*This piece appeared on the CBS Small Business Pulse website:

How To Keep The Competitive Hiring Culture In Your Favor

December 28, 2015

Click here for online version of article with accompanying video:

http://cbspulse.com/2015/12/28/how-competitive-hiring-culture-favor/

Todd Cherches is the CEO and co-founder of BigBlueGumball, a NYC-based training consulting firm that helps companies discover and develop the hidden talents within their organizations. He offers the following insights on a major issue that small businesses are currently facing.

There are numerous issues commonly faced by my small business clients, but one of the biggest issues right now is the war for talent as small businesses compete with bigger companies, and with each other, around talent acquisition, engagement, and retention.

With the job market picking up, employees have more opportunities available to them than they have had in years to decide where they want to take their talents. So companies need to work harder than ever to get people to stay…while also getting them to put their heart and soul into what they do. As one of the top reasons people quit their jobs is due to poor management and/or no leadership, leadership development and management training are more crucial than ever.

What do small businesses need to do to compete in this war for talent?

Just as a speedboat is more nimble than a battleship, small businesses can compete with larger organizations by leveraging their competitive advantages. While small businesses may not have the size, resources, and visibility of the big boys, they can and must be more creative and flexible in attracting, engaging and retaining talented people.

There are numerous ways of doing so including, but not limited to:

• Offering employees greater access to information and increased involvement in things that interest them
• Flexibility in terms of when, where and how they go about their work
• Being creative in implementing non-financial, low-cost reward and recognition programs
• Offering training and development, and personalized coaching and mentoring opportunities

This war is a battle amongst organizations of all types to acquire, engage, and retain the best people from a limited pool of top talent. The way we help in this regard -- through our consulting, training and coaching work -- is by encouraging and enabling our clients to create an environment that gets potential hires to want to work there, to motivate these employees to perform and to produce while they are there, and to support and develop them so that they want to stay there.

In his book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” Dan Pink states that people are motivated by three key non-financial incentives — Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. If small businesses empower their people to do their jobs in their own way [autonomy], in an environment that allows them to develop and grow [mastery], while doing work that truly matters [purpose], they will be taking positive steps towards setting their people, and their organizations, up for success.
 
As told to Robin D. Everson of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.

We all want to be liked.

But if you had to choose between being liked, admired, respected, or trusted which would you choose?

If you could only pick one, would you rather have a boss that you liked, that you admired, that you respected, or that you trusted?

What about if you are a manager or HR recruiter interviewing potential job candidates. Could you, would you, hire someone who – on a personal level – you trusted to do the job…but didn’t really like?

These terms are definitely not mutually exclusive. And, ideally we’d like to be – and associate with – someone who possesses all four of these highly positive traits.

But what about when they come into conflict with one another?

Whose lead would you choose to follow?

Let’s say that you were assigned to a 5-person project team with four other people.

1. Alan is someone you really LIKE on a personal level. He’s a good guy, friendly, fun, personable, and you enjoy being in his company. But he’s kind of a class clown who others often make fun of, so you don’t really admire the fact that people don’t take him seriously, respect, or trust him on a professional level.

2. Betty you don’t really like that much on a personal level as she’s not really that friendly or warm towards you, but you ADMIRE her impressive background, advanced degree, and career accomplishments. As she doesn’t treat you or others with respect, you don’t have much respect for her in return, and are not sure if you really trust her.

3. Chris is not that friendly either, and you don’t really admire the fact that he got his job through an internal personal connection, leapfrogging over others who’ve been here longer and were more deserving. But you RESPECT the fact that he’s overcome numerous personal and professional obstacles to get as far as he has in his career despite these setbacks.

4. And Diane is someone who, upon first meeting, you don’t really like, admire, or respect based on what you’ve heard about her through the grapevine. But she is super-smart, has an amazing, unparalleled track record of success, and you TRUST that when it comes to getting things done, compared to everyone else on the team, there’s no one better.

So, based on the above brief descriptions, if you had to elect a team leader from this group (i.e., someone other than yourself), who would it be – and why? Is it the person you most like, admire, respect…or trust?

Sometimes as leaders we need to make tough decisions that not everyone’s going to like – or like us for. And, while it is nice when people admire us for our past accomplishments that’s all it is: a nice-to-have. Most importantly, we want people to respect us – our intelligence, our judgement, our integrity, etc. – and, ideally, to trust us.

But what is “trust” anyway?

In my leadership workshops and NYU “Leadership and Team Building” class, when we discuss the characteristics, traits, and qualities of effective leaders -- and my "Hierarchy of Followership" model (see below) -- the word “trust” inevitably comes up near the top of the list. But what do we mean by it?

That is such an often-asked question that out of the roughly one million entries in the English dictionary, according to Mirriam-Webster.com., “trust” is listed as the 102nd most commonly looked up word.

