Meet Gene Czuchnicki

November 9, 2010

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at PRADCO.

 I came to PRADCO almost 16 years ago.  My role involves supporting our client base by evaluating candidates that our customers feel they would like to add to their organization.  I am fortunate in that I get to look at candidates across the business spectrum from hourly employees to middle management and executives.  In addition, I am also involved in assessing candidates for the safety forces, both police and fire.  I get involved in special projects that arise, which, on occasion, is a nice change of pace.  Because of my prior background and training in engineering, I usually handle the screenings that involve engineers for our more technically-oriented customers.

What do you like best about your job?

I personally like the challenge of trying to understand something about a person and how they are likely to act when put into a specific working environment.  Each individual is unique.  Two people may each respond in a totally different manner to the same working environment.  The challenge is in describing what they are going to do in a manner that distinguishes between two candidates.  One of the things that PRADCO does well is that our process tends to collect information about an individual from different perspectives (we call them Indexes).  This gives us a more complete picture of a person and subsequently conclusions we draw tend to be more accurate.  It is always gratifying to discuss our results on a candidate with a customer and get confirmation that our process is accurate and behaviors we identified were noticed on the job.

What are you currently working on?

Recently I became involved in an interesting long-term project called Clip, Scan and Share.  Everyone does casual reading and may run across interesting ideas that either other companies are doing or that point to upcoming business trends.  The process is to clip the article, pass them to the staff, and then periodically meet to see if those ideas are something that can be utilized by PRADCO to help it improve how we do business.  I am one of two coordinators working on this program.  This is more about strategic, long-term changes than simply about interesting facts to be shared with co-workers.  The objective is to, over time, make the company stronger.

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In hiring decisions….the pitfalls of “going with your gut”

October 29, 2010

By Jayne Speicher

Jack Welch is credited with saying that the most important position for executing company strategy, after the CEO, was that of Chief of Human Resources …because it takes hiring the right people to execute strategy.

 Most managers agree that it’s the people that make the difference in organizational success. And with a surplus of candidates in the job market right now hiring excellent talent should be easy. But it is not! Sorting through applicants and arriving at the best candidate for the job is tough. Making those final decisions to hire the “right fit” remains a challenge.

The truth is bad hiring decisions often come from letting personal biases creep into the process. Research tells us our gut reactions often carry with them preconceived notions about people and their capacities. The danger in over-reliance on your gut is that our biases don’t get revealed and as a result can lead us down the wrong path. Here are some common thinking biases and errors – do any sound familiar?

 1)  “I make good hires; I just can tell which ones are the right people once I size them up. Look at Antonio and Myra, they were great hires.” 

 – Sound like you? Well if you are like most managers you are wrong. Managers consistently over-rate their hiring success and rarely keep track of their hiring misses. You may be uniquely accurate on this, but I would challenge you to keep some metrics and learn just what your hit rate is on successful hires. (Don’t be surprised though – most managers have a “gut level” hit rate that is the same as a coin toss. If you stick with just your gut, save yourself the interview time and flip a coin instead).

 2)  “Bill graduated from my alma mater. He shares my interest in marathon training and we belong to the same professional organizations. He is going to be a good fit.”

– Seems logical right? We have a lot in common so he is likely to be a good team member. Well, no…. in fact these ‘just like me’ factors can actually be a distraction in the hiring process and as a rule in no way predict what Bill is going to be like to work with on the job or his success in the role. We are being fooled into believing Bill’s other skills, abilities and qualities are just as solid as our own based on our shared background and interests.

 3)  After the group interview, Rochelle mentions how much she prefers the first candidate Mary over the second candidate, Larry. Then Marco quickly agrees, and other heads start to nod. You were on the fence between the two, and actually had some real concerns about Mary, but now you can see Rochelle’s point and everyone else seems to agree. The team has already spent a lot of time on this hire, why distract everyone with a few lingering doubts?

 – Reasonable right? Time is money. Since most of the team feels comfortable, let’s go. Well again, no… the above scenario is an example of group think and frequently leads to poor decisions and bad outcomes for all. In fact, adding more interviewers to hiring processes that don’t use independent scoring systems or defined criteria actually increases errors each time a team member is thrown into the interview.

This is not to say your gut is never useful, or that you should always ignore it. What is key is to supplement your gut reactions with objective data about candidates, data that are shown to be related to job success. This reduces bias, ensures stronger hiring, and brings about the type of strong strategy execution Jack Welch was known for at General Electric.

