Traits to look for when you need to find talent
I recently wrote that hiring “oddballs” can give your company a competitive advantage. Non-conformists bring a diversity of talent, thought, and skills that can boost creativity and productivity.
When you’ve been around the tech world as long as I have, you know a lot of people. I am often asked to use those connections to help CEOs fill a particular position. I am happy to help with job referrals, and I try to refer only A players.
I understand the appeal of looking for job candidates who have done the job before, but a “been there done that” approach to hiring often leads to less than optimal results.
How much does a bad hire cost companies? It’s more than just money according to this infographic by Mindflash. Hiring the wrong person also causes lost time, productivity, and morale.
I was recently reminded of how important a single personnel decision can be. I traveled to San Francisco to make a presentation on behalf of a non-profit organization I’ve worked with for a couple of years.
The American CEO
I have just become a Forbes contributor and my site is aptly named The American CEO, where I give “practical advice for current and aspiring CEOs” much like I do in this blog.
Besides creative initiative and exceptionalism, which I’ve written about recently, there are two more traits I look for in every job candidate: motivation and value. Here’s what I mean by each.
The most important leadership skill is, clearly, the ability to make great people decisions, to put people in the right seats and to rigorously take them off the bus when you have to.
Photo credit: Flickr user Sean MacEntee
Philip Delves Broughton is the bestselling author of Ahead of the Curve about going to Harvard Business School, which is a very good book. I hired him to write a history of NetQoS.
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Earlier this week I continued my series about the three most important tools a CEO needs to succeed: credibility, competence, and caring.
