WorkPuzzle

Finding Your Inner Loser: Debunking Positive Thought

If you are responsible for coaching those on your team, you may be hurting their chances for success by encouraging them to think positively.  This revelation is completely opposite from what the self-help industry would suggests.  New research, however, claims that the “power of positive thinking” pontificators may be on the wrong track...

In a recent article in Time Magazine, John Cloud highlights the following research:

“Is there power in positive thinking?  A study just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect:  it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.

The study's authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin with a common-sense proposition:  when people hear something they don't believe, they are not only often skeptical but adhere even more strongly to their original position…  [This is true because] many of us are reluctant to revise our self-judgment, especially for the better.

In 1994, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published a paper showing that when people get feedback that they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better.  If you try to tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, he won't think he's any smarter; he will probably just disbelieve your contradictory theory, hew more closely to his own self-assessment and, in the end, feel even dumber.”

As a coach, your job is to help people understand their legitimate strengths.  Everyone has strengths, but many people have a difficult time recognizing and implementing them successfully.  Much of your work should be focused in this area.  When you do spend time on weaknesses, show how these deficiencies can be shored up by others.  Nobody is perfect, but in a team environment we all compensate for each other in some way or another. 

This principle is difficult to remember when coaching someone.  We’re all too eager to provide encouragement, concentrate on the positive, and highlight what’s going right.  But, however well-intended, telling a person something that is not true, or choosing to focus only on the positive, typically backfires.  Think about all the great professional coaches we all hold in high esteem... Lou Pinella, Mike Holmgren, Billy Martin, Bobby Knight.... are they known only for their positive strokes?  Not so much.  
 
The correct formula for improvement is to teach those on your team to better utilize their strengths and become more mindful of their weaknesses.  As John Cloud puts it, "Mindfulness...can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective.  Call it the power of negative thinking."

Some Quick Insight Into Baby Boomers

Yesterday, we spent some time learning about the perspective of Gen Y employees (age 30 and below) in the workforce.  The research on this topic was consolidated in a recent article in Harvard Business Review.

The same article also highlighted some of the changes that are happening to the Baby Boomers (age 45 to 63).  As you probably know, the Baby Boomer generation has been extensively studied over the years.  As a result, many stereotypes remain alive and well.

While some of these stereotypes are in fact valid, views may be changing due to the aging of this generation, along with some of the profound financial struggles present in our economy.  Here are some of the changes in work attitudes and expectations that Baby Boomers have expressed:

• Delayed Retirement:  42% plan to work past the age of 65.  14% report they never plan to retire
• Long-Term Perspective:  47% see themselves as being in the middle of their careers
• From "Me" to "We":  55% are involved in volunteer work
• Want Flexibility:  87% say being able to "work flexibly" is important
• Familial Obligations:  71% report having elder care responsibilities.  41% contribute to the support of their adult children.

The realities of life have a way of changing a person’s perspective.  While Gen Y is more hopeful and altruistic, Baby Boomers are feeling the weight of their responsibilities and financial circumstances. 

These attitudes dictate priorities when it comes to looking for work.  Here are the types of rewards a Baby Boomer considers at least as important as compensation (ranked in order of importance):

#1 High-quality colleagues
#2 An intellectually stimulating workplace
#3 Autonomy regarding work tasks
#4 Flexible work arrangements
#5 Access to new experiences and challenges
#6 Giving back to the world through work
#7 Recognition from one’s company or boss

Whether you’re coaching employees or participating in the recruiting process, it is important to understand what people value.  Just because these issues may not be resonating with you personally (you may be in a different generation...or just an atypical Baby Boomer), does not mean that those around you are not experiencing them.
 
During your next interview or coaching session, test out some of these findings.  Ask some questions that get at some of these issues and see what kind of responses you get.  You’ll probably have some fun doing this, but you’ll also gain some important insight...

Some Quick Insight into Generation Y

This month, Harvard Business Review published a hefty article regarding leadership in the workforce following the September 2008 financial crisis and ensuing recession.  A number of topics were covered in this extensive (98-page) article, and there was a lot of insightful information. 

One sub-article caught my eye right away.  The authors were attempting to make a connection between the work characteristics of Generation Y employees (those under the age of 30) and the work characteristics of Baby Boomer employees (those over age 45). 

I didn’t buy the connection the authors were attempting to make, as the similarities don’t seem that convincing to me.  However, the research they did in order to write the article taught me some things I didn’t know—particularly about Gen Y.  

