Do you have the right talent? Questions to ask
As leader, you are likely to find yourself in the position of having to make decisions about people. Some you will inherit and some will be of your own making.
Here are a few thoughts and questions to ask yourself in those situations:
To start, consider framing the issue in terms of fit with the role and not in terms of the person. My experience is that every person can perform if they are in the right job for them. If they are not in the right job, then they will not perform.
As your organization grows and evolves, the needs for key positions changes. Unfortunately, this change creeps up on us and we find that the needs of the position have outgrown the person.
I have encountered these situations myself personally, so hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!
Consider these questions…
1. What does the organization need right now and going forward from this position? Often, the expectations of the current role are unclear, much less expecations about the role going forward.
2. What is the single most important attribute that I must have for this position? A colleague of mine compares this to dating who you think is the ideal person, only to discover that what you really need is something else. Sometimes we hire a position based on what we think we need, only to discover later what we really need. Over time, we can become better at articulating those needs so we can be more effective at hiring decisions.
3. If I were to rehire for this position today, would I rehire the person currently in that role? If yes, why? If no, why? If not, look critically at the gaps and determine whether this person has the desire and ability to grow into the role with the right support. If they can, great. If not, then you have a decision to make.
4. If this person were to resign today, what would your reaction be? Jim Collins in Good to Great poses this question to determine if you have the right people on the bus. If you would make every effort to retain them, you have the right person. If you would be secretly relieved, you have the wrong person.
5. What are you going to do about it? Having gone through the questions above, you have some decisions to make. If you choose to do nothing, you perpetuate a situation that will only get worse. Sometimes the positions need to get reorganized and people moved around. Sometimes people will need to leave the organization. Most executives I work with regret not moving sooner to address these issues.
6. How do you want to handle this situation? I once worked with the board of a bank. The Chairman of the Board wanted to fire the CEO and wanted to do it swiftly. You can handle these decisions in a firm, fair, and humane way. If you do, you will earn goodwill rather than destroying it.
What other lessons have you learned that would apply in this situation?
