The second step of the process—seeing your perceptions and their realities—took you deeper into who candidates are than most recruiting approaches. In this third step, you need to go deeper still so you can figure out what makes a person tick. Fortunately, you’ve gained insights about individuals that offer clues to their characters. Now, the challenge is to acquire some additional information and then learn to analyze values-based data.
To help you do this, recognize that people possess different drivers or missions. Some are driven by money—they work in order to make a fortune. You can find people like this in all businesses (though they’re especially prevalent on Wall Street), and they measure success by the money they make each year or from each deal. Others are driven by a desire to change the world—or at least the sector of the world that their work impacts.
After Mary Lou Song had helped eBay become enormously successful, she was looking for a new challenge. To figure out where she wanted to go next, she created a list of what she really wanted from her work. At the top of her list was this statement: To be surrounded by people with similar values. More specifically, she wanted to work with people who were in high-growth modes and also were eager to take risks and learn from them. Values rather than titles, company fame, or compensation drove Mary. As she jokingly said, “If I had discovered (the right mix of people) at a cupcake bakery, that would have been just fine too.”
Mary Lou Song’s drivers were risk, learning, and growth, but your candidates may have very different types of drivers. If you hire someone whose driver doesn’t fit those of you and your company, that person will fail to live up to your expectations. Let’s say you hire the most competent vice president on the planet—she has amazing skills that are exactly what you need for the job. But if she’s driven by money and you’re driven by making a lasting impact, then she’ll always fall short. She’ll never see your vision for the company and be willing to sacrifice short-term financial achievement for long-term enterprise building. Or she won’t be able to grow and motivate her people because there’s no financial incentive to do so. Or she’ll perform well for a short period of time but leave as soon as she receives a better offer.
And then there’s how people seek to achieve their mission—the values that govern their behaviors. Some people are ruthless and dictatorial. Others are compassionate and generous. These values have a profound effect on other employees; again, you want to make sure a candidate’s values synch with your own and those prized by your culture.
To make these assessments, let’s consider the range of personal missions and values of candidates and define the most common ones.
People are more than the sum of their expertise and experience. You don’t really know a candidate—or know if he will fit in your company and help it grow—unless you make the effort to assess his drivers. Why does John work; what does he hope to accomplish in his career; what does he want his legacy to be; how do his values govern his work style? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered, and to obtain these answers, it helps to know the common missions and values that people possess. Let’s start with the missions:
These individuals want to become CEOs or secure other capstone positions. They are driven by promotions, by climbing whatever ladder exists in a company. Advancement through the ranks is what fuels their fire, and they measure their success by how quickly they advance.
For instance, I hired Alan as a salesperson at HotJobs. He was only twenty-four—but he had it all. He was a great guy and possessed the skills you’d want in an entrepreneurial salesperson: He was smart, quick, affable, and best of all, customers loved him. And he knew how to close a sale. He quickly became a star salesperson at HotJobs, but Alan quit ten months into his tenure, when he was two months away from vesting his first tranche of stock options that at the IPO would have been worth $2.5 million. He quit because he felt like he wasn’t getting promoted fast enough.
The moral of the story: If you interview a candidate who is primarily motivated by ambition, make sure you are able to put him on a fast track and keep him there. You should also be sure that your company’s culture will accommodate a highly ambitious individual. Ambitious people can be impatient and impetuous, especially when their career trajectory doesn’t meet their expectations. Their behaviors can be counter-productive when their need for immediate gratification (i.e., promotions) supersedes their willingness to take the long view. If you have the type of company that can satisfy this need for fast upward mobility, then this individual may perform superlatively. If you don’t, then watch out. This rising star can flame out and either quit like Alan did or alienate other employees with his impatience and growing dissatisfaction.
Just about everyone wants to be compensated fairly for their work, but for some employees, this is the be-all and end-all of their existence. Just as some people live for promotions, others live for salary increases, bonuses, stock options, and so on.