Here are some of the top motivational issues that concern Gen Y:

• Ambition:  84% profess to be very ambitious
• Loyalty vs. Quest:  45% expect to work for their current employer for their entire career
• Multicultural Ease:  78% are comfortable working with people from different ethnicities and cultures
• Healing the Planet:  86% say it’s important that their work make a positive impact on the world
• Networking by Nature:  48% rank having a network of friends at work as very important

As a subset of motivations, the article went on to discuss the types of rewards that a Gen Y worker would find at least as important as compensation.  Here is a ranked list, in order of importance:

#1  High-quality colleagues
#2  Flexible work arrangements
#3  Prospects for advancement
#4  Recognition from one’s company or boss
#5  A steady state of advancement and promotion
#6  Access to new experiences and challenges

Do any of these resonate with you?  Think about the last interview or coaching session that you had with someone in this age group.  Did you see any of these issues surface in the discussion?

In a hiring scenario—especially if you’re competing for a candidate’s attention—it is important to understand a candidate’s motivations, and consider what they find rewarding.  You may be offering the greatest opportunity in the world, but if it’s packaged up in a way a person can’t understand or recognize, the opportunity will not seem very compelling to your candidate.

In a coaching scenario, the path you took to find significance in your job may seem very odd to those whom you’re coaching.  Do they just need more indoctrination?  Probably not.  What might be more helpful is some insight concerning how their natural motivations can lead them to meeting not only their personal needs, but also the common interests of the team.  That’s a work puzzle worth solving!

Finding Sources For New Thought

As a recruiter or hiring manager, it’s easy to get stuck or stagnant.  We read the same material, hear about the same best practices, and try—maybe with more effort and resolve, to implement the same strategies.  After awhile, it can all feel a bit stale.

When this happens to me, one of the things I do is seek out information in different industries and different mediums than I normally frequent.  I discovered such an area last week and thought it would be helpful to share what I learned.

The medium I learned about was a site called Marketing Sherpa.  Marketing Sherpa is a direct marketing consulting company that specializes in online tactics.  It was recommended to me by one of our company’s advisory board members.

As we’ve discussed in the past, “recruiting is marketing” in many ways, so it may not be too much of a stretch to draw applications from this environment.  But still, this site often looks at things from a high-volume, consumer perspective, rather than the one-on-one nature of recruiting.

The topic that caught my eye was a case study about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  The case study was three pages long and went into a great amount of detail concerning the process of converting website inquiries to full-fledged applications.

I loved all the numbers and the testing that the marketers employed to optimize their results.  There was one or two things that may apply in some remote way to the way we run our business.

But, the thing that hit me right between the eyes was the work the University did to discover how a person makes a significant decision in their life.  This was interesting stuff.  For example, if a person is considering making a decision about furthering their education, you only have about 60 days to get him to act upon the initial interest.  Once this window elapses, you’ve most likely lost the individual.

There were several more insights such as these.  If you care to read more, you can take a look at:  https://www.marketingsherpa.com/barrier.html?ident=31291 (it is a subscription site, but you can sign up for a free trial).  

Are there some news areas you could investigate to get some new ideas for your recruiting efforts?  You might find some gems you’re not expecting.  Can someone pass me the sports page?

Jack Welch's Perspective on Hiring

You don’t hear much from Jack Welch anymore.  A few years back, you couldn’t pick up a business magazine without seeing some article about Jack Welch.  Since his retirement from General Electric in 2004, it seems the business pundits have moved on to other subjects. 

We can, however, still gain a little “wisdom from Jack”...if we're willing to go looking for it.  He and his wife, Suzy (the former editor of Harvard Business Review), write a weekly column in Business Week.  Last week, they covered the topic of what impact the current recession will have on the hiring environment, once the recession ends.   

“[What can] companies expect when the economy finally improves?  A hiring game that's entirely different—and harder.  Look, this recession has really shocked people.  Never before has the bottom fallen out so fast or affected so many people so deeply.  Virtually no organization has been left unscathed.  Two years ago, being in business was filled with promise and payback.  Now, you just don't know what bad news awaits you when you arrive at work every day.

The result?  Many people have come to the conclusion that they don't want to work for 'the man' anymore.  They want to work for themselves or someone they know and trust.  It's as a marketing specialist told us recently:  'My husband was fired.  My hours were cut in half,' she said.  'As soon as we get on our feet, we're starting our own business.  We're never going to let ourselves be vulnerable again.'