Let PRADCO improve the accuracy of your hiring decisions by providing you:

1)  A systematic set of criteria to narrow your candidate pool

2)  Behavioral interview questions to get to actual behavior on the job

3)  Job relevant objective data that can be analyzed across candidates

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Meet Jayne Speicher

October 15, 2010

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at PRADCO.

I came to PRADCO 5 years ago excited by the opportunities to learn new skills in the areas of employee selection and development assessments. My background is in counseling psychology and before coming to PRADCO I had conducted hundreds of assessments in healthcare, education, Employee Assistance Programs, Federal, State and County agencies, as well as had roles managing other professionals and developed my own private practice. Being in diverse organizations and holding different types of roles made me well-prepared for the work we do here. In the Columbus office I am involved in all types of consulting engagements, from conducting selection assessments, to coaching executives, to delivering training modules.

What do you like best about your job? 

Well, it is definitely the variety in the work we do, the types of companies and organizations we engage with and the different types of situations they present to us. I love solving mysteries and working out problems and have always had a strong science bent. In the past month I’ve worked with a public university, a non-for-profit insurance agency trade group, a medical device company and a government agency. It is intriguing to explore, understand and develop solutions for the challenges these organizations face and then to be able to see the results our clients obtain ends up being really rewarding too.

Tell us something about yourself that even your coworkers don’t know.

I spent my honeymoon on an archaeological dig in Israel. About two months before our wedding day my future husband got a call from a fellow archaeologist who was developing a new dig site at Tel Bet Shemesh and asked my husband-to-be Mark to join him. The dig season was to start on our wedding day so Mark was given a reprieve to arrive a day late! After a brief discussion we decided to revise our honeymoon plans and turn his opportunity into an adventure for both of us, the only downside being I couldn’t take off from work the full six weeks needed for the whole dig season. So the morning after our wedding I bid Mark good bye until I could join him a month later to start our honeymoon, first by working on the dig and then touring Israel. Looking back, it was a great decision despite the delay in getting started on what has been a wonderful (and adventurous) married life.

What is your favorite travel destination?

Given my answer above you would probably expect an exotic locale, but since I was first there in high school and now especially since our kids have come along it would have to be Disney World in Orlando, FL. I am not an over-the-top Disney-phile, no Mickey Ears on my car or a room in our house decorated with Winnie-the-Pooh, but I love the Disney focus on customer experiences and service. I became particularly smitten with it as a family vacation spot when my now fifteen-year-old, then six year old, said after Mickey Mouse and Goofy stopped by our table at a character breakfast, “this is the best day of my whole life.” We are also big fans of a long weekend away to a warm and sunny spot during an Ohio winter and Orlando generally provides that too.

What are you currently working on?

My focus is always on bringing the best resources from organizational psychology and management science to our clients and that is something that continuously changes. Innovation is driven by the transfer of science into technologies that people can put to use. Few managers have the time or patience to delve into the scientific literature and learn which tools, products and practices are shown to be effective in selection or coaching or leadership development. PRADCO is a conduit for managers and organizations to obtain up-to-date information and practical resources derived from management scholars and researchers. I spend a lot of time helping my clients to become more evidence-based in their decisions and that increases their probability of good outcomes.

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Meet Paul Cimino

October 11, 2010

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at PRADCO. 

I have been at PRADCO for a little over 5 years now.  I am currently the Director of Information Technology and I am responsible for everything related to our IT assets.  I do everything from hardware/software maintenance, software development, database and network administration, information security to project management and working with our consultants.  Prior to my time at PRADCO, I spent 6 years as the IT Manager for another Cleveland area company and before that I spent 6 years in the Marine Corps in Communications.

In addition to that, I have been volunteering with the local Young Marine organization for the past 5 years.  I volunteer over 500 hours a year helping teach kids to lead a healthy, drug-free lifestyle as well as helping develop them as a leader.  They are our future and I feel the values I learned in the Marine Corps were instrumental in shaping my career, so I want to help instill those values in them.

What do you like best about your job?

The endless challenges are what I like best.  We are constantly adding features to our online site as well as customizing processes to meet our customers’ ever changing needs.  When a customer comes to us with a need, I enjoy brainstorming to find a solution and working with our developers to put that solution in place.  It is rewarding to hear how our solution has really helped a customer make better decisions and hire better people.

Tell us something about yourself that even your coworkers don’t know. 

