Welcome to the December 5, 2007 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside this issue of The TotalView:

1.  Decisions, Decisions

Decisions, decisions - let me count the ways. Whether we consciously think about them or not, we make hundreds of decisions every day.  Some of them are good.  Others don't work out so well.  At the end of the day, what really counts is that we make more good decisions than bad ones and that the bad ones don't negate the good ones.

Decision making is the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action after considering various options. The more ambiguous or complex or urgent the situation, the more good decision-making relies on judgment.  In any organization not staffed entirely by robots, every employee working in that organization must exercise judgment at one time or another.  But unlike past experience or previously-acquired knowledge, judgment is the higher level decision-making capability that comes into play when we do not, and cannot, know what to do.

Following an interview last week, I asked one of the managers how he felt one of the candidates stacked up against the others.  Without any hesitation, he said he liked Allan's analytical abilities.  I asked him why.  He said, "Allan's an engineer.  I like that.  We need someone who can think logically through problems." 

The manager was correct.  Allan was an engineer.  He was also correct in his assessment that he thinks logically.  He wasn't necessarily accurate if he considers all the personal biases and characteristics that affect the quality and timeliness of the decisions that an individual makes.

Based on his references, Allan did have a successful 30 year career during which I confirmed he made a great deal of good decisions.  How he reached these decisions concerned me when evaluating if he was a good match for this client's culture and the expectations he was expected to meet.

When I evaluate the fit of a candidate, I consider at least half a dozen factors, sometimes more.  At the heart of my analysis are five personality traits. These traits shape the way people think:

Reflective thinking - determines whether the person is naturally inquisitive and probing. In other words, do they ask a lot of questions or take what they read and hear at face value.

Realistic thinking - measures an individual's tendency toward practical or innovative thinking.  Realistic thinkers will rely on previous experiences and common sense. Innovative thinkers are more capable of thinking outside the box and brainstorming new solutions.  Consider the implications: realistic thinkers are generally go-to troubleshooters who know how to fix just about anything.  Innovative thinkers are the people who will seek solutions to problems you don't know exist or find solutions to problems no one else can solve.

Let's look at the power of understanding just these two traits.  Your human resource manager is challenged to find more creative ways to recruit tough-to-fill positions.  For this discussion, assume her level of curiosity to be in the 60th percentile (meaning she is more curious than 60 percent of the population.) If her thinking is realistic, she'll evaluate her options against tried and true methods.  She'll likely call her peers, read the journals, and search the internet for recruiting techniques that make sense to her.  But if her thinking is more imaginative, she'll seek out more creative, novel and untested options. Instead of being a follower, she'll be a trendsetter. Neither of these choices is right or wrong. But if you're looking to distinguish your business in a tight job market, more innovative thinking might be just the answer.  Likewise, if your culture is more conservative and traditional, the realistic thinker might be the better fit.

Other traits that will affect thinking are:

Structured thinking - shapes how logical and systematic an individual is when making a decision.  People who don't have the tendency to think logically often reach decisions in a haphazard way and don't consider all the steps or consequences.

Cautious thinking - determines an individual's penchant for risk-taking.  Those individuals who are cautious may be slow to change or innovate while people who are much less cautious are much quicker to make decisions, maybe even impulsive.

Factual thinking - like Jack Webb used to say in Dragnet, "just the facts, 'mam."  Factual thinkers make decisions on proven ways and experience.  On the other end of the scale, intuition plays a much bigger role in shaping outcomes.  Sometimes gut instinct is invaluable. At other times emotions don't favorably influence decisions.

General Abilities - measure how quickly and accurately people think.  While the traits described above shape how people make decisions, general abilities determine how quickly they progress through the steps.  High cognitive skills may not be required if decisions don't require a sense of urgency but in positions or jobs that require immediate answers and good judgment, cognitive skills are critical.

Other factors that might influence decision-making are self-reliance, frustration tolerance, criticism tolerance and self-control.  More specifically, self-reliance determines if an individual will seek out the input of other or make the decision by himself, then ask others if they agree.  Frustration tolerance determines how resilient a person is when faced with adversity and self-control shapes how well he copes with the stress.  And a person with low criticism tolerance may compromise or withhold a decision if they feel they might be criticized or challenged.