She's hardly alone.  From coast to coast—and through hundreds of e-mails to our Web site and conversations on Twitter—there's a tidal wave of emotion.  To be someone else's employee, people are telling us, is to be at someone else's whim.  The impact of this growing attitude could be profound.  When the economy recovers, most companies might, for the first time, have to deal with a candidate pool that's not particularly excited to work for them.”

As many of you know, we have many clients in the real estate industry.  This type of attitude change among the workforce could be advantageous for those companies who offer business models where the “employee” works for themselves. 

We’re beginning to see this change in mindset with real estate candidates.  While many people are feeling the angst in their current jobs, as the Welch's talk about, they also sense that the real estate market has hit bottom.  Moving into a new career field when things are less crowded makes some people even more excited about the opportunities for success.

What if your business cannot offer a “work for yourself” option?  Welch has some advice for you as well:

“Fortunately, companies can prepare now for the changed hiring dynamic ahead.  All they have to do is, well, stop acting like big companies—bureaucratic and impersonal—and start creating a fast-moving and vibrant atmosphere. They'll need to mimic the upside small companies and entrepreneurial ventures offer as a matter of course.  Teams will need to be smaller, organizations flatter, and the values of candor, informality, and innovation must be baked into the culture.  People will need to feel that what they say matters, regardless of rank and title.  Perhaps most important, companies will need to understand that when the recovery arrives, stars will no longer wait around to be given the authority to make decisions or to be promoted.  The alternative—running their own show—has too much appeal.”

Twitter by the Numbers: What is Really Going On?

About three months ago, I wrote an article about Twitter, and the potential it has to change the way we collect and catalog information as a society.  At the time, Twitter was growing quite rapidly, and it was difficult to tell where the trajectory was leading.

I just ran across some interesting research that may give us some insight into this question.  The research was conducted by HubSpot, an internet marketing firm based in Boston.  Hubspot found that of those who sign up for Twitter accounts...

• 54.88% have never tweeted  (i.e. have never posted anything)
• 55.50% are not following anyone (i.e. are not reading anyone else's posts)
• 52.71% have no followers (i.e. no one is reading their posts)

What does this mean?  Most people who sign-up for Twitter, never use it!  It is difficult for a service, such as Twitter, to have a substantial impact if the majority of the subscribers are not using it.  This is similar to a bunch of people buying their parents a fax machine in the '80s—great idea, but nobody could get their parents to actually use it.

The hope of the business world, is that Twitter will become a vast database of information that will allow marketers—recruiters included—to tap into the demographics and preferences of millions of individuals.  The HubSpot research uncovered some disappointments there as well:

• 75.86% of users have not entered a bio in their profile
• 68.68% have not specified a location

It’s tough to draw conclusions from a data source that is so limited.  The only available information are the millions of 140-character “tweets.”  Maybe the FBI could make some sense of this type of disconnected information, but the rest of us remain at a loss.

There is much more data becoming available that can give us clues about the reality of Twitter.  For example, a recent study by PMN documented that only 22% of Generation Y consumers (18 – 24 years old) are using Twitter (99% have active accounts on a social networking site, such as Facebook). 

You’d think more of this demographic would be driving the buzz about this network, but that is not the case.  We do know that 56% of executives under the age of 40, regularly tweet or generate microfeeds (source: ClickZ study, June 09).  Do you think anyone is reading them?  Probably not.

I think there are a couple of points a recruiter or hiring manager can take from this discussion:

1. If you’re feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt because you’re just not connected with the concept of Twitter, this should relieve your guilt.  You’re not the only one that doesn’t “get” Twitter—many of your candidates are in the same boat.
2. Don’t expect a tool, such as Twitter, to release you from the hard work of recruiting.  It would be great to publish something and then have thousands of people lap it up and find you endearing (isn’t that why Oprah tweets?).  But, it usually doesn’t that work way.  Make the calls, send the emails, have the one-on-one conversations, etc.  Twitter may help you in some small way, but the traditional tasks of recruiting will continue to produce the most consistent results.

 

Getting Inside Your Candidate's Head

As a recruiter or hiring manager, it is important to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your candidates.  From a marketing perspective, your messaging needs to ring true with the individuals viewing your ads.  The objective is to have an emotional impact, followed by prompt action.  For high-quality candidates... you know, the ones you really want to have join your team... the need to make an emotional impact carries over into the interview.
 
