Talking Story

Starting new conversations in the workplace!

Do you ask Good Questions?

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Learning to ask good questions is a finely tuned skill that great managers and leaders will master. We started to talk about this a little bit last time… sometimes questions are staged, or otherwise welcomed versus asked outright: Who gives you your Second Opinion?).

Questions are sort of like picture frames: There is a vast array of different ones, and though the painting stays the same once the paint has dried and set completely, the painting can look completely different to you depending which frame you put it in —or if you use one at all.

Or just paint it

Good questions come from good intention

Once you ask a question, the words which ‘paint’ it are said. But how did you frame them, and why?

For example, I have three favorite questions for managers and leaders I interview in coaching assessments before we embark on Managing with Aloha programs (Frame 1). These are also great as questions for the managers you are thinking about hiring, if you share similar values (Frame 2 ”“ I’ll put the Hawaiian values in parentheses):

  1. What’s your calling? (Ho‘ohana as the value of intentional work)
  2. How do you learn? (‘Ike loa as the value of lifelong learning)
  3. What kind of things will you methodically plan? (‘Imi ola as the value of created destiny)

My purpose for those questions is that I choose my customers; I coach people who I believe are ready to go from good to great. It’s more challenging and fun for me, and it’s more useful and joyous for them. Not only do their values tell me what they believe in, they tell me what they are ready for. Within my coaching programs, the values of Ho‘ohana, ‘Ike loa and ‘Imi ola collectively fortify what I consider to be ‘good to great’ readiness in the Alaka‘i framing of the Managing with Aloha way that great managers work.

Thus Frame 2: I am assuming those are the same kind of people that you hire as Alaka‘i managers, right? If you share the value framing of Alaka‘i, you likely believe, as I do, that

  1. Management is a calling, not a title on an org chart.
  2. Managers and leaders are lifelong learners; learning is the good food and nutrition necessary for their growth. No growth, no leadership potential.
  3. The great managers are diligent planners; they are obsessed with lining up those mission arrows which point to the leadership visions they champion.

I think of good questions are those which have noble purpose: They catch people in what they are doing right, and can further build upon; thus they align with my own intention to coach. Good questions do not have that “what do you think you are doing?” tone to them: They are not those Aha! Caught you doing something wrong! questions which embarrass or demoralize people, and get them to shrink when they struggle to answer.

My job as a coach (and yours as an Alaka‘i boss and mentor) is to help them make their weaknesses irrelevant, and I much prefer to do so by keeping my focus diligently (i.e. intentionally) leveled on their strengths instead.

Choose a frame for your painting

Try it. Choose three values you want your managers to have.
(Here are some Hawaiian value suggestions if you would like to use them: Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou: Hawaiian Values for 2009)

Next, write a belief statement for each of those three values: Why is it important to you that each manager on your team embody those beliefs as well? ”If they do, they align with your purpose and thus fortify your organizational culture instead of fragmenting it with a different belief system (which would be a different framing).

Third, turn your belief into a good question of noble purpose: Frame it as a question which quickly tells you if a prospective candidate shares your managerial values or not. If they don’t, they aren’t bad people, they simply are not a fit for your organizational culture, and they need to keep looking for their better match ”“ and you need to keep looking for yours.

Frame 3: Your questions may also work for that long-term manager sitting in their annual performance appraisal with you, if both of you are looking for how past loyalty and comfort can now make the leap to new stretch and a greater leadership challenge.

By the way, if you happen to be looking for a new job right now, you have just identified the three values that you should be looking for in your new boss-to-be. (Frame 4) Remember, there are two decisions to be made in every hiring situation.

Let’s talk story.

  • Do you have good questions to share with us which are among your favorites?
  • What did you come up with as a value and question match-up in this exercise?

Comment here, or via the tweet-conversation we have on Twitter @sayalakai.


More reading from the Say “Alaka‘i” archives: Alaka‘i Archive Love: February 2009 Update

~ Originally published on Say “Alaka‘i” ~
Do you ask Good Questions?


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Never discount your intuition: Trust in it, and groom it

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2010 Update: I made the decision to bring Say “Alaka‘i” here to Talking Story in late May of 2010 when the Honolulu Advertiser, where the blog previously appeared, was merged with the Star Bulletin (Read more at Say “Alaka‘i” is Returning to the Mothership).

Therefore, the post appearing below is a copy of the one which had originally appeared there on January 25, 2009, so we will be able to reference it in the future when the original url it had been published on is no more…

Hibiscus

Never discount your intuition: Trust in it, and groom it

Preface:
Welcome to Sunday Koa Kākou. Sunday is the day I answer questions you send to me. If you have a question connected to management and leadership, leave a comment here, or email me.

