I have worked in a number of different roles ranging from HR Strategy through to Operational Management in IT. This means I‘ve spent many years recruiting staff, whether for my own team, being on an interview panel for colleagues, or across an organization as the HR representative. I have to confess that I started out fairly naïve about how to recruit well. I believed the hype that behavioural interviewing was the be-all and end-all of interview techniques. What I came to realize is that this only gives you someone who has had experience in the field you are recruiting for and perhaps you miss out on a complete genius wanting a career change. Not only that, you don’t know whether your organizational culture will motivate them or make them desperately unhappy, or whether the way they work will fit in with your current team.
The other little trap I discovered early on is that we like people who are like ourselves. You know what I mean. They walk into the interview room and you instantly like them. They talk in a way that you can relate to and give most of the right examples. They might not have all the criteria you are looking for but you are willing to forgive them because they are just such a nice person. WATCH OUT!
Recruiting someone similar to you might be what your team needs, but more often than not you are not creating the balance that you need in order to deliver on your operational demands. I learnt from a colleague how wonderful it is to have someone challenge you during an interview and then to consider how that challenge might play out in the workplace. It could make your company grow, allow you to grow in your career by broadening your perspective, or just be a lot of fun.
Working with NNC I have been involved in the development of a recruitment strategy that makes a distinct step away from the (now) traditional behavioural/skills based recruiting. We focus on natural talents and the values that motivate someone at work. We also have some other clever tricks that we use like modeling your top performers to see what it is that makes them so good so we can use that information. Combining this with understanding how someone’s emotional intelligence contributes to their role, we have a recruitment process that gets it right the first time. And what we love most is being able to pass this process over to you so you can keep on recruiting right.
If you want to know more about how to establish a successful recruitment process for your organisation, contact me on T: (03) 9555 7955 E: roz@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au
Rosalinda
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Different Maps of the World
Respect of others
Many of us were brought up to believe or at least have heard the old Elizabethan saying ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ In plain English it means ‘treat people they way you would like to be treated.’
Following this noble value is probably not a bad way to live your life….or is it? Think about it carefully. Many people take this ideal too far with staff, partners, children and friends. - urging others to do what we decide will be good for them!
It’s a very common attitude. If I like eating lightly cooked eggs, baked beans and mushrooms I may assume everyone else does too. I had a personally experience recently when I invited my best friends over for dinner and served one of my favourite meals only to find that they had recently stopped eating dairy products. Imagine my annoyance that my friends didn’t want this great meal I have cooked as I put half a lasagne in the bin!.
This same attitude prevails in the business world today. You should do things they way I think they should be done or they way I do them. When a colleague or staff member comes to us for guidance on how to complete a task we may respond with ‘how we think it should be done.’ Perhaps we should change the Elizabethan saying to ‘Impose unto others as you would do unto yourself.’
Unique Maps of the world
Each of us has different tastes. Different views. Different needs. Different ways of thinking. Each of us experiences the world differently.
Imagine drawing a map of the route you take to get from home to work regularly. That map would be your unique representation of your journey to work every day. Now imagine I looked at you map and said ‘actually you map isn’t the best route, you should go this way. Use my map instead of yours.’ How would you react? Most of would be entitled to think ‘what makes your map better than mine? Isn’t there almost always more than one way routine? And isn’t the best routine in the eye of the beholder?
I think this is a good metaphor for how many people try to influence staff today. They often impose their map of the world (on how things should be done) on staff and with the same act invalidate any other views. Should they be surprised when they face resistance or discomfort from staff?
“But I meant well…!”
It’s all done with the best of intentions, of course. Other people’s views are ignored because we assume that everyone is like us and that our approach is best. There is no need to ask what the other person’s would like or how they would like to be treated, because we have good intentions.
“You should be grateful…!”
With this common way of thinking you may not check whether the other person is happy with our generous advice because we are acting with good intentions. As long as we mean well they should be grateful for what we do for you – whether they want it or not. Whether or not it is appropriate. Whether or not they like it.
Action Points
Any leader who wants to be more effective at influencing their staff needs to understand their map of the world and start adding to the map rather than trying to impose your map on them. At Neural Networks Consulting (NNC) we put this philosophy at the heart of all our training. You should ensure it is at the heart of your leadership training too. Other actions you can take include
1. Aim to walk in their shoes. Take a real interest in what is important to each of your staff. In what they like and dislike. In what they fear, enjoy, believe and value.
2. Spend the next two weeks understanding their ‘map of the world.’ Ask a lot more questions and make a lot less statements. Turn your Transmit button off-and turn your Receive button on.
3. Use more Open rather than Closed questions.
4. Listen to answers you get and utilise the information from these answers in the conversation.
To find out more about how NNC can assist your business check out our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au/ or contact me on P: (03) 9555 7955
E: andrew@neuralnetworks.com.au
Respect of others
Many of us were brought up to believe or at least have heard the old Elizabethan saying ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ In plain English it means ‘treat people they way you would like to be treated.’
Following this noble value is probably not a bad way to live your life….or is it? Think about it carefully. Many people take this ideal too far with staff, partners, children and friends. - urging others to do what we decide will be good for them!
It’s a very common attitude. If I like eating lightly cooked eggs, baked beans and mushrooms I may assume everyone else does too. I had a personally experience recently when I invited my best friends over for dinner and served one of my favourite meals only to find that they had recently stopped eating dairy products. Imagine my annoyance that my friends didn’t want this great meal I have cooked as I put half a lasagne in the bin!.
This same attitude prevails in the business world today. You should do things they way I think they should be done or they way I do them. When a colleague or staff member comes to us for guidance on how to complete a task we may respond with ‘how we think it should be done.’ Perhaps we should change the Elizabethan saying to ‘Impose unto others as you would do unto yourself.’
