Round Pegs In Square Holes – Identifying, Developing And Building Skills
If you’re not suited
for a role, you won’t well perform in it, however hard you try.
Some people seem to be “good at anything”. Maybe, but even they will have their
preferred roles.
Someone who prefers working on their own or in small groups
will not flourish in a situation where they have to work in large groups of
people. Equally, someone who enjoys
dealing in numbers won't enjoy a role which requires them to write wordy reports
(unless the reports contain substantial amounts of numerical data).
Happily, there are usually thousands of people who meet our
needs in whatever position. The trick is
to find them and make sure that their past performance showcases their true talents.
I enjoy: learning new things, organising, planning, thinking
things through, getting up and speaking in public, training others, making
decisions, being with others, bouncing ideas off others, problem-solving, thinking on my feet and
advising others.
What does that suit me
to? Any number of “general management”
positions which I can learn. It makes me
an ideal consultant as this job requires me to get to know a business fast,
analyse a situation, develop an action plan and agree it with others, work with people at all
levels, teach them new skills, monitor progress against plans and solve
problems along the way.
Although I don’t feel comfortable “selling”, I've learned how to do it. I don’t have a “thick skin”. I don’t handle
rejection easily. I’m not good at detail or taking my time over making a decision.
Sometimes you may have to put someone onto a role that you know isn’t suited to them because it
will give them valuable experience, teach them new skills or build awareness of
how a certain part of the business works.
They may not like the role, but as long as they understand that there will
be an end to it, it helps. During my days as a trainee banker, I was sitting sorting out paper vouchers relating to customer account entries. I was bored and said so. One of the other staff working with me said "When you're a CEO, you'll remember how hard people work in the back office." I never forgot that comment made in 1985. An appreciation of what pthers go through is just as important as knowing your own job.
The key is identifying from the start the sort of
roles that your business has, what skills and attitude they require, and the sort of
personality and experience needed to fit them.
When you fill those roles, look for proof from past performance or
ability to think that the potential candidate is “right”. Give them an “orientation session” and time
to settle into the new role (at least 3 months). Some large organisations expect to hire the
“trained whale” - someone who already knows the job and can perform perfectly
from day 1. In reality, even if they
know the job, they don’t know how it’s done in your organisation and will take time to settle in. Force the pace and watch disaster hit you.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging”economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.
Labels: Career, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 18:57
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