WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.160 Today, we're going to talk about how to hire great people. 2 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:10.120 You know, not every member gets to see the process and thinking involved when they were 3 00:00:10.120 --> 00:00:11.120 hired. 4 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:15.300 I've found that when everybody understands this process and this thinking, they know 5 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.760 what kind of people we're looking for. 6 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:21.840 It helps them become confident in their own job, firstly, and then look out for great 7 00:00:21.840 --> 00:00:25.520 talent to help grow the team. 8 00:00:25.520 --> 00:00:31.240 I think we've all had at some point that feeling about, am I up to the task? 9 00:00:31.240 --> 00:00:32.960 That imposter syndrome. 10 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:34.260 Why did they hire me? 11 00:00:34.260 --> 00:00:35.600 Can I do this job? 12 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.200 Well, what if we're able to put that aside? 13 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:43.120 Get our team to relax because they understand the process and thinking involved. 14 00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:48.600 So, as we go through this, I'm hoping to have you accomplish three things. 15 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:53.960 Today, I'd love you to settle down as to why you were hired, two, help look out for great 16 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:59.920 talent, and three, know how to be involved in the hiring process yourself, whether you're 17 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:04.300 going to hire others or maybe one day you're applying to another job and you know exactly 18 00:01:04.300 --> 00:01:06.200 how to go about it. 19 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:11.400 So, I found that this simple training helps build a trust culture. 20 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:17.860 It also sets very clear expectations for us about how we're meant to grow and what's expected 21 00:01:17.860 --> 00:01:20.840 of us and what are we really committing to. 22 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:25.280 You know, I've made a lot of mistakes hiring people, but I've taken a lot of risks with 23 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:29.920 people that maybe on paper I should not have hired and have turned out to be some of the 24 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.520 best hires I've ever made. 25 00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:37.800 So we're going to talk about this, so as we go through this, let me take a minute and 26 00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:40.680 share with you some of the things I've learned. 27 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:48.280 I spent a lot of time looking at, you know, what is a great predictor of a quality hire? 28 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:52.640 What's the connection between doing a few hours of interviews and then suddenly hiring 29 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.520 somebody, you know, entrusting them as part of our business and suddenly they're in the 30 00:01:57.520 --> 00:01:58.520 team? 31 00:01:58.520 --> 00:02:00.800 You know, what's this predictor? 32 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:03.560 Here's three terrible predictors that I have found. 33 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:04.560 One is first impressions. 34 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.720 They are a terrible predictor of success. 35 00:02:07.720 --> 00:02:12.280 And the reason is some people don't interview well, they may be nervous, it may just be 36 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:14.040 their personality. 37 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:19.200 And some of the best people that I've hired, I wasn't really sure of them after the very 38 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:23.920 first impressions, but as I got to know them, I really took a liking to them. 39 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:25.080 The second is rule of thumb. 40 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.440 Well, I got a good feeling about this, you know, we've always done it this way. 41 00:02:29.440 --> 00:02:32.000 It's sort of a quick, haphazard way. 42 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.600 These are terrible predictors. 43 00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:35.520 And gut decisions. 44 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.560 That I found, well, I just have a gut feel. 45 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.200 I want to get into what are the weak predictors. 46 00:02:41.200 --> 00:02:42.600 So those were terrible predictors. 47 00:02:42.600 --> 00:02:46.080 But what are predictors that sometimes are, but mostly are weak? 48 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:51.520 And that are skills, experience, how competent are they, and compensation. 49 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:55.500 Well, they'll take less money, they'll do it for less, or whatever it is. 50 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:59.440 You know, while skills and experience and so forth are some part of it, they are weak 51 00:02:59.440 --> 00:03:02.640 predictors of success in that role. 52 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:05.560 But here are some strong predictors that I've learned. 53 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:06.940 Achiever patterns. 54 00:03:06.940 --> 00:03:10.080 Do they show patterns of problem solving? 