And when you look up the word “trust,” there are numerous definitions but they all basically have to do with “belief” and/or confidence. Belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc., and the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

From a word origin perspective, “trust” and “truth” have the same root, and are both related to the concept of “belief”:

• Do you believe that this person is telling the truth?
• Do you believe that this person will follow-through on what they say they are going to do?
• Do you believe that this person will follow-up with you as promised?
• Do you believe that this person will keep his or her commitments?
• Do you believe that this person can be held accountable for meeting or exceeding expectations?
• Do you believe, from a leadership perspective, that this person is someone you would voluntarily choose to follow?

How can YOU gain the trust of others?

The best way to gain others’ trust…is to be “trustworthy.” That’s obvious. But it means exhibiting the qualities that you would want in a job candidate, a teammate, or a leader:

• Be truthful
• Be transparent
• Be authentic
• Be accountable
• Take ownership
• Keep promises
• Follow up
• Follow through
• Do what you say
• And say what you do

So the next time you are deciding whether a person is someone you should hire, or whose leadership you would choose to follow, keep in mind that while it would be nice if you liked, admired, and respected them…it is most important that you trust them.

Similarly, while it is great to be liked, feels good to be admired, and an honor to be respected, ultimately, the key to building relationships and gaining followership is to build trust.

In addition to having been one of the greatest ballplayers and most iconic baseball figures of all time, Yogi Berra, who passed away last week at the age of 90, was, of course, in many ways, almost as well-known for his wonderful way with words.

While, at first glance his famous quotes might appear perplexing (as well as hilarious – whether intentionally or not), when pried open they are found to contain wondrous pearls of wisdom.

Whether on the ballfield, at work, or in life, here are just a few ways in which we might benefit from practicing what Yogi preached…even if he didn’t actually say everything he said:

1)      “It ain't over 'til it's over.” His most famous quote reminds us of two very important, but very different, things: One is to be careful not to declare victory prematurely. The other is that until something is official, there’s always still hope.

2)      “Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours.” There are too many people out there who are “takers.” As Wharton professor and author Adam Grant emphasizes in his excellent bestseller, “Give and Take,” it’s important -- and the right thing to do -- to reciprocate. Or, even better, simply to be generous.

3)      “He's learning me all of his experience.” Said about the future Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey, who was teaching the younger Yogi Berra how to play the position, encourages us to pass down our wisdom to others.

4)      “I knew the record would stand until it was broken.” While congratulating the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Bench on breaking his record for home runs by a catcher, this one reminds us that records are made to be broken.

5)      “If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.” We often complain that people and things aren’t the way they’re “supposed to be”; but maybe the way things are IS the way it’s supposed to be…at least for now.

6)      “If you can't imitate him, don't copy him.” People often get frustrated and discouraged when comparing themselves to others. But perhaps the only people we should be comparing ourselves to is ourselves. As Jeff Schwartzman the head of Learning & Development of Liquidnet (and my teaching partner at NYU) always says: “Measure yourself against your own yardstick.” It’s better to be the best YOU you can be, rather than a second-rate someone else.

7)      “If you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.” Very simply, without a vision, a direction, a plan, and a goal, you probably won’t end up where you want to be.

8)      “It gets late early out there.” Referring to the difficult sun conditions in left field at Yankee Stadium, this one reminds us of how quickly time often passes us by.

9)      “Little things are big.” This one has so many possible meanings including the fact that a lot of time we focus on the big picture while losing sight of the details, and we often underestimate and undervalue the many smaller-sized and less-recognized contributions that various individuals make to a team’s or organization’s success.

10)  “Ninety percent of this game is half-mental.” So often we focus on the technical skills necessary to do a job, but forget about how important the mental/emotional/human aspect is.

11)  “You can’t hit and think at the same time.” A lot of times – when we’re delivering a presentation, interviewing, doing a task for which we’ve been trained, or swinging a baseball bat – our self-consciousness gets in the way...and we strike out. We second-guess ourselves, lose our confidence, stumble and fall. But when we’re well-prepared, confident, “in the zone,” and in a state of “unconscious competence,” we dramatically increase our chances for success.

12)  “We made too many wrong mistakes.” Making mistakes is normal; but we need to make the “right” ones, learn from them, and not repeat them.

13)  “What time is it? You mean now?” While Yogi was on a plane and didn’t know what time zone he was currently in when he was asked this, to me it’s a humorous reminder for us to try to be “in the moment.”

14)  “Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.” So often, especially in this digital age, we may end up following the crowd and jumping on the latest bandwagon. But maybe, sometimes, it might be better to just sit this one out.  

