Last month’s Essentials of Modern Leadership theme, “Playing the Hand You’re Dealt,” was based on a manager’s ability to keenly assess inherited personnel and procedures in moving toward maximum productivity. Let’s now envision a situation where you’re assembling a staff from scratch. You “hold all the cards” and can recruit employees that will best fulfill your workplace objectives. How do you go about building the perfect team?
In my 20-plus years of leadership in the sectors of operations, finance, and as current Executive Director of the USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education, I’m grateful to say my teams have enjoyed great success. And acquisition of talent has been a formative reason. I’ll share what I firmly believe is an important dual consideration in the hiring process; I’ve always advised my managers to bring on people that are 1) smart and 2) the right fit.
It might sound obvious to say you should seek smart people to fill your office. But I’m not necessarily speaking about high GPAs and STEM capacities. There’s much more to the process.
Allow me to clarify what I’m inferring by
smart
:
*Smart employees can intelligently make or defend positions and articulate them in a logical sense so others can comprehend. They grasp broader concepts and their understanding goes beyond the echoing of formulas and trade jargon.
*Smart employees can think on their feet and problem-solve. Life in the world of business moves fast and is unpredictable. Smart employees will sense when situations require a timely shift in action and how to bring it about.
*Smart employees can work from abstract ideas or strategies and turn them into actionable plans that get desired results. The value of this visionary gift cannot be overstated!
As a teenager and young adult, I played a lot of pickup basketball. The first several times I captained a team, I chose the tallest available players because height
looked
to be the greatest strategic advantage. With time, however, I realized those who understood the fundamentals, could improvise, and see the court better than others had an aptitude for the game that wasn’t determined by conventional appearance. In basketball or business, the same rule applies—it takes smart players to get consistent wins for your team!
Next month, I’ll tell you why the second part of “Building the Perfect Team” requires bringing on the
right
people.
