In his book, “Good to Great”, author Jim Collins offers that one of the key components to an organization’s growth and success is “getting the right people on the bus”. Much easier said than done, isn’t it!
The staff you employ and the advisors you bring into your practice are not just “working there”, they ARE your business. They portray to everyone, from the UPS person to your firm’s most valuable prospect and client, who you are, what you do and how well you do it. They create and represent your firm’s brand and, whether or not your name is on the front door, they represent you – the owner.
So…how do you find the people who have the “right stuff”, whose experience, skills and talents will bring the most value to your firm? Here are ten traits/competencies that are a “must” either when looking for the “ideal” candidate to hire or as you evaluate the strengths and areas for development for your existing team members:
Excellent Communication Skills (written & verbal) – Do you really want to hire someone who does NOT excel in regard to communication? Every word spoken or produced with a keyboard is a reflection of your practice.
Self-Confidence – If someone does not believe in themself, then why would your firm’s best client, prospect, center of influence or the other members of your staff/team? Confidence goes a long way to establishing trust.
Team Building – Can the candidate provide you with examples of how they helped to make the other members of the team better? Have the various existing members of your team clearly demonstrated this ability?
Innovation and Resourcefulness – For the last 30 years or so, we have all been exposed to situations that demanded we find a way to “do more with less”. This is a key competency for anyone working in a small business. Are your team members stepping up to find new and creative ways to address everything from workflow to business development opportunities?
Time Management/Planning and Organization – Much like “communication” above, the question here really is – Do you really want someone on your team who is disorganized and cannot effectively manage their time? The last thing you need to be doing, as the owner of the firm, is micromanaging your people. If you have the right people, they can pretty much manage themselves.
Decision-Making and Judgment – Good decisions can wind up being “game-changers” for your practice…Poor judgment can bring an organization to its knees overnight. Which would you prefer? A big part of building a great organization is to “populate” it with people who you can trust to consistently make solid decisions and judgments on the little things and the big things.
Embracing Diversity and Using Such to Create Powerful Synergies – Diversity exists in every organization that includes more than one person. We are all different in some manner; we have different skills and areas of expertise. We all have some things at which we perform very well and others that just “aren't our thing”. The trick is to find people who can look beyond the horizon and recognize the different strengths that each person brings to the team and then finding a way to combine those individual talents into a powerful synergy for success.
Leadership – You don’t have to be the boss to be a good leader. Every member of your team should lead by example. If they cannot or will not, then it’s time to consider making some changes.
Global Thinker/Visionary/Thought Leader – Do your folks understand their role in the practice and the consequences to the organization as a whole of the decisions they make/actions they take? Do your folks “get it”…do they understand the vision for the practice and how their actions (or lack thereof) can impact this vision?
Accountability – Every one of us has to be accountable for our actions. On the surface, this seems to be a simple & reasonable statement. Yet, most of us have at some point in our working careers worked alongside someone who “threw us under the bus”, because it was not in their DNA to accept responsibility. Sadly, this is all too common a trait among employees/staff/advisors. The real “keepers” here are those folks who take full responsibility for their actions (or lack of action) and are more concerned about how they can work “smarter” to prevent a repeat of the issue than figuring out on whom to blame their mistakes.
Now…the real trick is to know how to sift through dozens/hundreds of resumes to find the few candidates that have these qualities/traits and thus worthy of an interview, and how to determine the strengths and weaknesses of your existing team in regard to these performance characteristics.