55 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.040 Do they have the ability to learn? 56 00:03:13.040 --> 00:03:15.080 Can they pivot quickly? 57 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.120 Can they adapt to change? 58 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.400 Are they good at problem solving? 59 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:20.400 Are they good thinkers? 60 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.180 Are they good with people? 61 00:03:22.180 --> 00:03:23.720 Can they work in a team? 62 00:03:23.720 --> 00:03:29.160 Do they have, you know, at least a reasonable amount of emotional intelligence? 63 00:03:29.160 --> 00:03:33.080 And mostly, are they committed to their own growth and development? 64 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:38.280 I can't tell you how many interviews or conversations I've had with team members where every time 65 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:42.160 I'm with them, I'm kind of, I have more vision for their lives than they do. 66 00:03:42.160 --> 00:03:44.880 I'm more excited about the career than they are. 67 00:03:44.880 --> 00:03:50.240 You know, I cannot be more committed to your growth than you are, I often tell them. 68 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:55.680 And so I ask the question, are you as committed to your own growth and development as I am? 69 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.560 I'm investing in you, in your leadership skills. 70 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.160 It's why you're here. 71 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:02.200 It's why you're doing this training. 72 00:04:02.200 --> 00:04:06.320 Your organization is committing to your development. 73 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:11.160 And that is key, that you yourself are also committed to it. 74 00:04:11.160 --> 00:04:15.840 And so what I've found is that for a lot of people, you know, we want to match the growth 75 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:16.839 curve. 76 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:18.200 We've talked a bit about this before. 77 00:04:18.200 --> 00:04:22.760 If the team's growth curve is here and the individual's growth curve is slower, and that 78 00:04:22.760 --> 00:04:27.000 gap is getting bigger and bigger and bigger, what's really happening is they're leaving 79 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:28.280 slowly. 80 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:33.000 So instead of doing that, it's better just to help them leave with grace because nobody 81 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.080 wants to constantly feel left behind. 82 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.560 Look, some people don't necessarily have the capacity or they have other things going on 83 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:40.000 in their personal lives. 84 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.440 There are other factors that could cause that. 85 00:04:42.440 --> 00:04:44.560 But either way, it's good to recognize. 86 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:46.240 And some grow faster than the team. 87 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:50.160 So if the team's growing here and they're growing faster and faster, then it's our job 88 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:54.520 as leaders to make more and more space for them and keep the best people. 89 00:04:54.520 --> 00:04:58.400 You know, as we're going through this process, we can't match everybody on the growth curve. 90 00:04:58.400 --> 00:04:59.880 But everybody can be. 91 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.520 fully committed to their own growth and development. 92 00:05:02.520 --> 00:05:05.440 And so here are the three essential predictors 93 00:05:05.440 --> 00:05:08.200 that I have found that have really worked for me 94 00:05:08.200 --> 00:05:09.240 hiring great people. 95 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:11.560 Number one is drive. 96 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:13.160 Do they have drive? 97 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:14.400 Do they get on with it? 98 00:05:14.400 --> 00:05:16.200 Are they self-starters? 99 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:17.440 Do they get up and go? 100 00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:19.880 Or do they have to really be monitored and told 101 00:05:19.880 --> 00:05:22.440 what to do every step of the way? 102 00:05:22.440 --> 00:05:25.040 That takes a tremendous amount of not just energy 103 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.720 from their team leader, 104 00:05:27.760 --> 00:05:31.120 but it also takes, it's a tremendous drag 105 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.160 on the whole organization. 106 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:35.960 They're the ones who always want 10 clarification questions 107 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:38.040 and then are really slow to implement. 108 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.440 That is tough for me to work with. 109 00:05:41.440 --> 00:05:44.240 The second is a leadership growth mindset. 110 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.200 They are really committed to learning as leaders. 111 00:05:47.200 --> 00:05:49.280 And every situation they go through, 112 00:05:49.280 --> 00:05:52.120 whether they fail or succeed or whatever it is, 113 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:53.480 they're learning all the time. 114 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:56.320 So I often ask members, what did you learn from that? 115 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.240 And finally, cultural fit. 116 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.840 You know, even if we got someone who's really a good fit, 117 00:06:01.840 --> 00:06:03.440 good leader, a lot of drive, 118 00:06:03.440 --> 00:06:06.120 but they have no cultural fit with our team, 119 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:07.640 there's no chemistry. 