At thirty-two, Jerry already had worked for six different companies. A talented engineer, he was especially skilled at creating innovative software programs for the financial services industry. As a result of this skill, he regularly received offers. Whenever an offer was especially good—if it represented a significant bump in salary and other compensation—he would accept it. Jerry didn’t weigh other factors before accepting an offer. He didn’t care if he liked the people he worked with, how the company was positioned for long-term success, or if he was working on significant projects. His goal was to keep increasing his salary, and though Jerry added a lot of value to his employers because of his skill, his money fixation also limited his contributions. For an entrepreneur seeking an employee who was interested in developing people, contributing to long-term strategic thinking, and facilitating teams, Jerry was not the right candidate. His drive created a kind of myopia, where Jerry could only focus on doing what he did well to justify and increase his compensation.
Some employees work for reasons that go beyond themselves and have to do with their families or others who are close to them or with disadvantaged people—the poor, the disabled, and so on. They want to create a good life for their spouse and kids or for their extended family; or they hope to cure a terrible disease or provide food and water to impoverished societies. Sometimes they have specific, situational goals—they have a special needs child who needs expensive healthcare services—and other times it’s a more general desire to provide assistance to people they care about, whether family or people in need throughout the world.
These people want to leave their mark on the world or at least their particular sector of the world. This is a driving force for many entrepreneurs. They want to leave something behind that is bigger than themselves, that changes the way people do things and that will stand the test of time, or that improves lives. The best employees, even though they aren’t owners or leaders, will work equally hard to be part of a process that changes something for the better, taking great pride in their contributions.
Thilo Semmelbauer is a board member for Weight Watchers and Movable Ink, venture partner at Insight Venture Partners, and former COO of Shutterstock and Weight Watchers. He grew revenue to $400 million at Weight Watchers and ran a $1.6 billion P&L. At Shutterstock, Thilo grew revenue from $60 million to $400 million and led the company to an IPO with a $3 billion market cap.
Thilo is driven by his desire to make contributions to industries as diverse as health, digital imagery, and email marketing. He told me, “My father would never let us complain at home, one of the things that we weren’t allowed to do was complain. It was always about ‘Well, what are you going to do that will turn it around, being a positive force and not a negative force?’ . . . I hope to be remembered as somebody who was a positive force in the world.”
Some employees are motivated to do great jobs because they derive intrinsic satisfaction from superior performance. They relish opportunities to excel, to use their skills to the best of their abilities. These are the people who say, “I can’t believe I’m being paid for doing something I love.” They don’t need financial incentives or threats to work hard and well; they possess an inner drive to do a job as well as they possibly can.
The Ironman Executive Challenge is an entire organization of precisely these kinds of individuals who hold themselves to the highest standards of excellence personally and professionally. Many times, members start their days before 5:00 a.m., performing a rigorous program of endurance, strength, and power training. While professional athletes train fifteen hours per week, an Ironman XC athlete may train for more than twenty hours per week while leading companies, being good parents and spouses, and contributing to good causes. To become a member of the challenge, applicants must already be competitive athletes and accomplished business executives. In addition, the Ironman XC competitors are thought leaders in business, value family, and participate in their communities. In short, they pursue excellence in every aspect of their lives.
Obviously, other drivers exist besides these five. I’ve known leaders whose mission was fame, for instance. It’s different than the contribution/legacy driver we discussed, since these leaders are in it for their egos in the present rather than their contributions in the future; they want accolades and publicity rather than to build something that will make people’s lives better. Others have a mission of inclusion/affiliation; they want to be part of something, to be valued members of a team or company. Still others are driven by a desire to prove others wrong: They want to show someone in their lives (a parent, a former boss) that they can succeed at a level that this individual said was impossible.
It’s worth noting, too, that people often have a mix of drivers. They want to make money, but their primary goal is excellence, for instance. It’s that primary driver that’s key. Being aware of a candidate’s single most important motivation can tell you a lot about fit, even if other motivations exist. Once you know why someone works, you’ll have a sense if she’ll be a good match for you and your company or if she will have trouble fitting in or staying long.
