Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Talent Management and Development

We provide full service talent management and talent development consulting services. Read our blogs in this category for stories and best practices from real clients and real research.

  • Leaders, Know the Skill and Will of Those You Lead

    Leaders, Know the Skill and Will of Those You Lead

    I’ve found myself talking about skill and will a lot lately.  Whether it be in one-on-one leadership coaching sessions or in group training, the conversation is often directed towards customizing a leadership approach based on the needs of the person being “led”.  Much of our basic leadership training modules focus on customization based on personality, but that is only one piece of the puzzle. A person’s level of skill in doing a job or task and a person’s will to do the job or task (which includes aspects of personality) are critical to success. 

    So what is skill and what is will? 

    Skill: A person’s ability to do a job or tasks well which comes from him/her having the knowledge, experience and/or raw talent needed to achieve the desired results. 

    Will: A person’s desire to do a job and do it with excellence which comes as a result of personality and internal motivation.  A person being on the right bus (organization) and on the right seat (job) on the bus also impacts a person’s will. 

    Simply put, skill is the fact that a person has what is needed to do the job well, a person’s will is that the person actually wants to do the job and do it well.  Each dimension also breeds and fuels off each other. If you are good at something, you often like it, and if you like to do something you often get good at it. 

    So many things can go wrong when we mismatch our leadership to a person’s skill and will.  This can occur when: 

    1. We don’t diagnosis someone’s level of skill and/or will correctly.
    2. We are so afraid of “micromanaging” that we don’t correctly realize people need guidance at times based on their level of skill.
    3. On the opposite extreme, we are so afraid something may go wrong that we do micro-managing, which leads to crushed will when someone who does have the skill needed to  do a job is “over led.”
    4. We know someone has a certain level of skill and will with one thing so we label them the same level of skill and will for everything.  Skill and will can and are variable based on a variety of factors at any given time. 

    In order to avoid these mistakes, the first thing to do is to correctly diagnosis a person’s skill and will level based on the task or job at hand.  You do this by: 

    1 Simply ask the person where they think their skill/will falls. Most people can give an honest assessment of these levels if you’ve built trust with them.   I ask questions like: How do you feel about doing this on your own? Have you ever done this before?  What problems do you think you will face or are you concerned about? Do you want to do this? Why or why not? Simply asking questions will help you know where people are.  

    2. Ask them to walk you through how they would do something/achieve an outcome. Can they articulate steps in achieving an outcome or provide specific examples of when and how they’ve done it or something similar before? If so, their skill level is most likely high. If someone talks in vague generalities about how to do something, they most likely won’t have the maximum level of competence needed to achieve the result.  You can also assess their enthusiasm for the task and desire to do it through this exercise. (Note: This is a good interviewing tactic too when hiring to assess for skill and will.)

    3. Observe them doing the task/job to assess where they are.   Quite simply, if you watch someone do something you can tell if they can do it well or not.   You can assess their confidence, skill, and enthusiasm through observation. 

    4. Debrief after they do something to assess their like for the activity and their desire to do it again.  What did they learn and how will they grow to develop further skills based on what they learned?  Do they want to do it again or are they bored by it? Oftentimes, when someone reaches a high level of skill, will can begin to diminish because a been there, done that attitude begins to set in.  If the person can build on those skills by teaching others the skill(s) and or adding the next level of complexity to the task/job, you can continue to maintain will and interest.

    Once you’ve diagnosed someone’s level of skill and will, it is then time to put these two pieces together to determine how you should best lead the person.   

    Giving examples of how to lead I find is the best way to illustrate what you can do right and what you can do terribly wrong.  With that being said, we’ll devote the next few posts to scenarios based on all four combinations:  

    • low skill & high will
    • high skill & high will
    • high skill & low will
    • low skill & low will

    Stay tuned…..

     

    Note:  Many of the thoughts and ideas derived with skill and will come from the Situational Leadership approach developed by Hersey and Blanchard.   This approach uses different terms than skill (competence) and will (commitment), but many of the thought processes are the same. I’d suggest reading The One Minute Manager if you are interested in learning more about this model and the practical application of it in the workplace. 

