The way our modern workplaces are hiring, upskilling, optimizing, and pressuring simply isn't working.
With burnout and distress on the rise, here are a few things I'm talking about with clients.
I aim to tackle one of the items in the graphic each week for the next few weeks.
Hiring:
How often do we hear this, "The job description is an idea of what the role requires, but we're moving so fast around here, there are lots of things we'll pull you into as we go."
Or, "I'm not doing anything I was hired to do."
So, why are organizations putting so much attention on the skills needed for a job that a person may or may not actually be doing when they start day 1?
Instead, why not look for resumes that show resilience, learning agility, and curiosity? A person who led a $10M project to success has great experience and a win-record, but what is their collaboration style? How do they demonstrate humility, integrity and respect?
Often, these questions are asked once a candidate gets a few steps into an interview process. But, I ask...why not sooner?
Why is the standard resume format not demanding representation of human traits and values that make or break management, leadership, and grow the next generation of managers and leaders?
Our world is changing faster than ever.
We need to stop focusing on the trees and hire for the forest. Who will be the person able to do the job today well-enough AND who can adapt fast enough to do the job tomorrow?
Hire them.
Interesting articles on trait-based hiring:
- Eight Traits To Look For Before Bringing On Any New Hire (Forbes)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2022/02/10/eight-traits- to-look-for-before-bringing- on-any-new-hire/?sh= 513c627d319f - Top Traits and Qualities Employers Look for in 2022 (Zety) https://zety.com/blog/
traits-and-qualities- employers-look-for
Here's the thing: it's hard to do this.
That's why it's not happening.
Yet, the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. (Thanks to the band, The Fray, for the song lyric that has become a guiding principle for my entire life).
While it's not quite what I'm talking about, The Predictive Index has a behavioral assessment that starts to chip away at the traits that are natural for a candidate and that will emerge when they're on your team.
You can define the optimal range for a new hire across factors including dominance, patience, and formality. Once a candidate takes the 2-minute assessment, hiring teams have insight well-beyond a resume to indicate the traits a person brings to the job and whether those traits (not skills) will set them and the team up for success.
This unique link allows you to check out The Predictive Index for hiring (as part of my partnership agreement with them).
Who you hire today will (hopefully) be in your company far longer than the time they are in the role they were hired for. Find out how they learn, how they address conflict, how they share credit, how they build others.
You can teach them the skills.