15)  “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Life is filled with choices and decisions – some minor and trivial, others future-determining and life-changing. As poet Robert Frost put it in his classic, The Road Not Taken, making choices is, ultimately, what life is all about. While we may sometimes decide to follow the crowd (see #14 above) or the path laid out for us by others, at other times we need to make our own choices, follow our own path, and take “the road less traveled”…i.e., the one which will make “all the difference.”

16)  “Four. I don’t think I can eat eight” Yogi’s response when asked by a waitress whether he wanted his pizza cut into eight slices or four slices. Shows us that with some decisions, it’s just how you slice it.

17)  “I really didn't say everything I said. Then again, I might have said 'em, but you never know.” This one speaks for itself.

To those of us who grew up with him having been around all our lives (especially if you were a Yankees fan growing up in New York!), Yogi’s passing last week really felt like losing a family member (in many ways he always reminded me of my Grandpa Sam -- same height and build, as well being an incredibly kind, warm, and genuinely friendly and generous man).

But even though he’s gone to that big ballpark in the sky, his baseball records, his Yogiisms, his smile – and his ability to make us smile simply by thinking of him – will continue to live on in the hearts of baseball fans forever.

All it takes is hearing one Yogiism, and it’s like déjà vu all over again.

    I’m pleased to feature the following guest post by my friend Mike Figliuolo, co-author of the excellent brand new book Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results. You can learn more about Mike and the book at the end of this post.  Here’s Mike:

Alan leads a team of highly-intelligent scientists. While most of their time is spent on scientific work, a portion of their roles is administrative. Before Alan took over the team, many of these scientists hadn’t been trained on these responsibilities because their previous leader tended to do all this administrative work himself. Alan fell into that same habit when he took over the team.

During a hectic period, Alan and I spoke about how stressed out he was. “I don’t have enough hours in the day to get all this stuff done.”

When I asked what he was working on, he shared that he was performing these administrative tasks himself. As I pressed him for an answer as to why he was doing this work instead of having his team members do it, he said “They’ve never been trained on it and they screw it up pretty often. I then have to fix those errors. When they do try to do it, they’re constantly in my office asking me for answers to the problems they need to solve. It’s more efficient for me to do the work myself rather than spend time I don’t have trying to train them on how to do it properly.”

I told him he was causing all the problems.

“Do you know what the problem is, Alan? You’re an enabler. Your behaviors are the root of the problem.” Needless to say he was surprised by my unsympathetic response to his plight. “What’s easier for them, Alan – to struggle with the work and suffer through the rework you’ll demand of them…or to claim they don’t have the skills and dump the work on your desk instead?”

Alan’s eyes widened with the painful realization of the dynamic he had created. I continued: “Here’s another thing to consider – how many hours have you spent doing this work over the last six months? And how much time would it take you to train them on these tasks so you didn’t have to spend the time doing them yourself?”

He knew he didn’t need to answer my questions.

I offered a final perspective. “I know they’re going to whine when you tell them to do the work. And they might even give you half-assed results in the hopes you’ll capitulate and do it yourself instead of holding them accountable for doing it again. You have to break this cycle. Short term, it will suck. They may not like you. You’ll be less efficient because you’ll be correcting more errors and spending more time training them than you would spend if you did the work yourself. Long term, we both know you need to make this shift.”

Alan stepped up to the challenge. When they brought him imperfect work, instead of picking up a black pen to do the work correctly for them, he reached for a red pen and marked the document up with the corrections he wanted them to make. He set a clear expectation that he would no longer be doing the work – they were only to come to him once they had a finished product. He made extensive correction marks on many deliverables. He listened to a great deal of groaning. He spent many hours teaching them how to do the work instead of doing the work for them.

After his team members concluded he wasn’t going to revert to old habits, they gave in and improved the quality of their work. For them, Alan made it more efficient to do the work right the first time rather than suffer through his red pen and additional hours of instruction on how to do things right.

After making this shift, Alan found he had more time available for working on higher priority projects. He delivered better work, spent more time thinking about strategic issues, and stepped into larger responsibilities which, in turn, advanced his career. His reallocation of his leadership capital enabled this transformation of the team dynamic from dysfunctional to effective.

Do you find you’re an enabler of bad behavior? If you want insights into how your behaviors drive your team members’ behaviors and how to lead them more effectively, take our Lead Inside the Box Assessment! This free tool will give you valuable insights into how to improve your team’s performance.

Mike Figliuolo is the co-author of Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results and the author of One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.  He’s the managing director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC – a leadership development training firm.  An Honor Graduate from West Point, he served in the U.S. Army as a combat arms officer. Before founding his own company, he was an assistant professor at Duke University, a consultant at McKinsey & Co., and an executive at Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro.  He regularly writes about leadership on the thoughtLEADERS Blog. 

*Bonus link from Todd: Click here to read my two-part thoughtLEADERS guest post on Mike’s site to find out the “10 Tough Questions Every Self-Aware Leader Needs to Be Able to Answer.”