From the Say “Alaka‘i” mailbox:

I’ve been reading your job hunting and RISH postings with great interest because ours is a firm which is hiring, and we need to fill a few positions. However RISH can also get harder when unemployment rises like this, and people are so desperate to get a job, and any job. Hate to say it, but people lie a lot, and it seems the white lies in interviews get bigger and bolder. I am very wary of people who interview well, but really just want to get a paycheck again, and so they seem to be “gaming it” in our conversation. So I was wondering about adopting a more scientific system: How do you feel about those talent assessment programs you can purchase, where behavior-based questions are specifically designed for a company’s needs?

I’m not a fan of them, and I think you’d be better off spending your money in another way right now. Talent assessment programs are generally very expensive when customized (essential, if you purchase them at all), and their results are not completely satisfactory nor pleasing to me.

A quick sidebar: We’ve devoted a good amount of blog space to job-hunting and hiring lately, and I’ll index the posts this emailer refers to as a footnote below.

Buying a fish, or learning to fish?

I first used one of those “talent indexing” programs years ago while with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and at the time I felt very fortunate because we were taught how it was constructed, and how to interpret the results accurately: It was learning I have since used repeatedly and built on. However since then, the newer systems I’ve learned about keep much of that back-story and analysis as part of their proprietary information ”“ and that doesn’t help you. To paraphrase an old parable: You are buying a fish, but you aren’t learning to fish.

A second drawback is that over time the questions became rote and boring to interviewers, and appear very detached and impersonal to candidates (something we learned quickly at The Ritz-Carlton hotel I was then associated with). Those “canned questions” can possibly be effective when they are part of the screening process in the HR office of a very large company looking for a few basic competencies and consistencies, or in a mass-hire situation where they are highly preliminary, in that (and only if) they are always followed up by another more personal interview/conversation by the hiring manager ”“ who should be the person they will directly report to.

Frankly I don’t care for them very much then either, for they don’t give the greatest first impression I would want a potential candidate to have of me or my company. Canned processes don’t sync well with my Aloha, Ho‘ohana and Ho‘okipa value system.

Relationship should trump process

You are starting a relationship when you interview, and no canned process can do that as well as you being willing to personalize your conversation with a candidate one on one. And yes, that includes separating the good candidates from the not as good ones.

Your question tells me that your intuition is kicking in when it needs to, and though it takes time, I feel that grooming your intuition continually by merit of both your hiring failures and successes is a far superior idea, one that will serve you well tenfold.

Let’s look at a couple of those RISH questions again, and from a different standpoint, that of a manager’s personal intuition, something no assessment program will ever duplicate for you. The ones connected to Recruitment are in italics, and I’m going to add a bit to them;

Who are you seeking?

  1. What does “the best possible person” for a position mean to you?
    What kind of relationship will you want to have with this person if you hire them? How often will you converse, and about what kinds of things, and how important will it be that you both communicate well, with full trust and understanding? Are you already having that kind of conversation right now, or will it take considerable more work?
  2. What combination of talent, skills and knowledge and industry/position competencies is most desirable, and what values are you hiring for?
    Think about how these things will be received by your customer, and by your vendor partners as well: Will they enjoy a relationship with this person too, feeling they are authentic in sharing your company competencies and values? In addition, will this person be part of a team? What are the strengths and weaknesses already present on that particular team: Will this be the person to successfully fill any gaps?
  3. What do you consider “ready to hit the ground running” to mean? Conversely, how much training are you willing to give someone, or might you even prefer to give them?
    And let’s think about both orientation and training for a moment: How much of it will be a natural for this person, and how much might be a fairly strenuous shift for them, where their results will be staged at best? What kind of learning are they looking for, and can you visualize they’re growing with you as their mentor? Will you enjoy teaching and coaching them?

I have yet to find an assessment tool which can answer most of these questions better than a hiring manager can, even one fairly “green behind the ears.”

Make the best of every conversation you have

Don't just go through the paces. Switch gears if you have to. For remember this: There are tons of different relationships you can have!

If you are in an interview and your intuition kicks in, telling you, “this is not the person I am looking for in filling this position,” ask yourself this: “So, who can they be? What kind of relationship could we still have?” Are they potentially a customer for you? Could they be a well-connected ambassador of your company? Could you personally strike up a good friendship, or network in a different way? Once you have made your decision in an interview not to hire them, these questions are not a conflict of interest.