I am a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  I have been training 4-5 days a week at a Relson Gracie Academy in downtown Willoughby.  I was kind of skeptical at first since I was one of the oldest in the class, but I have made some very good friends and it is a great workout.   It is one of the hardest martial arts to learn as it can take around 10 years of dedicated study to get your black belt, but I think that challenge, as well as the practicality of it, is what drew me in.

What is your favorite travel destination?

That is a very hard question to limit to just one.  Spending all that time in the Marine Corps, I have traveled all over the world to some nice places and some not so nice places.  Israel is a very unique and interesting country.  The people were extremely nice and the country has an amazing amount of history that just has to be experienced.  Within the continental US, anywhere out west is my favorite –  Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada are all beautiful places to visit.  I have made several trips out there over the years and would love to retire in that area. 

What are you currently working on?

Lately I have been spending a lot of time working on integration processes for our online testing system.  With the growing demand for integration between systems to streamline and automate processes, we have made a big effort to make it easier for our customers to achieve this.  I will be going into more detail on this in my next blog post. 

Also, as anyone in the IT field will tell you, the ever changing landscape of technology requires constant continuing education and learning new things.  I have been focused on improving my skills in database and information security.  I really enjoy learning about information security and all the little details involved with protecting our data.  This was probably heavily influenced by my time in the Marine Corps and their requirement for security at all times.  I believe it was a very good influence though, as customers pretty much expect and demand security when it comes to anything online these days.

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Communication Connections

October 4, 2010

By David Kapusinski

My youngest daughter occasionally calls me on her way home from work when I am on my way home.  On the most recent call her voice was magnificently clear and I could understand every word she spoke in spite of the traffic noises on all sides.  It was quite a contrast with a call a week earlier when her voice was high-pitch distorted, every other word was lost, and the static on the line was so great we had to give up and try again. I am sure there were reasons why we experienced such a poor connection but I have no idea what they were.  I just know it was of poor quality, and had no idea how to make it better short of starting over with a redial to see if it could be improved.

A series of phone calls like these got me thinking about what makes communication effective.  We all know a good connection on the phone when we experience it.  We can be speaking to someone half-way around the world and the sound is so clear it seems they could be in the office—or car—right next to us.  “Connecting” is perhaps the most important aspect of communicating and having an influence on others.

In his recent book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, John Maxwell elaborates this idea with stories about how hard it is to really “connect” with people.  Even the way he gathered his material for the book was a fascinating exercise in effective communications, but I will not spoil the story for you if you have not read it!

Unlike a bad phone connection, we may not be aware that our communications are not connecting us with the person, small group, or audience with whom we are speaking.  We may know that something is not “clicking” and our chance for influence is diminished, but not have much insight into what is wrong.

Maxwell says connecting is not just a matter of talent but a skill that can be learned.  Effective communication requires effort on our part.  We need to realize the focus is on others and not ourselves.  Finding common ground helps, and keeping communications simple is an asset.  Connecting can inspire people and bring out the best in them.  By connecting, people are willing to do more than is expected, say positive things, be more open and demonstrate trust, express themselves more readily, and feel good about what they are doing, among other things.  They connect on an emotional level, and a synergy grows as a consequence of the interaction.  Underpinning it all is an unconditional love and acceptance of others.

Maxwell’s work in this area rings true to me.  For a long time I have believed that I could learn more about a candidate I am interviewing when my communication allows me to effectively connect with the person.  Under such conditions people are more genuine and likely to level with me when asked even tough questions they would prefer to avoid.  I get to know what they are really like.  This is harder to do if we are communicating but not really connected.  While there is clearly some art to communicating at this level, it can be learned, and good influencers of people—leaders at every level, in every walk of life—are good at it.  It is easier to elicit enthusiastic followers when leaders make the effort to really connect with people.

And just so you know, I have not mastered this type of communication by any means.  I have found it useful and helpful in being successful with others, and in areas of life that go beyond the job.

I have enjoyed blogging my thoughts with you these past few weeks and hope I “connected” with you.  I realize blogging is a one-way effort, for the most part, so your e-mail comments are welcome.

 The blog baton will now be passed to my colleague, Paul Cimino, who will share some of his insights with you, so stay tuned.

 Thanks for your time!

 –David

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Job Descriptions are Not Enough…

September 17, 2010

By David Kapusinski

In my introductory comments, I made reference to the challenge of understanding people and how they will fit into a particular job.  I also mentioned that knowing about the culture and the dynamics of the organization in which they will work is an important consideration that should not be minimized.