While there’s some overlap between mission and values, it’s useful to think of them separately. Clearly, someone who is driven to help others values generosity. But values also provide another lens for evaluating candidates and whether they will fit with your company. They speak more to the inherent beliefs and corresponding behaviors of an individual rather than her motivation.
Therefore, investigate what I refer to as candidates’ professional virtues: personal values translated into a work environment. For instance, one candidate may value hard work while another values his image; one candidate may value compassion while another believes in winning at all costs. Like missions, values can range far and wide, and my purpose here isn’t to list all possible values or even to make judgments on what is a good versus a bad value. Instead, let’s focus on six key professional virtues and how they manifest themselves in work environments. If candidates possess one or more of these virtues—and they resonate with the values you espouse in your company—then the odds are good that they’ll become high performers if you hire them.
The six virtues are:
No doubt, you have friends and family members who you would characterize as humble. They rarely brag about their accomplishments. When they do something significant, they prefer to talk about how they couldn’t have done it without help, luck, or some other external factor. While they may be proud of what they’ve accomplished as a parent, a sibling, or in a philanthropic effort, they talk a lot more about their kids or favored causes rather than themselves.
In work situations, this virtue is of inestimable worth, since people love to work with those who are humble. They are great team members since they don’t try to dominate the team. They are great team leaders because they foster inclusion (rather than the exclusion practiced by egocentric team leaders).
They may have blind spots, but they’re sufficiently humble that they’re willing to learn and train and grow in order to address this weakness.
Here are some telling actions of individuals who value humility:
Eagerness to give fellow employees/direct reports credit when they receive praise
Discomfort when they feel they are receiving too much credit
Desire to help others succeed at tasks and in their work roles
Propensity to refer to we (or us) rather than me (or I)
Joy and enthusiasm when talking about collaborative success; a more muted tone when discussing individual success
Employees who are genuine—who don’t put on a work mask and try to be something they’re not—are usually excellent communicators, strong managers, and productive workers. They don’t play games or have secret agendas. Instead, they are straight talkers, and people believe them when they say something. In a small, entrepreneurial business they can fit in quickly. Even new hires in top positions are accepted quickly if they exhibit authenticity.
To a certain extent, you identify authentic people instinctively. You know if someone is trying to act like she knows more than she does or when she’s putting on airs. You can spot certain types of phonies quickly in interviews, since you can tell they’re bad actors. Other times, though, it’s difficult to know based on one or two exposures in interviews. Therefore, keep the following traits of professional authenticity in mind:
Says what’s on their mind about a past work situation, even if it’s negative or might offend
Admits flaws in terms of experience or expertise
Deals directly with tough questions; won’t change the subject or offer vague answers
Allows idiosyncratic or eccentric qualities to emerge in interviews (i.e., a sarcastic sense of humor or a passionate interest in a work subject); doesn’t play it cool or try to be an emotionless professional
Some people are great to work with because they bend over backward to help others. They are willing to share their knowledge and when they see someone struggling, they make an effort to assist. They don’t hoard what they know because they believe it will give them a competitive advantage from a career standpoint. Instead, they enjoy teaching others without any expectation of reward for their efforts. In entrepreneurial companies that depend on informal exchanges of knowledge (unlike big corporations with formal training programs), this trait is valuable, and generous leaders and managers can make a huge difference in how quickly employees get up to speed.
Here are some identifying characteristics of this value in work settings:
Shares knowledge about the industry readily and without reservation
Talks proudly about those they’ve mentored
Responds positively to questions about willingness to spend time developing others
Expresses interest in company programs designed to contribute to the community or other groups in need; wants to participate in these pro bono/philanthropic endeavors
Some companies have closed door cultures; managers are always shutting others out literally or figuratively. Typically, these companies are run by entrepreneurs who are paranoid about competitors getting wind of a new product or worried that their people or concepts will be filched. As a result, employees walk around with a looking-over-their-shoulder mentality and are guarded in their digital and verbal communications.
