“Select Hard, Manage Easy^_SM,” describes how holding out for the best talent makes the job of managing so much easier.  

Think about the last poor hiring decision you or someone in your company made. The person who was hired undoubtedly caused more problems than they solved, consistently lagged your top performers, may have been constantly negative, and probably made excuses for their poor performance. Would you hire this person again? Most certainly not.  

How do you ensure that mistake is not repeated? When it’s busy and you need someone to fill a role now, it is often easier to simply take the first person who seems to be qualified. However, a more robust approach, taking more time and being more diligent in the selection process, is needed to ensure a quality result.  

Select the Very Best People 

Resumes and interviews only tell part of the story, and with the right training and wordsmithing a candidate can look far better than they actually are. What a resume and a face-to-face interview will not tell you, though, is how hard this person will likely work for you, how they respond to negative situations, or how resourceful they can be when things don’t quite go according to plan.  

Our scientifically-validated assessment will give you exactly that information, information vital to determine who you should hire and also to see if they are the right fit for your organization. Talent, a person’s natural capacity to achieve near-perfect performance, can be measured is an invaluable tool in choosing the right people to move your business forward. 

Always Find Time or Make Time for Your Top Performers 

Once you find someone who is talented, skilled, motivated, a great fit with the team and the culture, and shows great potential for this and future roles, you must invest in and develop that person in significant ways. Top performers usually don’t need a lot of your time, but they do need some of your time and resources. They also need to know that you care about them and value their contributions to the team and the organization.

You may firmly believe that top performers do need time and attention, but with so many fires to put out each day and so many meetings and other tasks, it may feel like you don’t have time. Try the following exercise to make time for your top performers:

• Block the first 15 minutes of every day and dedicate that time to a top performer. This way, there will be no fires burning, no meetings that cut into your time, and no excuses for forgetting because you were wrapped up in an important project. Before you even turn on your computer or look at your phone, go find a top performer and ask them about their recent successes, current goals, needed resources, and even their hobbies and special interests. This investment pays off as your top performers realize that you are there to help and support them, and that can lead to higher engagement and lower turnover.  

Encourage Others to Use Their Top Talents or Find Ways to Help Them Do So 

Think about this question: “What would the world be like if everyone did what they were good at enjoyed?” Can you imagine a company where each and every employee was in a role that allowed them to spend a majority of their time working on tasks at which they were exceptionally good at — essentially, where everyone was a top performer? For these people, work is or becomes a calling and and gains a higher meaning than a paycheck or even job security. 

These individuals cannot imagine doing anything else but this type of work. When a person is using their talents, their true strengths, they will be exceptionally good at a task and it is likely that they will truly enjoy it as well. It is necessary that managers make a significant effort to identify the talents of every person on their team, and find ways to enable each of them to use those talents every day.  

Cultivate Meaningful Relationships

It is highly recommended that you invest in great relationships with your employees. By truly showing each employee you care for them as a person and a professional, you will strengthen your bond, create rapport and trust, and possibly even create friendships. Multiple research studies from different institutions have shown that having a friend you trust at work is strongly correlated to feelings of engagement, and when that relationship comes from a manager or supervisor, the effect is even stronger.  

Conduct regular one-on-one coaching or Career Investment Discussions (CID’s) with each team member and regular team meetings that include a component that allows employees to get to know one another. This can be a formal or informal activity, but be sure to allow every employee time to share and offer everyone unconditional positive regard. These simple gestures reinforce your dedication to building relationship with your employees and are powerful ways to create and increase engagement.

Managing a team is easiest when managers build strong relationships with their team members and understand and appreciate the strengths each person brings to the table.

Contact us to learn how our individual and team development solutions empower growth today.