 To do the best possible evaluation of a candidate for a position, PRADCO professionals want information that goes beyond what is in the job description.  A listing of the main duties, training and education, years of experience, reporting relationships, salary and benefits, among others, is a good place to start.  Some even include statements of “working conditions” and describe the physical environment in which the work will be performed.

 It is this last area that I would like to expand on in this blog.  While it can be a rather straightforward process to describe the physical environment, it is much harder to define the “culture” associated with that environment and, more broadly, the company as a whole.

 What does the company value?  What does it want to see in its people, and what is it like to work there?  Is everyone expected to function as one big family, politely interacting with one another?  Or is it purely business with people knowing little about one another so long as each does their job?  Is the culture dynamic, fast-paced, supportive, people-oriented?   

 A client that comes to mind wanted to hire all sharks in his large engineering department, and if candidates were not bright, aggressive and intent on becoming “head shark,” they were not welcome.  Some good people were not recommended to that company—they were not a good fit for the culture and would not survive long among their peers or with management.  Tenure in the organization was often brief because there were not enough positions in which to promote these aggressive go-getters.  In a way, this was good for our business because we evaluated many candidates to get what they wanted, but it was certainly not the way we recommended they hire people.

 In contrast, I have a client that hires people who are basically the opposite in style—competent to do the work, but nice people who get along well with everyone, are oriented to stay for the long term, and who may get a promotion when someone retires.  If a candidate is only interested in gaining experience and moving on, they are unlikely to be hired by this company.

 Two well-qualified candidates could be recommended for either position based on the job description alone, but not if the organizational culture is taken into account.  The fit would not be right for the candidate or for the company. 

 Evaluating a candidate for hire should go beyond meeting essential job description criteria.  Those qualities open the door for candidates, but they do not seal the deal unless the culture and candidate characteristics are right for one another.  Knowing the organizational culture leads to a better recommendation of candidates and, ultimately, to a better employee.

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Meet David Kapusinski

September 3, 2010

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at PRADCO.

It is hard to believe that 23+ years have passed since I first set foot in PRADCO.  I responded to an enticing advertisement in a professional publication.  I was at a point in my professional life where I was ready for a change, and I also wanted to return to my home area or thereabouts.  I had worked my way through the promotional ranks of assistant, associate and professor of psychology at Bluffton College (now University) and was chairman of the department including sociology and social work for a number of years—all while in my 30s.  I could have spent the rest of my tenured days teaching but decided a change would be good.  Our family was growing and I had the desire to better provide for us. 

The work at PRADCO has been an ongoing challenge from day one.  My background is in experimental/developmental psychology (Ph.D. University of Akron) and I initially had to learn the ways of industrial/organizational psychology, especially the art of evaluating people from my mentors, Drs. Terry Owen and Stanley Rubin.  To this day I am indebted to them and intrigued by the processes we use to assess candidates for hire, promotion, or leadership development.  Yes, it is trite to say that everyone is different.  But to understand those differences and how they will play out in a particular position, in a specific company culture employing other unique people, is indeed a challenge to this day.  As Director of Evaluations, this is what I spend the majority of my days doing, and it still gives me great pleasure.

What do you like best about your job?

Every evaluation is a new experience. I need to understand the person but also the position and the nature of the organization, including the person to whom they will report. I may encounter a college director for a large educational organization, a pharmaceutical scientist, a production supervisor for a small manufacturing facility, a CFO, or an entry-level accountant.  Without question the people are the most interesting aspect of my work.

Tell us something about yourself that even your coworkers don’t know.

I am a hack trumpet player.  I have played off and on for years.  Most of this is centered around church activities at Christmas and Easter, but I have played in brass quintets for student recitals, college concert and pep bands, and in more formal orchestral settings.  I have conducted some of these groups with chorus and orchestra, too.  There is nothing like the full-tilt feeling of directing, playing or singing selections from Handel’s Messiah with experienced musicians and choruses. I also enjoy jazz.  Years ago I had the privilege of meeting Wynton Marsalis at Preservation Hall in New Orleans.  The old run-down place on St. Peter Street in the French Quarter was small, hot, and you had to ladle your own lemonade from a stockpot between sets.  Mr. Marsalis just happened to be in town, dropped in unannounced, and made delightful music with the band!  What a treat!

