled with the need to vet an individual’s leadership capabilities, organizations are assigning hi-potentials with informal leadership roles, or project manager roles, before giving them the positional and formal leadership authority over others.

    As a chance to prove capabilities, those given project management roles need to understand how to succeed at both the task of getting the project done and the priority to get work done through others. Often these two priorities seem to be conflicting, when in reality they are not. Informal leaders often fail when they see the only goal to be getting the project done, and neglect to realize how the imperative of getting the project done will only be accomplished through the work others. This necessities strong people management, not just task management skills.

    If you’ve been given an informal leadership role you should:

    1. Know and understand the members of your project team. Meet one-on-one with members and ask:
      1. What motivates them?
      2. What strengths to they have that they bring to the team?
      3. What are their stressors? In other words, what points of resistance or skepticism do they have about this particular project? What do they think should be done to help mitigate these potential issues?
    2. Build buy-in by creating a game plan as a group. Bring the group together and based on feedback gathered in one-on-one meetings, create a game plan together that includes timelines for implementation and project meetings, assignments and ownership for each team member.
    3. Practice what you preach. Set the tone for the project by following through on your assignments and commitments per the project plan and staying true to a meeting schedule that is set.
    4. Realize that providing support for others to get work done is your number one priority.  If a team member needs you, that is your first priority, not the list of tasks on your to-do list. This helps to take the first three steps to the next level.

    Most hi-pos know how to get stuff done. That’s why they are hi-pos. But what will set you apart is being able to transition your focus on getting work done to getting work done through others. This is even more of a challenge when you do not have positional authority. But if you take the time to know your team, build buy-in, practice what you preach and provide support for others, you’ll prove that you have what it takes to be able to transition to a formal leadership role, because true leaders don’t need a title to lead.

  • Your Match Made In Heaven… Organizational Fit Trumps Job Fit

    Your Match Made In Heaven… Organizational Fit Trumps Job Fit

    We’ve been doing a lot of research around the idea of a match.com for employers and employees here at Horizon Point. Let’s face it; behind a person’s choice of spouse, the choice of employer (both the organization and your boss) may very well be the most important choice you make in terms of overall satisfaction.

    One of our key questions around this idea is: What characteristics are most important in terms of employment marital bliss? Dating sites have isolated key variables leading to marital satisfaction by matching people correctly, can’t we get better at doing the same thing for employers and employees and save us all a lot of time and headaches?

    In all the reading we’ve been doing around this idea, organizational fit seems to matter more than almost anything, but what does this mean? Consider how Jennifer Chatman who is a Professor at the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, describes this:

    “Those who fit well with the [organizational] culture stayed longer, were promoted faster, and demonstrated greater commitment to the firm. Interestingly, these outcomes of person-culture fit mattered more for performance than did the more typical person-job fit we think of which is how well people’s knowledge, skills, and abilities fit the specific job.”

    What this means for employers:

    • You need an organizational “job description” that defines your organizational culture. We suggest driving this by defining your organizational values (which lead to your competitive advantage).   For example, seven organizational values for defining organizational culture that a prominent research theory suggests are:
      • Innovation
      • Stability
      • Respect for People
      • Outcome Orientation
      • Attention to Detail
      • Team Orientation
      • Aggressiveness
    • Assess and select candidates based your organizational job description more so than on individual job descriptions.
    • If you do these two things, you’ll get more satisfied and engaged employees who will produce better business results for you.
    • Define who you are through your values. There are a lot of good career card sorter activities based on values. The Work Importance Locator is one tool you can use for free.
    • Vet potential job opportunities for a fit with your values. For example, if value teamwork and collaboration and the organization recognizes and rewards individual contributions, it may not be a perfect marriage for you. Neither is right or wrong, it is just the way you and the company are “wired” which is hard to change.
    • If you do these two things, you’ll be happier in your work life, which will lead to more happiness in all aspects of your life.

    Do any of these values contribute to a competitive advantage for your company?

    What this means for employees

    • Define who you are through your values. There are a lot of good career card sorter activities based on values. The Work Importance Locator is one tool you can use for free.
    • Vet potential job opportunities for a fit with your values. For example, if value teamwork and collaboration and the organization recognizes and rewards individual contributions, it may not be a perfect marriage for you. Neither is right or wrong, it is just the way you and the company are “wired” which is hard to change.
    • If you do these two things, you’ll be happier in your work life, which will lead to more happiness in all aspects of your life.

    Have you found your employment match made in heaven? If so, why is it a perfect match?

    Read more about Chatman’s research here: http://amj.aom.org/content/34/3/487.short