UA-31036726-1

What if People came with Nutrition Labels?

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Summary: Finding and hiring people is a process many people dislike. What if candidates came with a nutrition label just like our food?

It’s the necessary, laborious process that many people dislike. Finding, interviewing and hiring a new employee. After all it would be so much easier if every person came with a  nutrition label, you know like the ones we see on every product in the grocery store. Or maybe a bar code we could scan that would tell us everything we need to know so we wouldn’t have to guess about their skills, attitude or personality. Ahhh…that would be great!

 

What if People came with Nutrition Labels?

 

Well its not exactly a nutrition label or a bar code, a resume can help guide us about a person. Just like a nutrition label it can only provide with relevant information if we know what we are looking for, for example, are we more concerned with calories, fat or sodium.  Only then will the label give us what we are looking for and let us know if it acceptable to us.

A resume is the same. What are you looking for, what’s important to you  - skills, results, accomplishments, industry experience, or something else. Once you know this, the resume you are reviewing becomes more relevant and provide insight. Just like a nutrition label, you need to know what is important before you start reading.  Before you look at one resume, know what is meaningful to you. We can easily be distracted by “shiny objects” that may or may not help us in the long run.

What is important to you when reviewing a resume?

Filed Under: Hiring/Firing, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

A Case of the Listening Ears

December 4, 2012 By

Summary:  Lessons learned after being given a case of “listening ears” – lost my voice.

Listening is important to succeed. You need to listen to your clients if you want to serve them. You need to listen to your suppliers to ensure you will receive what you need. You need to listen to your employees if you want yo help them succeed (which in turn will make your business successful). Listening is one of those things we all say we do well, myself included. However in practice it can be a different story.

whisper1 320x213 A Case of the Listening Ears

Courtesy of PhotoExpress

I have always considered myself a good listener, people have even commented to me about my excellent listening skills. Well, there is always more to learn as I found out. I have been given a good case of Listening Ears – I lost my voice. When you can’t speak you are given no other option but to listen. When you can’t speak it is amazing what more you pick up on.

What I learned:

People will fill in the gaps. I typically all for extra silence to let a person know they can continue. Apparently I need to give people more. I need to stop thinking in the pauses in a conversation. Let the other person do it and they will share more.

Carefully pick my words. When you are limited to what you can say, you close your words more carefully even when getting straight to the point. That does not mean being abrupt or rude just more selective.

Ask questions. When I wasn’t clear instead of trying to put many confusion to words I Would also more questions and show them to explain. This would usually clear up my thoughts.

If you were given a case of listening was what would you learn?

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication, Leadership Tagged With: ,

Are you a Good Listener?

October 30, 2012 By

Summary:  Are you a good listener? You hear what they are saying but are you listening? How to turn it around.

Are you a good listener? Most people when asked this question will say “yes” or “of course”. I hear what everyone tells me. You may indeed hear what they are saying but are you listening?

listen 320x269 Are you a Good Listener?

Does it sound like I’m splitting hairs?  Possibly.  Let’s look at the definition of Listening according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

“To hear something with thoughtful attention”

The part of the definition I like is “thoughtful attention”. This means giving the person talking to us our full attention. Lets be honest and admit that this isn’t easy for us to do. After all we have a long list of “to do” items, meetings to attend, clients and calls to make. Now when you are asked the question “Are you a good listener?” you may think twice.

How to turn it around.

Clear Your Mind.  When someone comes to you to talk, ask for a moment to clear your head. Set aside all the “noise” in your head and focus your attention on them.

No Judgments. Don’t think about what you are going to say in response or judge their thoughts/ideas. Let them get through their thought process.

Clarify. Show you were listening by summarizing or asking questions to clarify your understanding. They will appreciate the extra attention you have given to them.

What will you get in return? You will find the people around you will open up more, share more ideas and will trust you with their thoughts.

 

 

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

Factors for an Interview

October 16, 2012 By

Summary: Hiring and having difficulties finding initiative and other traits. Keep these factors in mind for a more successful interview.

Been having some interesting conversations with people who are hiring. The major complaint? Finding people with the right work ethic or attitude. They hire folks who have the skills and once they start working – the lack of initiative and work ethic seem to disappear. As you can imagine, this can lead to a very interesting discussion.

 

Photoxpress 305103 262x320 Factors for an Interview

Image courtesy of PhotoXpress

Let’s skip straight to the best way to tackle this…to find out before someone starts working for you about how they will behave on the job. This is why three interview process is critical. Here are the factors you need to keep in mind:

Clear Understanding. Know what it is you are looking for in a future employee. Not only skills, add into the mix personality.

Questions. Determine ahead of time the questions you will ask to asses the skills and traits a person has, if you leave it up to chance. Getting good results will also be up to chance.

Listen. Too often when we hear an answer we are looking for, we stop listening. Keep listening until the person has finished talking.

Too often when interviewing we focus on skills to the point of forgetting this person will be part of your team and needs to work with the others in the team.

That type of questions do you ask during an interview?

 

Filed Under: Hiring/Firing, Leadership Tagged With: , ,

Imagine the results of accountability

August 7, 2012 By

Summary:  What would it mean to you, your business, your people and clients if your employees took responsibility and accountability for their actions on a daily basis? Your first step to get you there.

Are you letting them be accountable and responsible for their work and actions?I’m sure your first reaction is “of course” and you probably are most of the time. The hard part is to do it all of the time. So what does that mean?

Photoxpress 2822837 320x213 Imagine the results of accountability

Courtesy of PhotoXpress

Think about what it mean if your people took responsibility not only for their actions but for their decisions and the outcome. They determined the best course of action on a daily basis. It could be in dealing with their co-workers, clients, suppliers or you. What would that mean to you and your company?

Do the words freedom, engaged, happy and collaboration come to mind? They should, as this is what will be experienced.

To do this will require self restraint on your part, yes the opposite trait of what has gotten you to this point. What I mean is you will need to let your people come up with own solutions. Next you will need patience, to let them try and work it through. As you see it will not be an easy road in the short-term. The pay-off is in the long run.

A quick way to get this going is when they come to you with a situation – don’t give them an answer. Ask them to come up with some solutions or actions to be taken. That may mean they will have to go away and think about it. That’s ok. When they return, talk through their ideas without interjecting your option. Yes, this is difficult. You will need to give them the time and space to reach a proper resolution.

Remember patience and self-restraint are key.

Share below your experiences and the results you have seen.

Filed Under: Authentic Leadership, Employee Communication, Employee Satisfaction, Leadership Tagged With: , , ,
«Older Posts