120 00:06:07.640 --> 00:06:09.920 And we don't have to love everybody perfectly, 121 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:12.720 but there has to be at least a basis for chemistry, 122 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:14.680 a way to work together. 123 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:18.320 So drive, leadership mindset, cultural fit. 124 00:06:18.320 --> 00:06:21.160 Those are the three things that I have found 125 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.800 are great or essential predictors. 126 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:25.400 So when you're hiring somebody, 127 00:06:25.400 --> 00:06:26.960 those are your objectives, right? 128 00:06:26.960 --> 00:06:28.600 You wanna know what's their drive, 129 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:30.480 what's their leadership mindset, what's their fit. 130 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.920 So drive, mindset and fit is we've broken out 131 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.680 three interviews to do exactly that. 132 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:38.280 So in the first interview, 133 00:06:38.280 --> 00:06:41.040 we really wanna establish that drive. 134 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:44.640 So here's how you do that with one question. 135 00:06:44.640 --> 00:06:48.160 You can do the entire process with one question. 136 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:50.320 Well, it's focused on one thing, 137 00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:52.200 but it has many, many questions. 138 00:06:52.200 --> 00:06:54.680 We usually take about two hours or more 139 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:56.080 to go through this process. 140 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:57.640 And what we're doing here, 141 00:06:57.640 --> 00:07:01.280 the strategy is to drill down as far as possible 142 00:07:01.280 --> 00:07:02.960 on one key question, 143 00:07:02.960 --> 00:07:08.000 and that is what is the hardest problem you've ever solved? 144 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:09.560 Now, sometimes people wanna share 145 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:11.840 their personal thing they've overcome, which is fine, 146 00:07:11.840 --> 00:07:14.080 but what we're trying to understand here 147 00:07:14.080 --> 00:07:18.720 is what is the hardest business problem that you've solved? 148 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:20.560 In other words, something that's fairly similar 149 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:23.080 to something they would actually solve here. 150 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.560 And what we're trying to determine is are they self-driven? 151 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.840 How did they take on the challenge? 152 00:07:28.840 --> 00:07:31.600 What did they, how did they overcome setbacks? 153 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:33.480 So you keep asking questions again, 154 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.680 and we've put a long list of questions together 155 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:38.160 to really drill down to that one key question. 156 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.360 What's the hardest problem? 157 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:40.560 How did you solve that? 158 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:42.480 How did you overcome that obstacle? 159 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:44.440 What made your approach different 160 00:07:44.440 --> 00:07:46.920 from your competitor's approach? 161 00:07:48.440 --> 00:07:50.360 There was a sales team, what number were you? 162 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:51.600 Well, I was number two. 163 00:07:51.640 --> 00:07:54.160 Well, what did number one do that you didn't do? 164 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.840 You know, we're really pressing in 165 00:07:55.840 --> 00:07:57.560 and pressing in and pressing in, 166 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.240 and we found that you know you've come 167 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:01.880 to the end of that questioning 168 00:08:01.880 --> 00:08:04.240 when they start to repeat themselves. 169 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:07.520 One of the keys I found is that the person 170 00:08:07.520 --> 00:08:11.320 who really solved the problem knows the detail. 171 00:08:11.320 --> 00:08:13.160 You know, the person who was on the team 172 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.640 who solved the problem runs out of detail along the way. 173 00:08:16.640 --> 00:08:18.280 So, you know, they can say, well, I did this, 174 00:08:18.280 --> 00:08:20.320 or they can make all sorts of claims 175 00:08:20.320 --> 00:08:22.960 about what they did in their previous jobs, 176 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:24.280 but at the end of the day, 177 00:08:24.280 --> 00:08:27.200 it's gonna come down to they will know the detail. 178 00:08:27.200 --> 00:08:28.600 And the more you press, 179 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.240 the more you get into the fine-grained detail, 180 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.360 you'll find out who really led it. 181 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:35.360 But when they start just repeating themselves, 182 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:36.520 you've come to the T-junction, 183 00:08:36.520 --> 00:08:39.840 you've come to the end of that interview. 