  • How to Make Personality Differences Work to Your Advantage

    How to Make Personality Differences Work to Your Advantage

    Hanging pictures on the wall.  Proofing documents.  Formatting presentations. Checking to make sure calculations in a spreadsheet is correct.

    I really dislike doing all of these types of tasks.  They all require, quite honestly, a sense of detail and accuracy and, of course, patience that doesn’t come naturally to me.  It’s not how I’m wired.

    My husband, on the other hand, finds satisfaction in hanging pictures on the wall, taking care to make sure they are level and perfectly spaced and aligned.  He likes to measure, just like he did with the table. And it makes me happy that he finds satisfaction in it, so I don’t have to be frustrated by it.

    Two people, I work with find satisfaction in proofing documents.  Another can format presentations in a way that makes the people who create PowerPoint templates look like amateurs. And a contractor we use regularly for compensation projects loves spreadsheets, formulas, and checking to make sure they are right.

    Personality differences in the workplace and at home are often a source of headache.  Our default is to see our differences as contradictory instead of complementary.  But they can actually lead to team and organization competitive advantage if the diversity of differences is harnessed.

    A person’s personality leads them to like certain tasks and activities and dislikes others because of the energy or stress that activity creates.  If you look at the map of the DiSC model of personality below, you can begin to see what types of activities people with certain profiles would like.

     

    For example, the contractor I work with on compensation projects is a C. She likes the analytical, detail-oriented, and systematic approach to the data analysis. I, on the other hand as an I, like the task of convincing a potential client that we are the best organization to conduct their compensation analysis, and I like speaking on topics, including compensation, to help inspire and persuade people to do things in an innovative way.  She and I make a great team for securing and conducting compensation related work.

    If you are interested in figuring out how to harness personality diversity in your workplace, I would look at it from a task or activity-based perspective.  Here’s how:

    1.     Get a big stack of sticky notes in a variety of colors. You’ll need as many colors as you have people on your team.

    2.     Give each person on your team a big stack of one color of sticky notes.  An assigned color indicates a person on your team.

    3.     Ask each person to write down everything they can think of that they do at work by individual tasks.  One task/activity equals one sticky note.

    4.     Ask them to code the task on each note with a + or a -.  + meaning they enjoying doing it a – meaning they do not.

    5.     Have everyone stick their sticky notes up on the wall.

    6.     Give everyone the chance to review the notes on the wall and allow them to pull off notes that have a – on them that would actually be a + for them.

    So for example, my sticky notes could all be blue and I write down “Run payroll” on one note and put a – sign by it.   I stick it on the wall.  A colleague of mine could look at that and say, “You know I think I would like to do that, or I do like to do that.” and they could take it off the wall.

     

    Once this takes place, have a discussion about what tasks people have taken off the wall that they would like to do. Does the person that put it up there really want to divest of that task?  Can you move things around? Some cross-training may be required.

    Are there certain colors that have changed hands so to speak? Are people in the wrong “jobs”?

    Think about moving beyond job descriptions to how people’s personality and interests can drive work assignments to lead to engagement.

    There will be things no one likes do to.  That’s just life and these things will still have to be done, but you might be surprised how much you can move things around. This can lead to people being more productive, and therefore your team more productive because you simply let personalities compliment each other instead of conflicting.

    It’s a different way of thinking about how to get work done, but it could be one that might just help to diminish some of your personality conflicts at work in a unique way.

    How do you ensure that personalities complement instead of conflict with each other at work?

  • Why Counter Offers Upon Resignation Rarely Work

    Why Counter Offers Upon Resignation Rarely Work

    Your top employee or best manager just walked into your office holding that dreaded piece of paper. You know, the one with the words “thank you for this great opportunity, I respectfully resign my position” typed neatly on it.  

    As you read it, your mind starts brainstorming “what can I do to get them to stay?!” You can’t lose them, they’re the best of the best. You’ll never be able to find someone with their skill set and knowledge of the organization. You’ll spend months training their replacement just to get them up to speed. You’ve invested so much into them, how can they quit?

    And then without hesitation, the words “would you reconsider if I put a counteroffer together for you?” comes out of your mouth. They graciously say “sure” but in their mind, they’re thinking there’s nothing you can offer them to stay. It’s too little, too late. 

