President-JohnWServices LLC ^CFO ^Management Consulting/Collaboration^Strategic Planning ^Financial System Design
𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. Hiring employees is part of leading a team. Over the years, I was responsible for several hiring decisions. Some of those choices were disasters. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. Finding candidates was difficult when we needed a controller at our California bank. The bank was small, and the employment market was very competitive, especially with technology companies adding staff at exorbitant salaries. After searching, we found a candidate with a community bank accounting background. The interviews went well, and the person accepted the position. Within a month of starting, the new controller issued a memo deriding his staff using derogatory names. The behavior was unacceptable. The person was terminated. This hire was an outstandingly lousy choice, but there are others. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. Since my track record on hiring was less than stellar, I decided to use a team for hiring. The team was my closest and most trusted co-workers. I found the process markedly improved. One unexpected discovery was that the candidates often relaxed and provided insights to the people who would potentially be their co-workers, which they did not do with me. The team would hear things I would never hear. These insights helped us understand whether the candidate would fit our culture and work ethic. If they were not a good fit, they were not hired. 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. This hiring approach succeeded for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that members of the hiring team had excellent insights into character. My insights were sometimes misguided, but I learned to listen to others. You are well served to identify a strong teammate when you have a weakness. And then trust their opinions.