Ask any business owner about their top challenges and you’ll usually find hiring and retaining good employees at the top of their list. Let’s face it, hiring exceptional talent can be tricky. It’s important to have a well-formulated process, including assessing the candidate’s fit, checking references, identifying the culture fit, and onboarding.
These are the usual areas of focus and are all important to have in your hiring process. Another important, but often-missed element of hiring is evaluating how the job is executed so that the top goals and performance metrics are more easily met. You’ll want to ask:
Is the position best executed by a Generalist – where the result is more important than how it is attained or
Is the position best executed by a Specialist – where how the result is obtained is as important as the result itself
Here is a simple example of why it’s important not to put a generalist in a position that needs to be executed by a specialist. Imagine you’re working in a hospital setting. There are a team of RN’s caring for the patients. Their tasks may include monitoring the patient’s vitals, administer medication, and communicate patient needs with the doctor among numerous other tasks.
As part of the patient-care team is a Medical Assistant. A Medical Assistant provides hygienic care (bathing and toileting), transports patients within the hospital, and assists nurses as directed for a variety of needs.
Imagine if you had a Medical Assistant who was naturally wired as a Generalist – where the result is more important than how it is attained. She was told there was a new patient coming in and to change the bedding of an existing patient. She tosses the sheets on the bed and asks the RN to handle the new bedding so that she can handle the new patient.
This is an example of what happens when a generalist performs a job that is designed for a specialist. How it occurs is that the Medical Assistant is not performing the tasks she is assigned and is delegating back.
Can you see how natural wiring can show up as a performance concern or other employee relation issue? At the root of the issue is natural wiring at work.
The next time you see an employee relation issue, take a look at human hardwiring. Remember this cautionary tale when hiring a generalist for a specialist position.
If you’re inspired to create extraordinary results by learning about human wiring, join us for the workshop, Wired to Win! Your Path to Passion, Purpose, and Profit on August 22-23, 2019. More at http://www.excellerateassociates.com/wired-to-win
Just a quick reminder that the deadline to register for the Wired to Win 101: How Are You Hardwired workshop is tomorrow, Friday, June 7, 2019!
Who is your audience:
Does this sound familiar?
A few months ago I shared an experience when a woman approached me after a speaking engagement and thanked me for saving her marriage. As a speaker, it might have been the first time I was a loss for words. She went on to explain that a simple tip that I shared on human wiring related to how Internal Thinkers and External Thinkers process thought made a significant difference in how she interacted with her husband.