How to Hire Exceptional Talent

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Building your team is probably one of the most important things you can do as a Leader.

Bringing in people who complement the company’s values, purpose and direction is really going to provide you with a competitive advantage.

Cohesive teams who trust one another achieve great results, whereas individuals who join and are not rowing in the same direction hinder results.

An ineffective team’s output is usually less than the sum of the individuals, whereas an effective team’s output is far greater than the sum of the individual contributions.

So this is by no means a definitive list and you need to find people with the right behaviours that complement your team, but it should give you some good ideas to improve your hiring strategy.

7 Behaviours to Focus on When Hiring

1/ Growth Mindset - do they have a Growth Mindset? Do they see challenges and setbacks as part of the journey? Will they get back up again when they make mistakes and try again? Are they open to learning continuously and making things better? Fixed Minded people don’t like change, they don’t like being wrong or seeing other people succeed. Hire Growth-Minded people.

2/ Integrity - this is where people do the right thing even when no one is looking. It’s about people wanting to do something to the best of their ability because they care and they want to do a good job. It’s about following through on what you say you’re going to do and telling the truth. You need people you can trust and that feel trusted. Integrity shouldn’t be a value, it’s an expectation.

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3/ Energy - look for people with positive energy. There is nothing worst than having someone who is negative and leaving people feeling like “I never want to work with that person again”. Someone like this is never going to help the team. Look for people who are positively charged, want the team to succeed, and are open to new things.

4/ Intelligence - depending on the type of role you have open, does this person have the intellect and ability to apply knowledge to do the role? You can use assessments or specific questions to understand this better. This is critical, you are setting yourself and the employee up for a fail or a very very long ramp-up time if the role is above their ability.

5/ Culture Fit - does this person you’re looking to hire exhibit and share the same values as the company? If one of your company values is Courage, ask the candidate questions about where they have demonstrated this. If one of your values is Empathy, can they provide an example of where they have demonstrated empathy from their working experience?

6/ Ownership - do they hold on to the baton and only pass it on to the next owner once the recipient has confirmed ownership? Do they have the courage to speak up when something is off base? Will they take one for the team or another department, instead of making excuses or blaming someone else? Do they live above the line?

7/ Character - some roles are challenging. Especially some customer-facing roles. Does this person you’re hiring have grit? Will they work through the good and the bad times? What examples can they share with you where they have worked through adversity and found solutions, and persevered to get through? Are they a winner?

Finding great people to join your team is one of the most important things you can do as a Leader. Do you know the 80/20 Rule? This is an example of it. Critical and important work, and one of those areas that if you execute well on, it will provide tremendous results, a thriving environment, and continued success to the organisation for years to come.

All the best

David

Resources Of The Week

• YouTube Video - Tony Robbins - Fear. Tony is a motivational speaker and performance coach who has coached some of the world’s most influential people. In this video, he shares the blocker in life for most people and some practical steps to overcome this.

• Blog - 4 Mindset Shifts that will boost your confidence by Nick Wignall.

• Blog - Leaders vs Leaders of Leaders. Came across this blog that provided me with some value and great insight and I wanted to share. It uncovers the key differences in thinking and behaviour between a Leader leading individual contributors and a Leader leading other Leaders.

Quote of the Week

Last week’s issue: How to Celebrate your Team