In responding to the manager about his perceptions about Allan, I explained that while Allan was logical, practical and cautious - a good fit for the job - he also lacked curiosity, imaginative thinking, and a sense of urgency.  These were characteristics that my client was seeking. 

What's important in this analysis of decision making is that people can reach good, timely solutions in a variety of ways.  Unfortunately past history isn't a very effective method of evaluating how people reach decisions.  In looking backwards, the only information you really have is the outcome.  The problem is that in our fast-changing dynamic world, outcomes that were effective in the past might not be as productive in the future.

How can you know how your candidates or employees positioned for promotion will make decisions when faced with ambiguity and urgency or a need for innovation? The answer lies in assessments.  For more information about evaluating decision-making ability and potential, I recommend you evaluate ASSESS. 

2. Perfect Labor Storm Warnings   

Every day I receive dozens of stories highlighting

another shortage of workers. Each week I'll post

one or two of the more interesting ones.  This week's

post is:

Look who's turning 50 in 2008:

Madonna

Prince

SharonStone

Ellen DeGeneres

Michelle Pfeiffer

Read more about skilled worker shortages in the NEW Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 (soft and hard cover versions)

Now on Sale!  Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 (soft and hard cover versions)  

Order today and save 25%.

NEW Chapters!  Generational Conflicts in the Workplace, Managing the Future Workforce, Attracting Young Employees in a Seller's Job Market plus hundreds of new facts, trends and stats.

View Table of Contents  

Save 25% off retail by ordering now.

Hard Cover: $29.99         Soft Cover: $19.99  

Your Price: $22.49           Your Price: $14.99

To order Perfect Labor Storm 2.0, call 800.803.4303.  Discounts for orders of 10 or more.  Specify hard or soft cover.

3. Test Drive JobClues

Try JobClues ... a state-of-the-art, fast, affordable assessment tool guaranteed to help you make smarter, more informed hiring decisions.

Take the test yourself ... you'll be amazed at the accuracy of the assessment results ... and you'll immediately see how this tool will give you keen insights into a candidate's abilities and "fit" for the job you want to fill.

For a FREE JobClues report, click here or call toll-free at 800-803-4303 about our special unlimited use pricing.

4.  Industrial and Adminstrative Skills Testing

SkillClues evaluates technical and/or administrative skill proficiency levels - from industrial to healthcare to basic and advanced computer skills, including MS Office, Accounting, Design/Graphics and more. Reports contain both graphical and verbal interpretation of the applicant's results, including overall and specific question scoring.

Learn more about Clues for Skills

5. New Articles posted on Super-Solutions website

Hiring Competent Jerks or Lovable Fools

Imagine you hired a manager who consistently exceeded his goals but also treated his peers and reports with contempt.  He rarely did anything for your company unless it directly benefited him.  Do you consider this person a good hire or a bad hire?  When faced with the choice between hiring a competent jerk or a lovable fool, who would you choose?  You might be surprised how most people answer.

Read more Human Resource Articles about hiring, high school dropouts, performance management and more.

6. Speaking Schedule: Ira S Wolfe  

2008:  

January 21 - Institute of Management Consultants (Dallas, TX) - Workforce

                      Trends That Change The Way You Will Do Business

January 22 - Optimance (Dallas, TX) - Workforce Trends That Change The Way

                       You Will Do Business

October 2008 - American Staffing Association Annual Meeting - Workforce

                          Trends That Change The Way You Will Do Business

Call 717.291.4640 to schedule Ira for your next meeting or conference.

8. Quotes from Hire Authorities

"A Man's Character is like a tree and his reputation like his shadow.  The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

Abraham Lincoln

Permission is granted to consultants, managers, business owners and HR professionals to reproduce content from this newsletter for your internal publications, or to distribute copies to your workforce, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Ira S Wolfe and Success Performance Solutions. Copyright 2007 Ira S Wolfe." We also hope you will forward the newsletter in its entirety and recommend to others that they subscribe.

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission