Category: Job Description and Ad

Replacing a Departed Leader? Avoid the Pendulum Effect

When replacing a departed leader at or near the top of the pyramid, it is human nature to focus on the areas that the past leader lacked. While it seems to make sense that the company would grow by improving the leader’s weaknesses, I’ve experienced two cases where the focus on the weaknesses overshadowed the strengths required for the position.

In both cases the leader retired after a long stint from a very public position. One was a town manager, and the other was a senior minister. In both cases committees were formed and the members were intelligent, influential and knowledgeable of the requirements, yet in both cases the committees recommended and hired someone who was almost an extreme opposite of the former leader.

Dictionary.com provides the following definition of the pendulum effect:

1. Also called pendulum law. Physics. a law, discovered by Galileo in 1602, that describes the regular, swinging motion of a pendulum by the action of gravity and acquired momentum.
2. the theory holding that trends in culture, politics, etc., tend to swing back and forth between opposite extremes.

In definition one, gravity is responsible for the action. The bottom of the pendulum is the steady, stable state (equilibrium). The bottom is where the pendulum wants to go, but it overshoots its goal, then tries to return to it. Definition two is what we see in the political system: driven by a group of people who don’t like the current administration, the majority votes for the other party.

In the case of the town manager (politics, but not elected), the previous leader was a micromanager and controller. While the townspeople didn’t know the specifics of how the town operation functioned, it appeared to be well run and it was well regarded, desirable, and ranked at the top for towns in the state. What wasn’t apparent by many was that the managers under the top manager never had to make decisions because the town manager would approve them all. The committee that was formed to hire the next town manager decided they wanted more of a delegator for the next leader. The pendulum had swung to the other extreme. While I approve of more delegation, there was no transition plan put in place for the new manager. It was like the inmates ran the asylum: total chaos! Luckily, after a few years and much angst by all who worked there and those on the fringes, the 2nd level leaders adapted to the new management style.

In the case of the senior minister, the pendulum swung from an introverted intellectual to an extroverted multitasker. The search committee surveyed the congregation, looking for a scholar who was a good teacher, but they also wanted someone warmer with a higher emotional intelligence. While the new pastor received his PhD soon after starting in his new position, his sermons were not as intellectual as the previous minister, and many came to miss the old sermons.

Both of these positions are incredibly demanding, and there is a very long list of skills needed to succeed.

If the starting point for the new leader is the position of the departed leader, then you will likely get someone who on the other side of the pendulum arc. The further away the previous leader was from the stable, steady state (amplitude), the further the next leader will be from equilibrium due to the kneejerk reaction to the prior’s weaknesses. That’s just how a pendulum works – if it’s pushed a large distance from the bottom, it will go the same distance up the other side. No matter the position to be filled, people tend to try to hire someone who was either successful in a position, or the opposite of someone who failed.

The pendulum effect can be disrupted by benchmarking the job. The benchmarking process that we use for hiring uncovers the requirements of the job, and doesn’t focus on the people who may have previously held the position.

It’s important to understand what is unique about one job versus other related jobs. The critical success factors (I prefer key accountabilities) are determined through a process of brainstorming, grouping and prioritizing. Then, a handful of stakeholders take an online assessment – not about themselves, but about the job. This creates the benchmark for the ideal candidate: the one that can stay in equilibrium due to possessing the behaviors, skills, motivation, and acumen needed to succeed.

Leadership positions can make or break a business. Companies need to stop guessing and start assessing the candidates, then compare them to a customized job benchmark to find the ideal leader.

Get the Perfect Hire Blueprint eBook on Amazon for detailed info on the entire hiring process, or contact us to get a personalized solution for your business!

Bride or Groom: What’s Your Project Management Style?

Everyone could be or has been a manager of a project, but some people are more natural PMs than others, and different projects require different skills and behaviors. I recently experienced a stressful situation that was resolved though good project management.

My son had a winter wedding scheduled Saturday, January 23, 2016. The bride had planned every detail for the perfect “destination” wedding: everything from the music for the father/daughter and mother/son dances to the 8 bridesmaids’ hair and makeup appointments; from the hotel rooms to the chair covers. Her wedding day was going to be just like she always imagined it.

But then everything went wrong.

The winter destination wedding wasn’t in a tropical locale, but in northern Virginia. The odds were good that it would go well because the weather is typically moderate at that time, but this particular weekend turned out to be the Blizzard of 2016: the forecast called for 20-30 inches of snow. The contract with the venue called for cancelation of the event if the snow measured over 12 inches.

The Wednesday before the wedding, it was clear that their perfect day was looking less perfect. All the planning in the world could not account for the state of Virginia’s lack of snow preparedness. Tough choices were going to have to be made when faced with no venue, no attendees, and no vendors (photographer, videographer, DJ, etc).

These tough situations call for objective thinking. We needed someone who could separate the emotion of a personal event and months of planning from the reality of the situation at hand, but also had the authority and tact to get a solution. There was really only one person who could do it: the groom.

Luckily the groom had some engineering PM experience and a support network of people he could count on, including one who he knew could help: his father. Both could think objectively, logically, and unemotionally, and communicate tactfully under pressure.

The results were nothing short of memorable. That was the word used most by anyone who could attend. The local news covered the event, and the news segment was picked up nationwide:

The bride had the organizational skills and the vision to plan the perfect wedding, but with so much emotionally invested, she needed someone she could trust – someone who had complementary skills and understood her vision. While postponing the wedding might have been a typical choice, clear thinking and objective problem solving minds made the event happen.

When your company is looking for someone to act as a project manager, you need to consider the project. Does it require someone who does thorough planning and creates a vision for everyone to rally behind, or does the project require quick decisions, actions and objective thinking under pressure to make things happen? Don’t just look for someone with PM experience –look for someone with the right kind of PM experience, values, behaviors and skills. In rare cases, as the one above, you ultimately need both styles for a successful result.

Benchmarking the Project Manager job will identify exactly what is needed for the candidate to be successful in that position. The assessment process will identify the right person for the job and weed out those who only seem to be the right fit and might have been erroneously hired if not for a process that identifies the ideal candidates.

For more on this topic visit mpoweradvisors.com

How to Post a Great Job Ad

In order to make a good hire, you first need to attract great candidates. Writing a highly targeted ad using the right keywords and phrases will attract more qualified candidates and make the hiring process much smoother.

What separates good ads from average ads is how they are written: the ad should be written to “speak to” your ideal candidate. When the right person reads the ad, he should think, “That is my ideal job.” If he thinks that, he is more likely to apply, and also more likely to do any prequalification activities that you require.

You Talkin’ to ME?

Your ad should start with WHY. Why should the person work for your company in this position? The WHY is the motivator. The WHY is the reason your company in business – not the thing your company does. The job ad needs to speak to the ideal target candidate, and you may have only one chance to catch her attention. Studies have shown that what the company stands for is as important as the job itself.

If you’ve determined what skills and motivators an ideal candidate would need in order to be successful, this will tell you what kind of person you are looking for to fill a certain position. Would the person be better suited to the position if he were task oriented or people oriented? Does he love the details, or is he faster paced? Does he value a high return of investment, or does the job require more social awareness? Even within a company culture, each role within a company will have specific requirements, and the person in the role may need to be motivated differently than the others. What motivates a salesperson might not be the same as what motivates a customer service representative.

For instance, if you are hiring a bookkeeper or controller, you need to attract someone who is detail oriented and who likes to deal with financial matters. The ad might use words like Careful, Cautious, Quality, and a phrase like I get it right. The ideal candidate will be able to relate to these words and phrases easily, as they will be inherent to his personality.

Our experience is that when you write a highly targeted ad, fewer people apply – but more of them are a better fit. This not only saves you time in culling resumes, but also provides a qualified candidate pool.

We recently helped a company hire an inside salesperson. You might think that this would be a typical sales profile, but the Job Profile indicated that we should be hiring a more introverted, process oriented person who will keep making calls and follow a script. The role required that the person not take shortcuts, and also enter the details of all interactions into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This role was atypical from an outside salesperson because of the attention to detail and strict direction following required. This is why the Job Profile is crucial to the hiring process.

How Do I Write the Ad?

The ad is a marketing piece. Do not confuse the ad with the job description.
Using the information from the Multi-respondent Job Report (click here for a sample report), meet with owners, management, and employees currently in the position to write an ad for the open position. Make sure to reference behavioral qualities from the Job Report.

The ad is meant to attract the candidates that you want and exclude those who do not meet your requirements. Don’t set out the minimum criteria that anyone can meet. The ad should be clear about what a successful candidate looks like. For instance, the phrases fast-paced, risk taker, customer facing, and relationship building would not attract someone who wants to be behind the scenes in support, but a true salesperson may identify with these qualifiers and be attracted to the position.

A successful ad:

  • Has a simple, clear, compelling headline:
    • Accounts Payable Specialist – flexible hours & career advancement
    • Health Coach – help our members make positive changes
    • Inside Sales – great work/life balance
  • Starts with WHY – paints an exciting vision:
    • Why is your company in business?
    • Why should the candidate want to work for your company?
    • Use phrases such as: “You’ll help people…” and “We’ll enable…because you…”
  • Challenges the candidate:
    • Gets at the underlying motivations
  • Shares the vital requirements and key performance indicators of the job profile:
    • Job description and qualifications
    • Great candidates should be drawn to the job because it just feels right

Great candidates should be drawn to the job because it just feels right
Use the information from the Job Report to attract the right personality. Write TO the person you are looking to attract for the position. Tell them exactly what the job is, and speak directly to the perfect fit. You’ll attract quality candidates, and heighten your chances of making the perfect hire.