Seek to optimize the best possible result of every interview you do.

Most jobs turn out to be temporary; we want people to continually learn, and grow into meeting bigger challenges. On the other hand, our relationships generally last much, much longer serving us in multiple ways, and looming much larger than company boundaries, something particularly true in our island communities.

Footnote: These are the past postings I believe this reader and hiring manager was referring to:

Securing employment today requires more homework

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2010 Update: I made the decision to bring Say “Alaka‘i” here to Talking Story in late May of 2010 when the Honolulu Advertiser, where the blog previously appeared, was merged with the Star Bulletin (Read more at Say “Alaka‘i” is Returning to the Mothership).

Therefore, the post appearing below is a copy of the one which had originally appeared there on January 18, 2009, so we will be able to reference it in the future when the original url it had been published on is no more…

Hibiscus

Securing employment today requires more homework

Preface:
Welcome to Sunday Koa Kākou. Sunday is the day I answer questions you send to me. If you have a question connected to management and leadership, leave a comment here, or email me.

From the Say “Alaka‘i” mailbox:

Up to today I have written 26 articles for this blog, and one has emerged as the runaway winner with the number of follow-up questions and frustrations being emailed to me: Job-hunting? Don’t apply and fill, create and pitch. I’ve answered some outlying questions and concerns individually, however there is a common thread with the challenges you are sharing with me too, and so I’d like to tackle it in our Sunday Koa Kākou today:

I did not say this was easy. You’ve got to do your homework, and be best in class.

“No one is hiring!”

As we can expect, my article has delivered the most value to those who still have their jobs, but find they must now continually prove their worth to their employers: This is not a time where it’s a good strategy to stay under the radar and just get by.

It’s much tougher for those of you who now find you are out of work completely, especially those who haven’t been “shopping the job market” for quite a while: You’ve found that a lot has changed, with technology and generational demographics being two of the more formidable learning challenges. [This past Tuesday’s Job Competencies for 2009: Let’s figure them out, was written to help you recognize others.]

Unemployment levels both nationally and in Hawai‘i are climbing steadily, and I keep hearing from you that “no one is hiring.” I know it’s tough, but that isn’t exactly true; much fewer people are hiring, and they can be much more selective now; it’s the simple rule of supply and demand. It is currently frustrating and frightening for many on the supply side of the equation because we’re in a recession, and consumers of nearly all products and services are holding on to whatever cash they can —and in turn, this affects their willingness to hire, adding to their cost burden.

Thus, Job-hunting? Don’t apply and fill, create and pitch came from the approach of helping potential employers understand why they shouldn’t take the option of not hiring you —the talented, savvy, perfect answer for their needs you— as what could be an even bigger cost and long term risk for them.

The right boss for you, IS hiring

You have to find him, or her.

Let’s go back to this: Why do you suppose my “create and pitch” advice could more easily be taken by those already in a job?

They know the ropes. They already know of the information that someone considered an outsider to the company doesn’t, and they have the insider’s past experience with how best to use that information. They have leverage. If you aren’t yet an insider, you have to do a lot more homework, and if you want to get in, you’ve got to be the one who does that homework best.

What “don’t apply and fill” also alludes to, is this: You can’t talk someone into hiring you, if you simply are not the person they need or want. So before you secure an interview, you have to find out all you can about those two things: What do they need, and who do they want?

You’ve got to be brutally honest with yourself too: If it’s probably not you, keep looking. Don’t take it personally and let it get to you; you’re just not a match, and you belong somewhere else.

In today’s economy, “I can be that person” is probably not good enough. This is the critical third question: Are you that person right now?

For right now, and in all employment situations where there are more job-seekers than job-givers, all potential employers have the luxury of suspending their training budgets, and hiring people ready to hit the ground running with little more than short orientations.

At first it may not seem like it, but this is good news: The right boss for you wants you to find them. You’d be surprised how they can make a job happen when they feel their perfect candidate unexpectedly walked in the door. They know that if they are right about you, you will end up paying your own wages by earning your keep —and then some. (And if they don’t, they’re not smart enough in business to deserve you anyway. Keep looking.)

Seek a company 1st and a job with that company 2nd

There is one sure-fire way to save yourself a lot of the frustration of job rejection. Make sure you are choosing the right company first.

When I was hiring, I was always impressed with the candidate who arrived for an interview having done a lot of their homework: They already knew a lot about my company and my needs, and they had prepared great questions for me. In essence, they already knew we were a match, and they were ready to work: They used the interview to make sure they had complete clarity on all my expectations. Their questions demonstrated what they already discovered, but could further build on.

