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A new COO client is “having trouble” with her Chief Technical Officer. As she explained it, he understands all the problems because she has explained them clearly and consistently. To his face. In frequent meetings. So I spent time with him yesterday and whaddayathink? Me thinks she is living in outer space ‘cuz he had only a vague idea that there were problems, let alone the ability to name them.
Come on. Don’t mess with this one. When something has to be said, say it. Be decent and kind… and say it again. And again, if needed. And then make it a conversation – WITH the employee. If your CTO doesn’t know what she’s doing right and wrong, it is ON YOU. (Like everything else managerial).
When you are delivering news that nobody likes to deliver or receive, be direct. Blunt. Frank. Candid. Blurt it out if that's what it takes. Saying it decently matters….a lot…but actually saying it matters more.
Once said, the most helpful and professional thing you can do is to write a concise email that summarizes your observations AND outlines the agreements that were made to fix the problems. If those agreements were not made, then you might as well have been whistling a happy tune because "if nothing changes, nothing changes".
Just state the facts, and if you didn’t make your points in person this will make sure the job is done.
Try this: in your next 1:1 meeting ask specific questions about the new behaviors you discussed the week before. Continue to ask, ask, ask until the new behaviors are routine.
In the past seven years The Sopranos gave us 86 hours of fun in New Jersey…and 86 hours of darn good management instruction. The best lesson of all was offered up in the finale: speculate all you want about outcomes, but don’t believe that you ever really know what’s going to happen. Be ready for anything.
In New Jersey and in business it’s one thing or the other. Either your brother-in-law gets whacked or an employee defects to the competition with no notice. The head of another family gets run over by his own car or your sales plan falls flat.
You just never know.
Tony’s managerial talent was in knowing how to navigate the waters in which he swam. OK, he had one tiny advantage: he could whack the competition when things got too hot. But otherwise, Tony faced the same management junk day after day, just like the rest of us. He took off that bathrobe every morning, drove to work and fiercely led his team. All the while he was guided by his code of ethics (bad ones, but he definitely had a mission statement that he lived by). Yo. I offer you management a la Tony.
Trust, but verify.
Give people freedom to do their jobs, but stay close.
Offer guidance regularly.
Hire talented people who have specific skills and talent for that job.
Dedicate yourself to forging a tight team that gets the job done.
Bada Bing.
Jerry Seinfeld has a funny routine about dating and job interviews. He talks about their similarities except that at an interview there’s very little chance you’ll be naked at the end.
In both cases we are hoping to fall in love, and I’m not sure which one has more pitfalls. Instead of being “blinded by love” interviewers are so very susceptible to being “blinded by glare”.
Glare is the blindingly attractive quality that the interviewer quickly falls in love with.
Glare is a defining characteristic of the candidate and it shows up early.
Glare blinds the interviewer with its bright, shiny appeal.
Glare is often what causes good managers to make bad hires.
Sad but true: interviewing is usually a one way street. A bad first interview (or first date) pretty much guarantees no seconds. And…if only it was true that a good first impression guaranteed a great fit in love or in life.
As a manager - Beware the glare. Ignore those first tugs at your heartstrings. DO NOT fall in love on a first date or a first interview.
Hebrew National Hot Dogs had a slogan for years that was “we answer to a higher authority”…and the higher authority was God. Pretty darn high.
When you are hiring, to whom or to what standard do you answer to? I can just about guarantee that if your standard isn’t defined as “great” then it’s just not good enough. Consider that good news because that means your hires can continue to get better.
One of my clients is interviewing for a key position. At the start of the process they had decided to hire only people who would be the best possible fit. Let’s call that “hiring only A level candidates”. Except that a “B” candidate has shown up and they are talking themselves into hiring him.
(By the way, the definitions of A’s, B’s and even C’s comes from companies who offer testing and assessments to help ensure better hires. More on that in tomorrow’s post).
Be warned: it’s really really really hard to hire only A’s because that means you will NOT hire people who are quite good. Because a “B” is quite good, right? In other words, holding out for a fantastic hire means you take a pass on a merely good hire.
Maybe that sounds crazy but in fact, it’s a piece of advice that can change your business. I recommend two great books on this topic called, FIRST, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS by Marcus Buckingham and SOAR WITH YOUR STRENGTHS by Donald Clifton. Two classics, really.
I promise…you absolutely can learn how to recognize talent and increase your chances of making better hires, but it starts with a difficult commitment. I encourage you to read those books and commit to hiring only people who will be A’s in your company. Once you commit you can learn how to do it.Try this: read or podcast those books. Totally worth it.
