Will

There is a very valuable yet skinny book called 12 Habits of Valuable Employees which I will recommend.

It analyses the habits that separate good employees from truly valuable ones, which is a distinction worth thinking about in itself.

The first habit is “Will-Habits of Desire” which refers simply to the job holder’s desire to do the job, and to do it well. The truth of the matter is that if someone genuinely wants to be a great Sales Manager, for example, and they want that so badly that they are prepared to do what it takes to get there, then they probably will. Conversely if we try to shoehorn someone into a job for which they really have no desire (will) it is something which isn’t likely to work for them or the company.

Personally, I would always rather have someone who is determined and ambitious than someone who is lukewarm. So when helping leaders recruit we often make candidates jump through a few hoops to get to interview stage on the theory that those that aren’t so committed will naturally self-deselect when things get a little difficult. How do you ensure that your hires really want to be on your team and do a great job, or don’t you think that is important?

So the questions for today are:

• With recruitment ads, success isn’t about how many applicants you get but about the quality of those applicants. Is your process designed to optimise for quality?
• How could you make it a little less easy for people to get to the interview stage so that they would have to demonstrate their will?
• Is your process designed for deselection, and if not, should it be?