    And in reality, in most cases it is. Yet, in many industries, counteroffers are becoming increasingly common. 

    What does a counter offer really say to an employee? 

    1. You weren’t worth my time then, but you are now. You didn’t take the time to gauge their satisfaction with their job when it would have counted. Instead, you assumed they were happy with their position in your organization, with your head stuck in the sand, until they abruptly informed you that they were not happy in the form of their resignation. And suddenly trying to make them happy has become a priority, where ten minutes prior it wasn’t even on your radar. 
    2. It will cost me less to retain you than to replace you. It’s estimated that replacing an employee costs between 100-300% of their annual salary. That includes recruitment, onboarding, and training. By proposing a counteroffer you’re telling the employee that you’d rather pay them more to stay than to have to put out the money to replace them. It’s cost-effective. That tells the employee they aren’t what’s important to you, the cost savings are. 
    3. I’ll offer you more money to stay in a job you’re obviously not happy in. Counteroffers most often include incentives in the form of a higher salary, extra vacation time, and other perks that aren’t available to the general employee population. What they too often don’t include is training opportunities, strategic plans for advancement, or any other resolution that would improve the work situation the employee aims to change by leaving. Three of the top reasons employees leave is the work they are doing, no room for advancement, or their leadership. Offering them financial incentive to stay won’t impact those things. 

    So how can you proactively keep your top employees from slipping you that piece of paper? 

    Start by assessing your key talent through a people review. This should include their strengths and areas of improvement as well as their risk for leaving the organization and a succession plan if they do. Then sit down with them and have a conversation, or what we in HR sometimes call a stay interview. Find out what their career goals are and see how that matches up with the succession plan you designed. A succession plan won’t work if you haven’t taken into consideration where your employees want to be in three to five years within your organization. During that stay interview also ask them what they like about working for the company, what their pain points in their position are, and give them the opportunity to share their ideas. And finally, assess your wages on a regular basis. Are you lagging in your industry with regards to wages? If so, what can you do to improve that? 

    What steps has your organization taken to ensure that your key employees don’t walk out the door and leave you in a panic? 

  • Who Is Your Successor?

    Who Is Your Successor?

    How many people do you know that have left a job or stepped down from a volunteer leadership position, regardless of the reason? Have you ever been that person? I have. Let’s talk about it. 

    Every day, organizations find themselves with a newly empty desk chair. Responsibilities unassigned. Balls dropped. Projects unfinished. On average, that chair sits empty for 40-60 days, depending on which report you read. Think about your own organization. Do you know your “time to fill”? With the talent market like it is right now, your time to fill may be even longer. Think about all that lost productivity a.k.a. lost revenue + cost of recruitment + myriad of other expenses we know fall into the total cost of hiring one person. Whew! 

    We can be proactive and cut the time to fill significantly. We need to talk about succession planning (even if you don’t want to). Sharlyn Lauby talks about this on the ADP Spark blog in her article “5 Reasons You Should Have a Succession Plan (Even If You Don’t Want To)”. Another iteration of something I hear myself saying at least once a week, Lauby states, “It’s absolutely essential for organizations to think about the “what ifs” associated with an employee not being able or available to do their job.” We have to be prepared if we want to maintain long-term success. 

    I recently left a job that I loved for the job that I was made for. It wasn’t easy, but it was right for me. As the first domino fell, so did the next one, and the next one. I had to tell two volunteer-led organizations that are dear to me that I could not finish out my term on the board of directors. I was, of course, willing to help train my successor…who I realized did not exist. Not for my job, nor for my volunteer roles. It was a shock to these systems for me to leave suddenly. But it didn’t have to be. 

    Sharlyn Lauby said something else I hear myself saying constantly: “Succession planning isn’t as hard as it sounds”. It’s as simple as paying attention to the talent already within your organization. Forbes contributor, Stuart Levine, describes strategic talent management and successful succession planning as a system where “People are identified for their potential to guide the organization in the future as much as for their current strengths”. The wisest talent managers think in the future and live in the present. When executed well, succession plans can be the lifeblood of an organization. 

