An implicit consideration in selection is the motivation of candidates. What really drives a given individual? Is it money, power, recognition, excellence, knowledge, relationships or some other group of variables? Equally importantly, where does a given individual’s motivation drive them, and what price are they prepared to pay to get there?
Two very recent books discuss the issue from different perspectives. The first, titled Talent is Overrated makes the case that high performance is much more than a genetic lottery in which intellect or ability are the grand prizes. Instead, high performance is the sum of purposeful and deliberate practice, constant feedback, a teacher, and the personal belief that one’s destiny is self-controlled. The book also argues that those who achieve excellence share a drive to excel, and the willingness to focus, concentrate and endure to achieve their goals. This willingness to pay the price of excellence separates the few from the many.
The second book, titled The Trophy Kids Grow Up, describes the generation of coddled, positive reinforcement-only kids as they now enter the work force. Distinguished by a certain sense of entitlement, this group demands constant feedback, variety and improvement of their lot. They expect the world to conform to their needs, not the other way around. As for learning from failure, forget it, these are inconvenient issues that their parents have always made go away. Unlike the high performers in the first book, these millennial kids want the glory without the guts. They want to be CEO but they do not want to give up time with their families and friends to get there. These kids have skipped the more basic of Maslow’s needs, and have moved right to self-actualization. Whatever they may be driven to achieve, it is tempered by what they are prepared to do to achieve it.
Something will have to give.
An Abject Failure in Due Diligence and Judgment
August 10, 2010
There are few shortcuts when it comes to hiring senior-level executive talent. And when firms are not careful, the price they pay can be exorbitant. Consider the true story of a company that paid a big price.
One Reason Interviewing Candidates is So Difficult
July 13, 2010
I was browsing in my local bookstore on the weekend when I came upon a small book titled ‘Toughest Interview Questions'. Always interested in this subject I quickly leafed through it and put it in the pile to buy.
Strategies for those wanting to make a career or sector change
June 23, 2010
Many transitional executives contemplate career changes. It may be a career auto or general manufacturing sector executive questioning its future, or a large-company type who covets the chance to work in a smaller organization. Often, it is simply individuals longing to shed unfulfilling careers for exotic destinations as yet unknown.
Executives in Transition- Why a rifle beats a shotgun in nabbing that perfect job
June 21, 2010
As a headhunter I am an obligatory stop on the networking circuit of many executive job seekers. I hold the promise of a barometer on the employment market, contacts, ideas, and even suitable ongoing searches. I am always happy to participate in courtesy interviews as I neither envy the job seekers' circumstances nor take lightly their courage in reaching out to me.
The Perils of the Successful Matchmaker
June 14, 2010
What is a successful matchmaker?
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Patti Stanger who runs The Millionaire's Club, a Los Angeles-based "elite" matchmaking service and reality television program.
Interviewing: The Quest for Patterns and Themes
May 14, 2010
Last week, two seemingly unrelated articles caught my attention. The first was a magazine obituary on C.K. Prahalad, the management thinker best known for his work on core competencies. The article spoke extensively of his ‘big ideas' and noted his habit of traveling the world "prying useful information out of everyone he met…always looking for connections and patterns, hoping to predict change".
Checkers vs. Chess: Why Candidates Play The Wrong Interview Game…and Pay the Price !
May 4, 2010
I often join my clients when they conduct candidate interviews. I moderate, participate, listen and learn. They are fascinating glimpses into how candidates and companies alike play the complex game of talent acquisition.
The superhero hiring game and why everyone loses
April 5, 2010
When it comes to recruiting leaders, companies continue to search for those Steve Jobs-like characters that can single-handedly turn around a company's fortunes, blaze paths of innovation and market their wares like no other before them.
Why candidates should expand and prep their references
February 3, 2010
As headhunters scramble to match candidates with their shapeshifting clients, process and painstaking due diligence rule the day. To some candidates such rigor may feel intrusive or simply unnecessary. It shouldn't. In fact, rigor should be embraced and used to all candidates advantage. Consider the use of references as an illustration.
The Unwanted CEO Job …and the one individual who thought otherwise
January 8, 2010
Several recent articles have lauded the success of Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems. With skyrocketing revenues, a growing market, and money in the bank, the firm's prospects have never been better and the street appears to love the story. It was a much more difficult story to sell in 2003, with one notable exception.
The Relationship Between Motivation and Success
September 6, 2008