In an interview, “Is this what you need?” questions are humble and clarify. “I’m the man (or woman) for this job, and this is why you need me” statements are presumptuous and too aggressive —even when they’re true.

Great interviews helped me see that the candidate was convinced my company was what they needed and wanted. They built up my ego (in being smart enough to already work for this highly desirable and intriguing company) and they got me to listen very intently. Now, having secured my rapt attention, they were working on helping me arrive at seeing what my company needed and wanted, and how they were my answer. They were working on part two: Specific job options.

I could see how it would be if we worked together all the time: Our partnership had already started.

If you are an employer looking to hire right now, I welcome you to chip in here:
What, and who are you looking for?

Milk’s good” Got RISH?

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2010 Update: I made the decision to bring Say “Alaka‘i” here to Talking Story in late May of 2010 when the Honolulu Advertiser, where the blog previously appeared, was merged with the Star Bulletin (Read more at Say “Alaka‘i” is Returning to the Mothership).

Therefore, the post appearing below is a copy of the one which had originally appeared there on January 8, 2009, so we will be able to reference it in the future when the original url it had been published on is no more…

Hibiscus

Milk’s good” Got RISH?

As appears on Say “Alaka‘i” today: Milk’s good” Got RISH?

Sunday’s question (Job-hunting? Don’t apply and fill, create and pitch) and Tuesday’s follow-up (There are 2 Decisions Made with Every Hire) got me thinking that this is as good a time as any to be adding RISH to our Definitions and Context category here. Just as milk makes your teeth and bones stronger, RISH does wonders for the bones of your company ”“ your labor.

RISH stands for Recruitment, Interview, Selection, and Hiring. See all those HR hands shooting up, saying, “I know, I know!”???

Ah, but do they? The game is changing people; we all know that… What does RISH mean to a winning company today?

Consider RISH as a series of questions: They are the questions every business needs to answer in a manner congruent with the value-alignment which best engenders the organizational culture they thrive upon.

RISHy Questions

I would say that the questions each of these steps of Recruitment, Interview, Selection and Hiring seek to answer haven’t changed all that much. However the answers are not necessarily the same as they were a few years ago, or as recently as in the past six months:

  • Your answers should shift, adapt and change each time workforce demographics change —and most HR professionals will tell you that workforce demographics change constantly.
  • Your answers should shift, adapt and change each time there is a shift in your business model —and there are a lot of business models changing right now in order to survive” Leaders don’t wait for any cycle.

RISH answers can also fluctuate wildly from company to company, for not every business shares the same values, even when within the same industry. When your answers are known by job applicants, they can brand your desirability as a prospective employer, or as one to steer clear of. After all, a business is a collection of people in-company: Their reputation is one a prospective candidate is fully aware of inheriting, gaining it by association.
So, what are the questions?

For Recruitment:

Who are you seeking?

  • What does “the best possible person” for a position mean to you?
  • What combination of talent, skills and knowledge and industry/position competencies is most desirable, and what values are you hiring for?
  • What do you consider “ready to hit the ground running” to mean? Conversely, how much training are you willing to give someone, or might you even prefer to give them?

Interview:

How will you know when you’ve found them?

  • What must you cover to learn if the candidate you are interviewing IS that “best possible person” you have defined via answering your Recruitment questions?

Selection:

What choice is made in each possible Interview outcome?

  • What happens if you cannot find your best possible person? Do you hire the best available, or do you wait and outsource meantime?
  • What happens when you have more than one person to choose from? How is your choice made, and what is done to ensure those you do not select remain your fans?
  • What happens when “the best possible person” becomes available, but there is no job vacancy for them? Is there another way you can ‘employ’ what they potentially can offer you?

Hiring:

How does someone start working with you in the best possible way?

  • What is involved when an offer is made? What is the crucial up-front knowledge that must be covered for both the candidate and the company?
  • What must happen during a new employee’s 90-day orientation and at-will period, and how might this differ based upon a specific position? Why?
  • What happens if you discover your Selection decision erred in some way?

Collaborate on your answers!

If it’s time that you sit with these answers, consider how you can optimize the process. Get your team together and tackle them as a collaborative exercise, for doing so is an excellent way to reexamine the values which contribute to several key structure and stress points within your organizational culture. You are likely to find the exercise one where both training and recommitment happen to the values you hold dear.

Your people truly are your greatest asset, and your RISHy processes should not be risky business. Are you due for some newly revealed answers?