184 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.400 Excuse me. 185 00:08:41.400 --> 00:08:43.200 So as you're going through that, 186 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.840 what we're doing here is we're really measuring 187 00:08:45.880 --> 00:08:50.440 their drive and their mindset to solving problems. 188 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:51.720 In the second interview, 189 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:55.600 we're now looking to try to understand, you know, 190 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.000 how not only do they solve problems, 191 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:01.240 but what are the areas of risk? 192 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:03.800 If we're gonna bring this person into our team, 193 00:09:03.800 --> 00:09:06.960 we wanna drill down into key areas 194 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:08.760 where they need the most support. 195 00:09:08.760 --> 00:09:11.400 Look, everybody needs support somewhere, right? 196 00:09:11.400 --> 00:09:13.720 We all need help somewhere. 197 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:16.440 And in that process, the question is, 198 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:20.800 what risk are we taking on as a company to equip them? 199 00:09:20.800 --> 00:09:22.840 You know, if you wanna hire a programmer 200 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:25.040 and they've never programmed before, 201 00:09:25.040 --> 00:09:27.560 maybe they're brilliant and great problem solving, 202 00:09:27.560 --> 00:09:30.480 committed to their leadership and maybe worth the risk. 203 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:31.960 Well, let's send them on a course. 204 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:33.640 I think this is the kind of person 205 00:09:33.640 --> 00:09:35.480 who is so passionate, so committed, 206 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:36.920 they're going to be a great hire. 207 00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:38.840 I've actually done that. 208 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:41.360 You know, I've hired teachers who had never taught before. 209 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:45.000 I've hired programmers who've never programmed before. 210 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:47.760 I've also hired some of the best programmers. 211 00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:50.160 One of them was the person who wrote the original book 212 00:09:50.160 --> 00:09:52.000 on that programming language. 213 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.960 Look, not everybody is the same. 214 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:55.480 So that's what we're trying to determine. 215 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:56.800 What's the risk involved? 216 00:09:56.800 --> 00:09:59.960 How much work is gonna be to get them fully up? 217 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:06.240 speed to do their job. And so, you know, the third interview then is Chemistry and Fit 218 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:11.600 and here's where I would bring in other members of the team. Let them meet at least two or 219 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:17.840 three other team members and here's what I like to do in that interview. Ask your team 220 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:24.280 members in front of the new potential hire, what do you wish you knew before you started 221 00:10:24.280 --> 00:10:29.100 working here? Now, if you have a culture of trust, they will actually answer that question 222 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:35.100 if they are nervous or hesitant or soft, you know, and I say don't, you know, tell 223 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:42.100 them exactly what it is. And here's the message it sends to the new hire. Wow, if that person 224 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:48.580 can say that in front of the boss, this is a good culture. Here you can speak up, here 225 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:54.220 you can say what you think and you're measuring their response to that. You know, not many 226 00:10:54.220 --> 00:11:00.020 people have ever been given the opportunity to be in such a culture, a culture of trust. 227 00:11:00.020 --> 00:11:04.360 And so, they might be suspicious at first but when they hear team members saying things 228 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:08.980 like that, when they hear what they've learned and the second question I like to ask team 229 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:13.600 members is what's the biggest thing you've learned in your own leadership since you've 230 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.740 been working here? You know, I didn't see myself as a leader, I see myself as a leader 231 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:25.180 now. I didn't understand, you know, why they hired me, I get it now. And so, that for us 232 00:11:25.180 --> 00:11:30.300 is the key. So, three essential predictors, their drive, their cultural fit and their 233 00:11:30.300 --> 00:11:36.180 commitment to their own leadership development. Here's the bottom line, never let someone 234 00:11:36.180 --> 00:11:42.340 else be more committed to your growth and development than you are. That's the key. 235 00:11:42.340 --> 00:11:43.540 I hope you enjoyed this training.