What is your favorite travel destination?

I have enjoyed many places over the years.  I have great memories of spending a few summers in Phoenix with aunts, and taking the mule trip down the Grand Canyon.  Memories from college days take me back to a summer in Europe, Switzerland in particular, sailing Lake Zurich, hiking Jungfrau and I could go on.  More recent vacations have been family outings to the Outer Banks.  Colorado is wonderful, especially skiing Snowmass.  But a favorite?  Each was a favorite in its  time.

 What are you currently working on?

Business is more demanding than ever these days—at least from my experience—and the challenge is to handle almost everything in “real time.”  No matter how much I have learned from the past, it will never tell me all I need to know for the present (to quote John Maxwell). 

I will continue to better my technical skills, identify and serve client needs, profit the company and stretch myself to risk becoming when inclined to being.

On a personal level, I serve on the board of a national church foundation, primarily raising funds for its many missions.  I also continue to hone photography skills, log miles on the bicycle, and invest as much time as I can with my grandchildren.

Thanks for this opportunity to introduce myself.  Drop me a line if you are so inclined.

 –David

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The Internal and External Coach Dilemma

August 19, 2010

By Ronald Carobine

I recently came across some business contacts questioning the value of engaging outside coaches for their key managers.  They commented, “Why should we bring in external coaches when our company leaders should be giving feedback and coaching to their subordinates all the time if they are doing their jobs right.”  And, “We have internal HR professionals available to answer questions and coach our employees whenever they need it.  The managers should go to HR if they need help.” 

I guess those statements do possess a certain element of validity.  However, operating by those principles will cause your organization to miss out on a great return from outside coaching resources.  Let me give you some examples of how outside coaches can complement the efforts of your internal staff and add great value to the organization’s bottom line.

 Situation 1:  An employee speaking about advice from her boss says, “I was told that I’m too detailed with instructions, but I’m no different than most other managers.  And no one is perfect.  Paul never liked me anyway, so I’d expect him to say that.” 

  • Dilemma:  This manager will not improve her behavior unless she acknowledges her micromanaging style.
  • Solution:   Coaches use tools that objectively measure people’s behavior, and having the employee look at that “data” makes the circumstances seem more real and they become more willing to acknowledge and work on the opportunities.  Also, we work with lots of organizations so there can be greater credibility when we point out to a person that their behavior is more extreme than most other managers.  The bottom line is that we can often more quickly get people to recognize poor behaviors and cooperatively make adjustments to improve.

Situation 2:  The director is giving feedback to a manager and says, “I think people feel bad sometimes because you give so much detail.  But you are the boss and you really do know better than the employees.  It’s just that people hate micromanagers.  But I know you have a right to ask for things to be done your way.  Do you ever think you are too specific with instructions?  You know I always enjoy working with you, so don’t feel bad about this…”

  • Dilemma:  When coaching people you work with every day there is a tendency to be overly diplomatic.  Messages get watered down and there ends up being no firm definition of the poor behavior or how to change it.
  • Solution:  Coaches are trained to deliver information in concise, direct ways that get to the heart of concerns quickly.  We tend not to get caught up in beating around the bush, softening the message to the point of ambiguity, and back peddling to preserve people’s feelings.  Now don’t get me wrong – all of us at PRADCO really are compassionate and caring people, and we are never “mean” or disrespectful as coaches.  It’s just that as outside experts we have greater liberty to use what I call “direct talk” so the coaching content is clear.  This gets things out into the open and brings about improvement much more efficiently.

 Situation 3:  An employee was just given constructive feedback by his boss, and here is his response:  “It’s great of you to share that information.  I’ll start making that change right away.  Thank you for watching out for me.  Consider it done!  Talk with you soon…”

  • Dilemma:  Employees are not open and honest in the discussion.  They fear they’ll be viewed as uncooperative if they try to dissect a situation and explain their behavior or analyze the causes.  Also they may not want to “rat out” fellow employees or admit to problems contributing to the poor behavior.
  • Solution:  Coaches create an environment where conversations are “safe.”  We let people speak openly and even vent about concerns, and then we apply techniques to help them analyze the situations, recognize related causes and effects, and define more appropriate behaviors.

There are other reasons why outside coaches are really useful – such as the repertoire of exercises and resources we have to share, our training in “constructive delivery” of ideas and putting a positive spin on things for greater acceptance.  And we can’t ignore that managers in organizations often do not have the time to devote to effective coaching even when they have the skills.  