People who value openness, though, aren’t overly concerned with what others know or do. They’re much more focused on a free exchange of information and ideas, and they are both open to suggestions from a diverse range of employees and willing to share their own thoughts. They also make themselves vulnerable. They are willing to express ideas that they know may be wrong-headed. They value brainstorming and trying out a variety of concepts. They are willing to take the risk that others might criticize them later.
Candidates who value openness exhibit the following behaviors:
Take risks in their business projections and theories, talking about projects in ways that suggest they’re not worried about being wrong or taking flak if time proves them wrong
Discuss their fears and problems rather than just their hopes and solutions; they admit when they’re anxious about an event, project, or their own capacities
Request input from others. They are open to outside opinions and are proactive in seeking them
Most entrepreneurs I’ve worked with possess a positive outlook. Optimism is a choice. If they weren’t optimistic, they probably wouldn’t be able to take the risks that come with the territory. To sustain a positivist culture, however, you need to hire positive people. Negativity spreads fast, especially during downturns, and filling the managerial ranks with optimistic, can-do people helps insulate companies from this negativity.
Don’t mistake positivity for a Pollyanna mindset. The latter is unrealistic and can get a company in trouble; you don’t want employees in positions of responsibility who fail to see warning signs. Being positive simply means approaching decisions, people, and other situations with pragmatic optimism. If these situations warrant negative actions—firing a poor performer, pulling out of a deal, giving customers bad news—then they must be taken. But employees who look first for possibilities and solutions (rather than becoming obsessed with negative outcomes) are the ones who move entrepreneurial companies forward.
Here are some traits to watch for when interviewing candidates:
Focuses conversation on present and future rather than the past
Acknowledges negative events but frames them as things to rebound from rather than become mired in
Relishes sketching best-case scenarios and specific actions that can make them happen
Addresses company problems from a potential solution perspective
Again, this is a value near and dear to most entrepreneurs’ hearts. But not everyone you’ll interview embraces this value. Sometimes, even the most skilled and experienced candidates don’t like to put in the hours most entrepreneurial businesses demand of them. In fact, some feel their talent entitles them to a pass from long hours.
Of course, everyone is going to present themselves as possessing this value; it’s difficult to imagine someone being interviewed for a job saying, “I’m not into working weekends or past five.” So it may not be readily apparent if a candidate truly values hard work. Still, you may be able to tell if working diligently is valued by watching for these traits:
Tells you a story about a project or accomplishment of which they’re proud and mentions the amount of time and effort it required
Demonstrates stamina—talks about doing something where others quit but they persisted (might not be work-related but involve running a marathon, volunteering for a political candidate)
Expresses willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve objectives; does not express reservations about the time or effort required for these objectives
When considering these values, be aware that it’s unlikely to find all six in any given individual. More likely, you’ll discover that a candidate values one or two of them above the others. When you make this discovery, ask yourself: Does this candidate’s main value resonate with my own and that of this company’s culture?
To answer this question, you need to look deeper into candidates than you have in the past. Let’s look at what “deep” means and how you can see beneath candidates’ surfaces.
What every entrepreneur wants to know before making a hire is: What am I not seeing about this candidate? Differentiating between the external perception candidates are capable of creating and their internal truths is the challenge.
To meet this challenge, look at the following graphic of the Iceberg/Honne Model and consider the numbers on the “iceberg” and what they might represent to you:
1.Technical chops—individual contributor, mastery of a craft
2.Ability to collaborate and amplify team spirit toward the achievement of the mission
3.Organization and planning of not only the work but the people around achievement of a stated mission
4.Inspiring followership—being able to inspire, to paint a picture of how the achievement of the team’s mission is tied to personal excellence
5.Humility/determination—high degree of personal excellence and desire for achievement as well as the humility required to lead a high-performance team and the agility to pivot
Go to www.HireSmartFromTheStart.com to download this PDF and other resources.