    Remember that job I loved and left? I was teaching at a university, focusing on professional and career development of business students. We frequently invited industry partners to visit classrooms and speak to students about their successes and their challenges, sometimes in a recruiting capacity, sometimes purely educational. Sherwin-Williams was one of my favorite companies I invited to participate – let me acknowledge my bias as their former HR intern – because I think they do many, many things extraordinarily well, including talent management and succession planning. Did you know upwards of 85% of their hires are internal? Did you know some of their current top leaders started with the company as management trainees decades ago? Here’s what that looks like. Sherwin-Williams is a shining example of an organization that thinks in the future and lives in the present. They have extensive training and development that is specifically designed to capitalize on the existing strengths of potential leaders in preparation for their inevitable opportunity for internal promotion. They pay attention to every single potential leader and how he or she can be strategically developed to lead in a way that is best for him or her individually and best for the company. It’s really an incredible system. 

    So how do you get started? SHRM has excellent resources to help any organization create succession plans. Here are two reads I recommend:

     

    If you have more time and are ready for a deep dive, check out Developing Leadership Talent, part of the SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guidelines Series. 

    Succession planning is important. I have experienced the stress of having no plan in place when someone left, and I have been the cause of that stress for others. The proof is in the successful organization pudding: pay attention to and develop your talent now. Who is your successor? Don’t wait until you’re leaving to figure it out. 

     

    Have questions about how to incorporate strategic talent management and succession planning in your organization? Horizon Point can help. Call us at 256-227-9075 or email us at info@horizonpointconsulting.com.

  • If You’re Not Onboard, Get Off the Ship!

    If You’re Not Onboard, Get Off the Ship!

    The best piece of advice I heard at the recent SHRM19 National Conference came from Cy Wakeman’s session “Business Readiness: Ensuring Our Teams are Ready for What’s Next.”

    As a consultant, I spend a great deal of my time helping organizations navigate change, from determining what change is needed to creating the roadmap of how to accomplish the change to how to get employee buy-in. The hardest part is often getting employees on board, helping them understand the need for change and addressing their resistance.

    The current change management process caters too much to the individual employee when it should focus more on the overall business need for change. Leaders spend a great deal of time sitting on the sidelines with those few employees on the bench trying to convince them why they need to get in the game with everyone else. They allow the minority of employees who want to resist the change to stall the process or to even quash it.

    According to Cy, leadership needs to stop trying to please everyone and focus on those employees who are champions for change and who understand the vision, because they will be the ones who drive change forward. And change is all about ensuring the sustainability of the organization and creating an opportunity for growth. Those resistant will only hold the organization back and will never support the change. Their resistance is driven by their own ego, not what’s in the best interests of the organization.

    So how can organizations effectively navigate change management?

    1. Don’t jump the gun. Change management isn’t a race, it’s not about being the fastest out of the starting gate. Take the time needed upfront to thoroughly assess the need for change, the options for how to make the change, and the impact each option will have on the organization as a whole. Proper planning will lead to proper execution. Making snap decisions too often leads to the need to backtrack, which causes employees to lose faith in leadership’s ability to manage and makes them more resistant to change.
    2. Explain the why then move forward. It’s important to maintain a level of transparency with employees. Explain the why behind the change in terms that all employees can understand and outline how the change will positively impact the organization as a whole. But don’t dwell on it. Once you’ve explained it, move on to the how and when. Don’t let resistant employees continue to question the why this is where change stalls.
    3. Think inside the box. A key point that Cy made was that we’ve been conditioned to “think outside the box” and that method of thinking tends to lead to passing the buck. The tendency when we think outside the box is to think of how we can use others to get things accomplished. She recommends we start thinking inside the box by asking “what can I do” instead of “what can others do”.
    4. Stop trying to please everyone. You will have resistant employees, it’s inevitable. Stop focusing on pleasing them. Organizations change because it’s necessary to continue to thrive and grow. It’s best for the organization as a whole, so stop wasting your energy on that small minority who refuse to get on board, who protest change. They are stalling your organization’s growth and the majority of employees who are supportive of the change are suffering as a result, so is the organization. Those employees have a choice, and Cy put it so eloquently:

    “Stay in joy or go in peace, but you can’t stay in hate.”

     

    For more on change management, you may also enjoy our posts Change Management: Celebrating the Small Victories and 4 Ways to Help Change Happen When Change is Hard