 Of all the great services PRADCO provides to our clients, coaching is one of the most impactful.  We sometimes call it “Leadership Consulting” or “Action Planning” or “Developmental Feedbacks” [the processes take on a slightly different focus for various applications].  But by any name these activities bring useful change in the participants and accomplish great things for their organizations. 

 I hope you will consider giving your employees the benefit of professional coaching.  PRADCO tailors coaching and development activities many different ways to meet client needs.  Programs are designed to be very cost effective and easy to implement.  Who in your company isn’t getting things done as effectively as they should?  Who is not leveraging the full potential of their subordinates?  We’ll recommend the right plan to help them!  Just a few coaching sessions can be a helpful, rejuvenating and inspirational experience for the employees and can result in a great boost to company performance.

Thanks for reading!

  - Ron

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Meet Ronald Carobine

August 4, 2010

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at PRADCO.

I will be celebrating my 15th anniversary with PRADCO on September 18, 2010.  I feel great about saying that, and I anticipate adding at least a couple more decades to this enjoyable run!  My initial role was as a Management Consultant at the headquarters office near Cleveland.  Then, in 2005 I had the opportunity to move to the Columbus, Ohio, office as Regional Director, and I became Vice President in January 2008.  Along this path I gained lots of experience in psychological assessment, leadership coaching, group training, product development, business development, strategic planning, employee surveys, and lots of other things.  Currently my time is divided between management, business development and service delivery.  I will always be hands on in working with clients.

For  those interested in more ancient history – my life prior to PRADCO included earning a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and working for seven years with another consulting firm, Barrett & Associates, Inc.  At B&A I developed selection tests and assessment centers, performance evaluation instruments, and training and employee development programs.  I also managed the administration of all of those programs and handled legal issues such as the analysis of adverse impact for EEOC and OFCCP audits.  My roles there included Independent Consultant, then Project Manager, and ultimately Vice President over Project Administration.

What do you like best about your job?

Most definitely it is the enjoyment of helping clients make good decisions and solve problems.  I really am a relationship-oriented professional.  Clients in our Columbus office range from large international corporations to small research-oriented start-ups, but I get to know individuals personally in every one of them.  It is great to hear their relief and appreciation when we reassure them that their candidate is equipped to be a strong performer, or I have coached them through a rough patch with their employee relationships or business results, or I have helpful advice to provide in their engagement survey report.  There are so many examples I can give!  Basically, I most like working on the consulting activities that involve sharing information and relating to the customer as a partner in improving their performance and business results.

Tell us something about yourself that even your coworkers don’t know.

I have taken up learning to play guitar.  My teenage kids got a real kick hearing me try to play “Ode to Joy” from the beginner’s lesson book.  [I admit that the tempo was a bit slower than what the composer intended -- but I think the melody was recognizable!]  Anyway, after the humiliation of my kids laughing and story-telling of that event to our neighbors and relatives, I decided to seek the assistance of a professional musician.  Weekly lessons begin next Tuesday.  And I have confidence that the process will go well!

What is your favorite travel destination?

Without question, the answer is Italy.  I had the pleasure of visiting the small town where my grandfather grew up [near Trento in Northern Italy] and getting to know some distant cousins.  I’ve told all my State-side relatives that I’m on board with a trip to Italy whenever anyone wants to go.  I am intrigued by walking the streets and learning the culture that my ancestors experienced.  If you are ever in Florence be sure to visit Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini.  It is just next door (and you can actually enter it through) the Academia where Michelangelo’s David sculpture is displayed.  I like to believe that Luigi and I share the same family tree — and I’m sure his same level of musical talent will soon be evidenced in my guitar performances. 

What are you currently working on?

 Over the past few years I have been devoting a much greater amount of time to Leadership Coaching engagements.  This can involve relationships with a whole management team or organizational department to read the dynamics, diagnose and identify opportunities, and impact the culture.  Managers everywhere are struggling with the demands of our current business climate and with keeping their subordinates motivated and focused on key priorities.   We conduct formal 360 surveys of Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, and I often incorporate situation assessment interviews with various organization members and customers to tailor our process to the unique circumstances.  Together we create written behavioral action strategies that are relevant to the manager’s work objectives.  I help them improve their day-to-day habits and performance, and help them deliver better bottom-line results.  This makes everyone happy – the coachee, their boss, their employees, and even their families outside of work since we can address all kinds of dynamics and relationships.  I am currently in charge of formal documentation for our corporate-wide PRADCO Leadership Consulting Strategy & Process, so I’ll share more about our coaching philosophy, typical interventions and success principles as I blog throughout the month. I also really want to write a book called “Stealth Development,” reflecting the leveraging of great improvements through simple, efficient behaviors that take only seconds or minutes to implement.  It’s all about seizing the right opportunities and choosing the right thing to do. 

