I have to - I want to - I love to

A methodology for hiring the best team

My wife and I were recently out to dinner with some friends. The conversation was stimulating and enjoyable and the entire evening was a nice diversion from life.  During our conversation our friend expressed how much she loved to run.  She’s been an avid runner for years, participating in marathons, half marathons and other local events whenever possible.  What piqued my interest was the term, “love to run”.  This phrase is completely foreign to me.  Although I’ve enjoyed participating in athletics my entire life, I can honestly say that the phrase, I love to run, has never fallen from my lips.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to interview hundreds of applicants for dozens of job openings.  Early on, I used the methods and programs outlined by HR professionals and company policies.  I quickly learned that this was getting me employees that were, no doubt, qualified to do the job, but left me wanting, in many situations, for an employee with fire and vision.  Sure, they completed their tasks, but often they clocked in at 8am (more like 8:15) and clocked out at 5pm (strange how they never stayed 15 minutes late). 

I quickly learned that I was getting the outcomes I was hiring for.  I was hiring people that were talented and could do their job and I got those people.  The only problem … in most cases, they were doing it because they had to; at best, because they wanted to.  I had talented people, but not passionate people.  I had qualified people, but I didn’t have thought leaders.  I had good employees but I didn’t have great employees. 

During one particular interview, I had that “ah ha” moment.  The applicant used the term, “I love to do this”.  I paused for a few moments (In retrospect, I feel bad for the applicant.  She probably thought she said or had done something wrong) and finally, I said something I’ve never said before in an interview…. “you’ve got the job!!!”

What had I done!!!!  I didn’t even validate her qualifications fully.  Sure, her skills and history were on the resume, but I didn’t quiz her about them.  I just knew that she LOVED to do what I was hiring for.   After a few months, I learned that I had made the best hire of my career.  She was passionate, talented and loved her work. She’d clock in early and leave late.  She was driven and didn’t need to be “managed”; guided, sure. But not “managed”.

Since that time, I’ve tried to use the methodology of “I have-to, I want-to, I love-to”:

 

1.       I find out what the applicant is passionate about; find out what they love
2.       I test for qualifications.  This should only be done if someone loves what they do, or at very minimum wants to do it. 

If someone states that they are a runner – they clearly love it (like our friend).  Sure, others can say “I run” (like me) but it’s usually because we have to or maybe want to.  I run, but I am no runner.  Runners LOVE to run.  Coders love to code.  Clerks love to clerk.

The next time you are interviewing a candidate, set aside the resume and skills test and ask questions that help you understand what they are passionate about.  If they are passionate about what you’re hiring for, then quickly double check their skills, but only to confirm they are a good fit.  This will make you look like a genius in the future.  Your hires are much more likely to shine than that of other departments.  You'll be hiring passion, they’ll still be hiring skillset and qualifications.  

Focus on those who LOVE TO – keep and encourage those that WANT TO, and avoid those who HAVE TO.

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DuVall J Laws is the Sr. Director of Information Technology at Partners In Leadership. DuVall has managed in the Insurance, Banking, Healthcare and Leadership Training Industries.  DuVall holds a B.S. in Information Systems from Utah Valley University and an M.B.A from the University of  Redlands.

Being Happy Is More Important Than Being Right

Why couldn't anyone else see that Dennis (this may or may not have been his real name) was a con artist?  I had worked with him long enough to know that I was right about him being a scoundrel.  Oddly, being right about Dennis was making me miserable.  Let me explain.

Years ago the company I was working for hired Dennis as a consultant for an aggressive research project we had undertaken.  At first blush, he was a perfect candidate to help us.  His fees were as large as his ego, and seemingly as large as his knowledge base and network outreach.  He said all the right things to all the right people, including me.  I was very impressed with Dennis and very much wanted to impress him in return.  For a short time, I was proud to be his "teachers pet".  My boss and I did everything he asked .... for a while.

It didn't take long for the honeymoon to end.  His perceived expertise was only skin deep, and the more we worked together, the easier it was to identify his fraudulent behavior.  Soon, my boss and I started comparing notes and came to realize Dennis was a fake.  And he was really good at it too.  I suppose that is the definition of a con artist. 

My boss and I mistakenly thought we could swoop in and save the day.  We were going to expose Dennis to the executive team, and save the company loads of money in the process.  We would be congratulated for our commitment and loyalty to our employer.  It could be a game-changer for our career paths!

My boss and I were right about two things.

1. Dennis was indeed a crook, and
2. Our attempts to expose him nearly changed the trajectory of our careers, but not the way we had envisioned.

After a few attempts at revealing Dennis' ugly character, we found ourselves in the CEO's office with strong hints of losing our jobs if we continued down this path. 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  I certainly would have been fired if the CEO could have read my mind.  "What?"  "Are you kidding me?"  "I work with this snake more than anyone else, and I know more than anyone else how right I am about him."  "He is stealing money from the company, and this is how I am treated for trying to prevent it from happening!"  And so on...

(By the way, as a side note, all of this was handled very professionally.  It was never an immature process, as you might assume.  By this time, my boss and I had "converted" a few others to the cause and they could see it as well.  We even had a PI do some digging to confirm our suspicions.)

I walked away from the CEO's office completely deflated.  As did my boss.  So, this is how it was going to be?  We were right about this guy, and we knew for a fact we were right. 

But ... being right was making us miserable.  We both started disliking our jobs more than ever.  Which was odd because we had both agreed it was our favorite job just months before.  Weeks later nothing had changed, except my attitude.  Being right was turning out to be an unhealthy burden.

Over one particular weekend, having taken the time to reflect on our dilemma, both my boss and I came to the same conclusion.  Sometimes being happy is more important than being right.  We had both lost sight of the many joys that we had come to love about our jobs.  We had both turned our attention to being right, and making sure everyone around us knew we were right.  That very day, we committed to each other that we were going to worry more about being happy, and worry less about being right.

The next day Dennis didn't change, but I did.  He was still as counterfeit as always, but I was happy.  And I stayed that way.  My boss was happier as well.  We both loved coming to work again.

To this day, I regularly remind myself that "being happy is more important than being right".  It is a principle I use at work, at home, and in my social life on a very regular basis. 

Turns out, trying to expose Dennis did indeed change the trajectory of my career after all, but still not the way I had envisioned.  It's been better than I could have imagined.  Much, much better.  It makes me happy just thinking about it. 


p.s. - in case you were wondering, everyone did slowly realize what we already knew, and Dennis lost his consulting agreement with us.  And, the CEO took the opportunity to sincerely apologize to me and my boss for what had happened.

 

 

 

 

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R. Dru Laws is Vice President of Seljan Company in Lake Mills Wisconsin, the Vice President of ARM (Association of Rotational Molding), and a global contributing editor to RotoWorld Magazine. Dru has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, and an MSc in Polymer Engineering from the Queens University of Belfast.