IN THIS ISSUE...
THE MYTH OF OVERNIGHT SUCCESS
With some satisfaction, I put aside a short magazine article about an author who achieved "overnight success." The tale was like gauzy cotton candy, a fun and inspirational read about yesterday's nobody and today's toast of the town. Sweet on the tongue, it disappeared quickly.
I admit that the words "overnight success," drew me in. "Success" is not a dirty word, and frankly, it's fun to believe that this writer's greatness just "happened" while the rest of us were involved in eating, sleeping, or workday ritual.
Back to reality. Although walking among us mortals are gifted athletes, painters, scientists, physicians, judges, teachers and wizards of business, their greatness is merely what we see. With no disrespect to anyone's raw talent, we should be giving genius credit for having a plan and working it. We cannot wave a wizard's wand over someone and turn him into a leader. We must grow our leaders. How? Just like the good athlete grows into the great athlete through hard work and practice, the excellent athlete with a vision moves into a coaching spot and molds others. We should always watch those striving for excellence; they show us how to lead. Although gifted leaders make what they do look easy, it's part of their everyday practice.
Consider the 10-year rule that researchers have studied for well more than 10 years. This rule says that 10 years of focused training is the minimum a person must spend at a specific activity to reach an expert level. The training must deliberately focus on gaining expertise in a specific area. Thus, a good pianist aspiring to greatness would concentrate on a certain goal, perhaps jazz piano, and study and practice a certain amount of time every day to attain that goal. A good leader leads every day, by making the difficult decisions based on knowledge and experience.
I am not saying that in pursuit of hard work we should ignore nature and nurture. I recognize that "nothing but net" is more easily attained by the player whose reach is closer to the ceiling than the floor. I understand that involved parents and other mentors play a role in what children will become.
But we should never just assume that the likes of a Dave Brubeck, Erma Bombeck, Nellie Bly, Jimmy Stewart, Sally Ride or Tiger Woods just became great musicians, writers, journalists, actors, athletes or astronauts because they were born to it. That denies them their right of achievement and says to the rest of us mere mortals, "Why bother?"
Jim Sirbasku, CEO
Profiles International
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BOOK REVIEW: HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD
Lou Adler's Updated Rules for Winning the Talent Wars
HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams
Lou Adler is known in HR departments and by recruiters nationwide as the thought leader who successfully transformed hiring into a systematic and scalable process that leaves little to chance. Financial companies, hospital and health care systems, name brand online companies and product manufacturers are among the numerous organizations that rely upon Adler's Performance-based HiringSM to win the talent wars.
Every hiring manager and every outside recruiter knows Lou Adler and The Adler Group as the source for improving their hiring success. Through onsite seminars, workshops, keynote speeches and webinars, The Adler Group trains thousands of people every year to help improve sourcing, interviewing, hiring and retaining talent to help companies prosper. In the third edition of HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD, Lou explains why the traditional methods of hiring and interviewing simply do not work. When the fundamentally flawed hiring process is compared to the Performance-based HiringSM approach, it becomes crystal clear which is the better way to go.
This up-to-date and fully revised edition of HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD features an in-depth look at the biggest change in the hiring arena since the introduction of the personal computer. Social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, MySpace, ZoomInfo and others have eliminated any secrecy in hiring and recruiting. Available positions that were once shared only with potential candidates are now two or three mouse clicks away from discovery by anyone -- competitors as well as applicants. With changes in the hiring world happening at the rate of Internet innovations, keeping up with the rapid pace is a challenge. Knowing how to manage the information and the candidates who hold the same information cards as the hiring manager is critical.
The same Wild West atmosphere that has put information on job openings on the fast track has also led to dramatic changes in the attitude of potential hires. There are fewer obstacles to keep employees in positions they find unfulfilling or unrewarding. The stigma of leaving companies has just about vanished, and changing jobs for short-term and superficial reasons and accepting counteroffers are now acceptable. Qualified candidates can easily find new jobs and new opportunities. Companies must address these changes and adapt their sourcing and hiring methods to maintain any competitive edge.
HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD shows the reader how to find the best candidates, both active job seekers and passive browsers. Adler explores the use of multi-level sourcing, where pursuing a series of different channels ensures a constant flow of top candidates on an on-going basis.
Leveraging approaches such as predictive assessments, the methods described in HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD lead to a clear understanding of the candidate's problem-solving abilities, insights, intelligence, potential, vision and leadership skills.