Unique Maps of the world
Each of us has different tastes. Different views. Different needs. Different ways of thinking. Each of us experiences the world differently.
Imagine drawing a map of the route you take to get from home to work regularly. That map would be your unique representation of your journey to work every day. Now imagine I looked at you map and said ‘actually you map isn’t the best route, you should go this way. Use my map instead of yours.’ How would you react? Most of would be entitled to think ‘what makes your map better than mine? Isn’t there almost always more than one way routine? And isn’t the best routine in the eye of the beholder?
I think this is a good metaphor for how many people try to influence staff today. They often impose their map of the world (on how things should be done) on staff and with the same act invalidate any other views. Should they be surprised when they face resistance or discomfort from staff?
“But I meant well…!”
It’s all done with the best of intentions, of course. Other people’s views are ignored because we assume that everyone is like us and that our approach is best. There is no need to ask what the other person’s would like or how they would like to be treated, because we have good intentions.
“You should be grateful…!”
With this common way of thinking you may not check whether the other person is happy with our generous advice because we are acting with good intentions. As long as we mean well they should be grateful for what we do for you – whether they want it or not. Whether or not it is appropriate. Whether or not they like it.
Action Points
Any leader who wants to be more effective at influencing their staff needs to understand their map of the world and start adding to the map rather than trying to impose your map on them. At Neural Networks Consulting (NNC) we put this philosophy at the heart of all our training. You should ensure it is at the heart of your leadership training too. Other actions you can take include
1. Aim to walk in their shoes. Take a real interest in what is important to each of your staff. In what they like and dislike. In what they fear, enjoy, believe and value.
2. Spend the next two weeks understanding their ‘map of the world.’ Ask a lot more questions and make a lot less statements. Turn your Transmit button off-and turn your Receive button on.
3. Use more Open rather than Closed questions.
4. Listen to answers you get and utilise the information from these answers in the conversation.
To find out more about how NNC can assist your business check out our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au/ or contact me on P: (03) 9555 7955
E: andrew@neuralnetworks.com.au
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
How People Buy
Like many women, I’ll openly admit that I like to shop! However, it wasn’t until I started working at Neural Networks Consulting (NNC) that I truly understood what was behind my purchasing decisions and how crucial this process is for all salespeople to know.
Being a fairly rational and practical person it would be nice to say that my buying decisions are motivated by having a logical need. But if you get right down to the nuts and bolts of it….they are purely emotional. Let me give you a classic example on purchasing a pair of shoes. I’m nowhere near Imelda Marcos, but I do have one side of my whole closet taken up with different types of shoes – thongs, sandals, high heels, sneakers, canvas casuals, boots....the list goes on. Now if I was completely honest I would have to say that I probably only regularly wear about five different pairs depending on the occasion. In fact, I still have some hidden in there that I’ve never actually worn! So what is it that compels me to keep buying them?
It’s more then just the logical features and benefits that many salespeople cling to. It’s all a matter of understanding my emotional buying criteria at the time. How much taller and more powerful will I feel? Will my legs look longer and slimmer? Will they look cute with that outfit? How sexy and feminine do they make me feel? Are they warm, supportive, comfortable etc. etc. etc…..? And where does price fit into the equation? We may buy based on emotion, but we justify our decisions with logic and this is what my husband hears when I get home carrying another shoebox under my arm. “They were half price. I needed them for work. They are good quality so they’ll last me for ages.” Realistically that didn’t have anything to do with the underlying reason for buying those shoes, but sometimes we need that logic to get us over the line and be able to talk ourselves into (or out of) making that final decision.
So if you’re working in a sales environment stop flogging product based on features and benefits, expecting these to motivate everyone in the same way. Spend the time exploring what the emotional buying reasons of your customers are and you’re much more likely to have sales success.
If you’d like to know how NNC can help you or your organisation become more effective salespeople, contact me on T: (03) 9555 7955 E: gina@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au
Being a fairly rational and practical person it would be nice to say that my buying decisions are motivated by having a logical need. But if you get right down to the nuts and bolts of it….they are purely emotional. Let me give you a classic example on purchasing a pair of shoes. I’m nowhere near Imelda Marcos, but I do have one side of my whole closet taken up with different types of shoes – thongs, sandals, high heels, sneakers, canvas casuals, boots....the list goes on. Now if I was completely honest I would have to say that I probably only regularly wear about five different pairs depending on the occasion. In fact, I still have some hidden in there that I’ve never actually worn! So what is it that compels me to keep buying them?
It’s more then just the logical features and benefits that many salespeople cling to. It’s all a matter of understanding my emotional buying criteria at the time. How much taller and more powerful will I feel? Will my legs look longer and slimmer? Will they look cute with that outfit? How sexy and feminine do they make me feel? Are they warm, supportive, comfortable etc. etc. etc…..? And where does price fit into the equation? We may buy based on emotion, but we justify our decisions with logic and this is what my husband hears when I get home carrying another shoebox under my arm. “They were half price. I needed them for work. They are good quality so they’ll last me for ages.” Realistically that didn’t have anything to do with the underlying reason for buying those shoes, but sometimes we need that logic to get us over the line and be able to talk ourselves into (or out of) making that final decision.
So if you’re working in a sales environment stop flogging product based on features and benefits, expecting these to motivate everyone in the same way. Spend the time exploring what the emotional buying reasons of your customers are and you’re much more likely to have sales success.
If you’d like to know how NNC can help you or your organisation become more effective salespeople, contact me on T: (03) 9555 7955 E: gina@neuralnetworks.com.au or visit our website at http://www.neuralnetworks.com.au
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)