The odds are that you’ll be able to figure out the answer to number 1 without digging too deeply in your interviews. But as the numbers get higher, the degree of difficulty of finding the answers becomes greater. If you confine yourself to the standard interview questions—What was the most critical skill you learned at your last job? What are your goals as a leader and how do you think this job can help you achieve them?—then you’re not going to go very deep into who the candidate is.
To bring out candidates’ mission and values, you need to ask questions that may make candidates a bit uncomfortable—and that may be out of your comfort zone as well. But the discomfort is worth it if you can find someone who will contribute to your company on a high level for years to come.
To dive deeper, consider asking candidates the following questions around the four lower levels of the iceberg:
•How well do you get along with other people? Have you ever had conflicts on teams in which you’ve been a member or leader—conflicts that hurt the team’s effectiveness? Can you give me an example of how you helped a team become more cohesive and work together to reach a stretch goal?
•Do you relate well to a diverse group of people? As a middle-aged white male, can you work productively with women, Millennials, people of color? What is the worst thing that a colleague or direct report has ever said to you; was there any truth in what they said?
•How do you inspire the people with whom you work? What do you say or do that creates excitement around and involvement in the completion of a project? Can you describe a situation where something you said or did inspired others to work to their full potential?
•Does it kill you not to achieve something you set out to do? Are you so determined to meet a deadline, a quota, or other objective that you are almost obsessive in your focus? If we were to survey the people who know you best, would they say that you don’t take enough credit for your accomplishments?
Feel free to ad lib based on these questions. Use them to start conversations that probe candidates’ depths, encouraging them to reveal aspects of themselves that they might not ordinarily discuss in a job interview.
In addition, you can access other tools for digging deeper in interviews. When presented correctly (with signed authorization from a candidate in advance), you can draw from a variety of behavioral and personality assessment instruments (and I suggest seeking the advice of an employment attorney before implementing for interviewing purposes). Here is a short list of tools that are worth exploring:
DISC is a behavior assessment tool based on the DISC theory of psychologist William Moulton Marston, which centers on four different behavioral traits: dominance, influence, support, and caution.
The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by Carl Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives.
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) describes normal, or bright-side personality—qualities that describe how we relate to others when we are at our best. Whether your goal is to find the right hire or develop stronger leaders, assessing normal personality gives you valuable insight into how people work, how they lead, and how successful they will be.
Watson-Glaser™ Critical Thinking Appraisal was developed in 1925 to assess critical thinking ability and decision making.
For over thirty years, TTI Success Insights has researched and applied social and brain science, creating behavioral assessments used to hire, develop, and retain talent.
Branding expert Sally Hogshead developed the How to Fascinate program and the How the World Sees You personality test. The assessment helps you discover the exact words to sell yourself to prospects, the types of tasks that fit your personal brand, and which of the forty-two personality archetypes show you at your best.
Backed by more than thirty years of research and practical applications, Kolbe Assessments provide a map of an individual’s natural instincts, or modus operandi (MO).
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) measures and describes thinking preferences in people. It was developed by William “Ned” Herrmann while he led management education at General Electric.
Over a period of more than nine years, Meredith Belbin and his team of researchers based at Henley Management College, England, studied the behavior of managers from all over the world. Managers taking part in the study were given a battery of psychometric tests and put into teams of varying composition, in which they engaged in a complex management exercise. Their different core personality traits, intellectual styles, and behaviors were assessed during the exercise. During his research, Meredith found that each of the behaviors was essential in getting the team successfully from start to finish. The key was balance.
Wonderlic provides businesses and schools with a comprehensive library of highly regarded assessments and surveys for each phase of the hiring and student selection process. The Wonderlic test has been a staple of the NFL Draft Combine for years and has a long history as one of the first short-form tests for cognitive ability. In its 75-year history, Wonderlic has delivered over 200 million assessments and surveys for more than 75,000 organizations, government agencies, and accrediting bodies.