For hiring managers, recruiters and anyone running a business or a department who wants to do a better job of finding, interviewing and hiring the best candidates, HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD is a highly recommended tool.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams
By Lou Adler
Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470128356
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CASE STUDY: HOSPITAL FINDS JOB PATTERN SUCCESS WITH PROFILE XT™
Facing predictions of a shortage of one million nurses by 2020, the health care profession is looking at solutions for recruiting, hiring, training and retaining these critical workers. With their numbers at almost two million, registered nurses comprise the largest number of health care professionals.
This case study provides an examination of how one hospital used 22 registered nurses and the ProfileXT™ to develop a Job Match Pattern to find nurses performing at the highest level. Experts conducted the study to investigate the use of the ProfileXT™ Job Match Pattern program to further refine their selection process and identify those with the potential to become top performers.
This is critical to each health care entity. As nurses and nursing faculty age and health care delivery methods change, nurses are more and more in demand, both in the United States and abroad. In this country, the number of nurses taking the NCLEX exam required for licensing has declined since 1994.
The question becomes how to find the best registered nurses? What kind of person is considered a top nursing performer? Most health care professionals agree that good nurses think logically and on their feet; solve problems and readily accept the responsibility to do so; possess solid math and science skills; are organized and effective managers of their own time; anticipate what might happen to avert crises; and are emotionally stable and have excellent interpersonal skills. Other specific qualities will depend on the demands of the work environment. This is where the Job Match Pattern of the ProfileXT™ comes in.
To determine what kinds of nurses were right for its hospital, managers developed a recruitment and selection sub-team led by a cultural diversity executive and the human resources director. They focused on creating a recruitment/selection strategy and implementation plan in order to hire and retain the best candidates. In short, they looked at how the best candidates would perform on the job.
Method
The hospital team selected and ranked 22 of its registered nurses. They identified 12 of them as top performers, seven as moderate performers, and three as bottom performers.
Next the team developed a Job Match Pattern using the ProfileXT™. They created the Pattern with a concurrent study format using ProfileXT™ software and the group of top performers. Then they compared the total group of 22 against the resulting Job Match Pattern.
Results
They selected an overall Job Match percent of 83 to represent a good match. This means that a match of 83 percent or greater should identify a top performer. Here are the results:
- 10 of 12 top performers scored 83 percent or higher on the job match.
- 5 of 7 moderate performers scored 83 percent or higher on the job match.
- 0 of 3 bottom performers scored 83 percent or greater on the job match.
If the hospital had used an overall Job Match of 83 percent to select the registered nurses into two groups (top performers and bottom performers), managers would have selected 83 percent of the top performers and 71 percent of the moderate performers for the top group, and none of the bottom performers.
To discuss this case study or find out more details about how Job Match patterns can help your industry, call Assessment Leaders at (866) 864-8200.
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PRODUCT FOCUS: A LOOK THROUGH THE LENS OF CHECKPOINT 360°™
As poet Robert Burns noted, if only we could see ourselves as others see us, we'd be free of our burdens. He used more colorful language, but the point doesn't change in the translation. Just like smoothing our hair or straightening a tie, we'd improve our performance if we could look in a mirror and see our professional actions the way our employees, peers, or boss sees them.
The Checkpoint 360°™ Competency Feedback System offers just that chance. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a circle and getting constructive feedback from everyone you work with, from subordinates to the CEO. If offered the right way, the feedback is like getting on-the-spot coaching tips: "Now, follow through! Up a little! Perfect!"
Checkpoint 360°™ offers managers and leaders an opportunity to receive an evaluation of their job performance from everyone around them -- their boss, their peers, and the people whose work they supervise. Using this guide, managers can compare the opinions of others with their own perceptions, positively identify their strengths, and concentrate on the areas they need to improve.
The assessment centers on a manager's job performance in eight key areas: communication, adaptability, task management, development of others, development of self, leadership, relationships and production. For example, what if we show excellence at task management but we've forgotten to develop that skill in others? With a little help, the blind spot is revealed.
Checkpoint 360°™ helps define each of the eight areas so that we see, for example, that part of communication includes active listening. Or that to be a leader, we have to show the way with confidence.
Here's how it works: Each participant completes an evaluation that takes around 30 minutes. Except for the boss, participants remain anonymous to ensure honest responses. Once the evaluations are finished, the manager gets the results compiled in a report. All of this can be accomplished online.
Following the recipe for success is easy through colorful graphs, charts and narrative descriptions. The coaching portion includes an expert, customized personal growth section to help improve performance.
Ready to stand in the circle?
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