This begs the question:  What’s going on inside the candidate’s head?  What are this individual’s priorities?  What are the significant issues that are going to cause the person take action?  All are great questions.

I came across some research this week that gives us some insight on this topic.  The research was conducted by The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).  The study involved presentation of a list of common job traits, and a request for employees to rank their importance.  They used a four-point scale to indicate what they felt was “very unimportant” (a "one" on the scale), on up to “very important” (a "four").  The percentages below indicate how many people ranked the given item a four, meaning “very important.”

JOB TRAIT - PERCENTAGE WHO RANK ITEM AS "VERY IMPORTANT"

• Job security - 63%
• Benefits - 60%
• Compensation/Pay - 57%
• Opportunity to use skills/abilities - 55%
• Feeling safe in the work environment - 54%
• Relationship with the immediate supervisor - 52%
• Management recognition of employee job performance - 52%
• Communication between employees and senior management - 51%
• The work itself - 50%
• Autonomy and independence - 47%
• Flexibility to balance life and work issues - 46%
• Meaningfulness of job - 45%
• Overall corporate culture - 45%
• Relationships with co-workers - 42%
• Contribution of work to organization’s business goals - 39%
• Job-specific training - 35%
• Variety of work - 34%
• Career advancement opportunities - 32%
• Organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility - 31%
• Organization’s commitment to professional development - 30%
• Paid training and tuition reimbursement programs - 29%
• Career development opportunities - 22%
• Organization’s commitment to a “green” workplace - 17%

As a hiring manager, I suggest you digest this list from a couple of perspectives.  (1) How do the employment opportunities you’re offering line up with what candidates want in a job?  (2) In the marketing and interviewing process, are you emphasizing issues that have a minimal chance of impacting your candidates?

Managing Your Talent Pipeline: Are You Really Going Anywhere?

We’ll wrap up our series on Managing Your Talent Pipeline (1,2,3,4) today by covering the important concept of vision.  Here is an important universal truth that you can apply to your recruiting efforts: 
 
Every human being wants to be part of something that’s going somewhere. 

This is a basic human reality that can be tapped for the mutual benefit of both an organization and an individual. 

Sure, many companies have vision statements that hang on a wall somewhere.  But no one could tell you what they say, and it doesn’t answer the candidate’s question… "Are you really going anywhere?" 

One of the biggest mistakes that we see hiring managers make is trying to convince someone to leave their existing organization, with little emotion or excitement over the possibilities in the new position.  If I don’t feel inspired when I talk with you about your company, my emotions will tell me to stay in my existing job, no matter how many facts the hiring manager can produce to show me I’m misguided.

How do you stir up this emotion in a conversation?  Here are some ideas:

1.  Develop a concise statement (vision) of what your organization is trying to accomplish.  Boil this down into something that is easy to say and remember.  Practice it with people in close network.  Do they feel inspired when they hear it?  If not, rework it and try again.  For an example of this, look at what Gore Technologies (makers of Gore-Tex) has done. 

2.  Formulate two or three stories of people who are flourishing in your organization.  Stories inspire people and they tap the emotions much better than facts and figures.  You can start a conversation by saying something like, “Let me tell you a quick story about someone who joined our group about six months ago…” 

3.  Help the candidate envision themselves working in your environment.  Once you start to understand a person’s strengths, help the candidate make the connection of how those strengths could be both optimized and valued in your environment.  Candidates not only want to know they’re part of something going somewhere, but they also need to see that their talents are an important and necessary component to reaching the destination.

A well-established vision, coupled with some specific examples of people who are thriving under that vision will, in itself, help your candidates to feel excited about your organization.  Build on that with a clear statement of how your candidate's strengths compliment your company's vision, and you have a great chance of generating an positive emotional response from your candidate. 

Until the candidate says, "I want to go where you're going!" in their mind, you have no chance of getting them to move thier feet. 

Managing Your Talent Pipeline: Direct Follow-Up

In the last few articles (1,2,3), we discussed the importance of proactively executing a series of indirect contacts with candidates in your talent pipeline.  It’s a challenge to consistently make these “small contributions” to your contacts, but perseverance pays off. 