 Thanks for reading!  I look forward to feedback – so please send comments!

  - Ron

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When Is a Leader a “High Potential”?

June 25, 2010

By Steve Hrop

A few years ago I was in a meeting with Jerry (not his real name), the Chief HR Officer at a large financial services company.  We were discussing how to identify high potential leaders from across the company to participate in an executive development program.  Jerry asked me to explain the difference between a “high potential” leader and one who has demonstrated a consistent track record of exceptional performance over the years.  This was partially a trick question since he believed that anyone who fit the latter description was by definition a high potential and found it hard to imagine any meaningful difference between the two types of leaders.  Yet the differences are significant.

As noted in a recent Harvard Business Review article (“How To Keep Your Top Talent”; HBR, May 2010), only about 30% of high performing leaders have significant advancement potential.  Put another way, 70% of high performing leaders do not qualify as “high potential”!  What this suggests is that a track record of high performance is a necessary, but not sufficient, factor in determining which leaders are high potential.

A clear picture of the other factors is beginning to emerge.  Research by the Center for Creative Leadership and other organizations points to the importance of Learning Agility.  Among the core elements of learning agility are:

  •  Intensely inquisitive
  • Learns from mistakes
  • Seeks and uses feedback
  • Open to viewpoints that differ from his/her own
  • Willing to step outside his/her comfort zone

Those who read my last blog about leaders who cross-the-line ethically will notice that these descriptors are a virtual mirror image of those that characterize leaders with a predisposition to cross the line.

In addition to learning agility, the following factors are core elements of advancement potential:

  • Resourcefulness (ability to solve problems and overcome obstacles of a non-routine nature; this factor is a first cousin of learning agility)
  • Reserve Capacity (a good analogy is two college students studying for the same test; both achieve an “A”, but one required many more hours of study than the other; same result, but vastly different expenditures of time and energy).
  • Ability to think cross-functionally beyond his/her functional “center of gravity”; this ability is at the heart of being an effective general manager
  • Has an intense “outside-in” perspective 
  • Possesses an extended mental “time horizon” (i.e., the ability to anticipate potential issues and conceive of potential opportunities that lie beyond the current fiscal year)
  • A high level of career “aspiration”; many leaders with an exceptional track record of performance and financial success reach a point in their career when they’re no longer driven to make the sacrifices needed for continued advancement up the pyramid.  Companies that have big plans for such executives often are caught off guard when these leaders turn down a big promotion, wreaking havoc on the organizations’ succession plans.  The moral here is that companies cannot view high potential leaders as pawns on a chessboard.

Some skeptical readers will note that a high percentage of promotional decisions do not utilize such objective criteria, but are based on more dubious factors, such as: 

  • Being effective at “managing up” (while being viewed much less favorably by peers and direct reports)
  • Having the right “sponsor” in high places
  • Able to talk a good game (e.g., someone who shines in meetings and presentations attended by higher level executives, but is mediocre in terms of day-to-day performance)
  • Looks the part (“He’s tall, confident, articulate, and well-dressed, so he must be a real leader!”).  

If you think that last point is an exaggeration, consider the following true story:  several years ago I was in a talent review meeting attended by a company’s senior leadership team.  One of the attendees, a business unit president, stated that his test of whether or not someone is a “real leader” is a person who can walk into a room full of people he doesn’t know and command their attention by force of his charisma and bearing.  Beyond the naiveté, the fact that this executive exclusively used the “he” pronoun to define a real leader is a telling point.  

For those companies eager to enhance the accuracy of their high potential identification process, the best solution is to supplement subjective ratings of potential with more objective methods, such as leadership assessment tools designed to prevent rating inflation and “halo effect” results.  PRADCO’s online assessments (e.g., our Emotional Intelligence Index) use a forced choice response format that virtually eliminates these types of rater distortion.  Also, 360-degree feedback processes designed with the right safeguards can yield important insights into advancement potential.  Lastly, certain kinds of simulation exercises can add significant value to the talent identification process.

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