Sorting Out Pieces of the Hiring Puzzle

It is very frustrating for most managers to find that their employees lack a sense of urgency and show little in the way of initiative. How do you get employees who are self-motivated. Well, in searching for good staff, there are three things to look for: Can Do, Will Do and the ever elusive ‘Fit’.
 
Can do refers to the skills and abilities of the candidates for a particular position and how well they conform to the competencies and requirements of that position. Much of this information can be obtained through reviewing resumes, doing reference checks and interviewing. It’s perhaps the easiest of the three pieces of the hiring puzzle to sort out.

Will do is much more difficult as you are trying to determine, if you hire a certain candidate, he or she will actually do what they say they can do! In other words, do they have a sense of urgency and will they take the initiative to act, and keep acting until a successful outcome is achieved.
 
Fit refers to the extent to which the prospective employee would find a home in your culture. Every organization has a different culture and that culture is usually very strong.
 
A very common complaint from senior managers and owners of companies is that the people they hire lack this sense of urgency to get a job done. In fact, some see the greatest sense of urgency displayed at the end of the day when the company parking lot empties in the blink of an eye!
 
Another common complaint has to do with an unwillingness to take the initiative and do something. Some may feel that the lack of initiative is an inherent characteristic but it is my belief that this is a symptom of the way the organization is managed.
 
It only takes a few occasions when someone who has taken the initiative to do something is criticized for “taking things into his own hands.” Insecure managers get mighty antsy around people with get up and go! They feel threatened because people are acting without asking for permission or they are not waiting for ‘orders’ from on high.
 
A keen sense of urgency and a willingness to take the initiative are two characteristics that are prized by smart leaders. So, the question is, can a sense of urgency and a bias for taking the lead be taught, bought or caught?
 
The “ready, fire, aim” kind of urgency espoused by Tom Peters in his book, In Search of Excellence, published some fifteen years ago is not the kind of urgency that works.
 
Taught
 
The urgency I am talking about is a more directed sense of “let’s get on with it.” Some people just have a strong sense of fear of failure that prevents them from using their initiative. For these people, it is important to provide a nurturing management style and a “safety net” for risk taking. It means creating an environment where its “ok” to fail. You can set up situations where if there is failure, the consequences are not to dire. This is a proven method for teaching people that learning from mistakes is acceptable. It is important to use that new knowledge to improve the next time the same set of circumstances arises.
 
Other actions you can take to instill that valuable sense of urgency and willingness to take the initiative, include setting clear goals, agreeing on the definition of the assignment, setting deadlines for various steps along the way and coaching the employee along the path.
 
Bought
 
Hiring people who are self-motivated by a sense of urgency and initiative is an art. You need to look at the kinds of thing that they have done in their career and even in their growing up years to see if there is evidence of motivated behaviour. Did they take the lead in a school event? Did they initiate a project? Have they accomplished a lot in their career. Is there evidence of high achievement in their background?
 
Once you find the highly self-motivated types you have to make sure that they are working in jobs that are ideally suited to them. If they are in a team situation, it may be better to make them a team leader rather than a team member. If a project requires making timely decisions, maybe that’s where the person might fit.
 
Caught
 
You can provide the environment and climate such that people “catch” the sense of urgency and understand that risk taking and using initiative are valued traits. You can almost tell from the moment you enter the premises of some companies whether they are like ivy, sleepers, creepers or leapers. Sleepers have no sense of urgency. Creepers are cautious in the extreme. Leapers are the companies that want to get ahead, that want to achieve their goals and communicate that fact to everyone.
 
All-in-all, creating a workforce with a sense of urgency and a willingness to take the initiative is the dream of many leaders. You can buy the talent if you know what to look for. You can teach people how to overcome fear of failure. You can create the “let’s just do it” environment. People are flexible. They will respond to whatever environment you want to create.