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Why should I follow your lead? 3 questions YOU need to answer!

November 9, 2011 by Tom Leave a Comment

Why do people follow you? Is it because of your position? Your experience? Your knowledge? Your relationships? Your tenure?

Whatever the reason that they follow you today, you’ll get more from your team if you can answer yes to the following three questions:

Do you care for me?
Can you help me?
Can I trust you?

Do you care for me?
It’s an old saw, but it’s true “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Really – if you don’t genuinely care about the people you lead, you will NEVER get their best. You can’t fake this. People can see a hypocrite a mile away, and they will see right through you.

Start to see them as people – just like you – and enter into what matters to them. Time and again I interview people about their “good boss” experiences. Do you know what I hear *every* time? “My boss cared about me. S/he would always ask about how things are going in my personal life.”

Can you help me?
What if I really care, but I can’t *do* anything about it? Understanding their situation is comforting at one level, but to really go deeper you’ve got to be able to *do* something about it. Your followers need to know that you care and have the capacity to make a difference for them.

Can I trust you?
I recently read that the trait that consistently appeared in the lives of the most successful salespeople was integrity. Integrity – it’s a word we don’t use often these days – mostly because it’s so relatively uncommon. If you want to have significant influence in the lives of your followers, they have to know that your “yes means yes, and your no means no” – that “you do the same things when people are looking – and when no one is looking”

If you can answer “yes” to these three questions, your influence – your leadership will expand. You’ll go from getting the minimum from your team to getting their commitment and passion to support your initiatives.

Saying Yes to these questions is a key part of “Raising your game”

Dave Ramsey’s 12 steps to a proper hire

October 29, 2011 by Tom Leave a Comment

You’re here because you’re looking for help with hiring, right?

You’re in the right place.

I was recently speaking with the president of a company who has been having some challenges with employee recruitment and retention. I thought it might be helpful to share Dave Ramsey’s thoughts on hiring.

The smaller the team, the more important your hiring decision.

Choose well.

From Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership 1 day seminar

12 steps to a proper hire:

1. Pray

Dear God,
Please send the exact person You want on our team, a person who needs employment, and will do the job well.
Please keep the crazy people away.
Amen

2. Key Results Area – (KRA)

This is a JOB DESCRIPTION for the ROLE that you need to fill.
This defines the expectations you have for them.

This contains:

3 Roman numerals covering the job area

4-5 sentences that explain the job –

This provides an understanding of what “succcess” looks like for the person in that role.

You must have this – a written job description for the role.

3. Resume

These are almost useless, but they can be a simple filter to eliminate
candidates who cannot be bothered to do a good job creating one.

4. Personality test

Dave uses DISC as a basic test to help identify whether the person
is a fit for the role.

I like to use DISC with my clients because it is simple to understand, and we can determine action plans which can give immediate results.

Want to know more? Here’s a quick video overview of DISC!

5. Do you like them personally?

It takes more than talent. Chemistry and personality are important.
You should plan to interview the candidate several times.
5 interviews would not be inappropriate.
Take your time making this decision.

You will spend a lot of time with this person after hiring them. Don’t rush through the hiring.

Making it “harder to get in” by finding the right person the first time is will save you countless headaches and will save you money in the long run.

6. Do they “light up” when they talk about this position?

You want people who are delighted to be in this role on your team.
If they do not, it’s a red flag!

7. Compensation calculation, policy and benefits review

So that they know what they are getting in return for their efforts.

8. Personal budget review – Really – on paper, on purpose

Leaders at Dave Ramsey’s organization actually work out a personal
budget with the candidate to confirm that s/he can live on what they
will be paid.

Dave tells the story of a woman who worked for him for $13K but actually needed $30K to live. It didn’t work out.

Dave feels responsible for his team members and wants to make sure
that they can make it on their income.

This may not be appropriate for you and your team, but it’s an interesting point – what questions SHOULD you be asking of your potential team members?

9. References

Dave says that these, too, are almost useless – it’s a “stupid check” to see if the candidate is “stupid enough” to give references who will say bad things about them.

Sometimes they do. Call the references. Eliminating just one bad hire makes it worth doing every time!

10. Spousal interview

Dave says “If [his wife] Sharon gets a ‘feeling’ that means the person is not a fit”
Dave does not hire the person. He says ignoring Sharon’s “feelings” has cost him tens of thousands of dollars over the years, so he listens now.

The hiring manager, and the hiring manager’s spouse take the candidate and the candidate’s spouse to dinner.

This less formal interview helps provide an independent evaluation of the candidate.

11. Mission statements (company and personal)

Does the candidate’s personal mission statement line up with the mission of your organization?
If not, don’t hire them!

Do you have a mission, vision, values and goals – on a single sheet of paper that everyone can understand?
If not, or if yours needs a tuneup, I can help you with that so that you can QUICKLY put that together.
It doesn’t have to be complicated – in fact, if it is, it probably isn’t working for you.
Email me below for my one pager – 6 questions to ask to engage your team on Mission, Vision, and Values

12. 90 day probationary period for the company and the person.

I’m not looking for the ‘best’ players, I’m looking for the ‘right’ ones
— Dave Ramsey

A person hired properly will perform better, will not cause problems, and will be more likely to stay.

Hiring the right way is a critical part of building your team.

Don’t miss out on DISC as a tool to help you with hiring.

240-668-4799

Hire the best you can afford

November 24, 2010 by Tom Leave a Comment

As a business leader you’re constantly looking for ways to get more done, and in this economy we all understand the need financially to “do more with less.”

When the time comes to hire, remember that this is the person you will count on to get those things done. Let’s say that you have narrowed it down to a couple of great candidates, and one is more expensive than the other, but brings stronger domain knowledge, people skills, and leadership experience. You might think “That candidate is overqualified for this role. I shouldn’t hire him. Besides, I really can’t afford to pay him the $5K or $10K more per year than I was planning to pay for that role.”

Stop.
Right.
There.

Now is the time that you’re setting the stage for future success or failure.
Everything rises and falls on leadership.

That additional labor cost to your business is *not* purely a business expense. If you hire poorly you’re right. It’s an expense, and one you can ill afford. If you hire well, and even go over your planned budget on payroll, it can be a significant investment in future growth.

If you think small in these short term decisions, you will regret it over the long haul.

Hire the best you can afford. Hire team members who are smarter than you are, or who have better leadership skills than you do. They can help you, if you trust them and let them lead. You’ll never experience that if you take the “safe” and “affordable” route in hiring.

With the economy being in the state it’s in, there are lots of excellent candidates out there who can help you build better stuff, ship more product, sell more units, or lower your operational costs. Look for those excellent candidates, and be willing to re-think your pay range when you uncover that star you’ve been looking for.

Stretching yourself in this situation is just one part of raising your game.