We all know that seeds grow in soil that is well-prepared by the gardener, but the seeds still have to be planted.  Likewise, there is a time for more direct recruiting contact with a candidate.  Here are some principles that will help you more successfully connect with potential candidates:

1.  Get face-to-face with the candidate.  As you know, a lot of communication happens in the non-verbal realm.  Contacting a candidate via phone and email has limitations that are difficult to overcome. 
 
Think of ways you can spend time with the candidate in a natural setting.  Are there professional activities that you can attend where you’ll likely cross paths?  Are there mutual clients, acquaintances, or business scenarios where face-to-face connections are likely?  Are there non-work-related restaurants, clubs, charitable activities that a candidate is known to frequent?  I’m not talking about stalking a person—certainly this could be pushed too far.  But, if you’re sitting behind your desk, and have no face-to-face contact with any candidates, you’re at a disadvantage.

2.  Identify a crisis/problem that you can actively help solve.  Everyone has problems and difficulties in their professional lives.  During a discussion, try to discover a specific issue with which a person is struggling and then deploy your own personal efforts, or the resources of those in your network, to help alleviate the pain.

This can be very simple... For example, I have a friend who works in the building supply industry for a company that supplies windows to commercial buildings.  During a discussion last week, I mentioned that we were thinking about updating some of the interior doors in our house.  He was quick to provide me some information on how doors are made, distributed, and sold to end-users.  He also introduced me to a contact who would be willing to sell low-cost “seconds” (doors that had small flaws).

If you are the person who consistently provides timely answers and solutions, it becomes both natural and desirable for a candidate to envision working on a team with you.

3.  Pop the question:  “Are you really getting what you need?”  You may remember from science class in high school what Sir Isaac Newton taught us about motion:  A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.  While Newton was describing the nature of physical motion, the same principle applies to recruiting - People will tend to stay in their existing jobs unless they are dislodged by some external force.

Most of these external forces (they have a fight with their boss, they get their benefits cut back, they lose a sale because of an incompetent co-worker, etc.) you cannot control.  But, you can help a person identify a potential escape hatch.  When you ask a person to consider joining your organization, this may be the last bit of dislodging they needed in order to make a move. 

Even if it’s not quite the right timing yet for your candidate, you’ve made your intentions clear and the candidate will store this away (along with your other positive interactions) for possible use in the future...

Managing Your Talent Pipeline: Important Don'ts

Last week, we talked about the importance of making small contributions to those in your talent pipeline.  We’ll provide some more ideas in future articles, but I wanted to cover a few important “don’ts” as you start to think about ways you can better engage those you are hoping to recruit.

1.  Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of consistent follow-up.  Anyone who is successful in a sales position knows that persistence is a prerequisite to success.  One of our clients, the general manager of a large services company, once told us that he never calls a vendor back until after he gets the 3rd call from the sales person.   Why?  In his own words... “That’s the only way I can know that the person is serious.”

Recruiting is sales, and consistent follow-up with your candidates is the only way you’ll be able to produce long-term, across-the-board success.  There are very few exceptions to this rule.  The good news is that persistence does work, and almost anyone can be successful at it.

2.  Don’t get discouraged when candidates don’t respond. The difficulty with persistence is that it often does not offer very much positive feedback.  During an initial meeting it is common to make a good emotional connection with a candidate.  The natural expectation is that the positive experience will carry over into the follow-up phase of the recruiting process, but this is often not the case.  What’s more typical is that you send several emails and don’t hear back... You leave voice mails, but don’t get your calls returned... You may even send hand-written notes, but there is still no reciprocation.

Don’t give up!  Instead, adjust your expectations.  You’re not this person’s personal friend or relative, so don’t expect to be treated like one.  You’re a professional acquaintance who has something to sell (an opportunity).  People can realize and respect that you’re doing your job, and they can even envision themselves working for someone who executes their business duties with professionalism.  But, that is where the emotional connection ends.  If you expect more, you’re ego is in the way.

3.  Don’t expect technology to replace personal attention and effort.  Because recruiting is a process that involves so much repetition, there is a temptation to automate as much of the process as possible.  While there are tools that allow you to be more effective, it is a mistake to over-rely on technological solutions that minimize human connections.

If you set up a candidate on a drip email system that automatically generates canned emails, your efforts will have some potential impact on the candidate.  But, don’t expect it to have the same impact as a personal note or phone call.  Human beings respond to personal connections— this is not going to change.

The bottom line…recruiting is hard work.  If you’re willing to do the work, you’ll be successful.  If you’re constantly looking for a short-cut, you’ll likely continue to experience frustration.