Talent Insights
Stay up-to-date on the latest talent trends, tips and best practices.
Leadership Development Plans Meet Baseball Fundamentals
The batter hits a soft single to left. The runner on second, after hesitating, heads to third. My son, the third baseman, moves to the bag, watching the left fielder field the ball off the turf and the runner heading to third. With fans, players, and coaches [...]
Upgrading Talent? The Business Case for Coaching the Externally Hired Leader
A priority for many business executives in this down economy is upgrading leadership talent in such areas as Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain. In these and other key functions, executives are betting that the external hire can outperform the incumbent, now, and in the future. As in any bet, [...]

Let’s say a friend or colleague seeking to fill a key job has interviewed several strong candidates and narrowed their focus to one favored candidate. But they don’t feel ready to move forward with a job offer. So, they message the recruiter and other colleagues that they’d like to see a couple more candidates. Why? What will a couple more candidates do for him? Convince him the candidate in hand that meets the requirements is the best choice after all? Surface the “world-beater” candidate he hoped for all along? Simply postpone making a decision he seemed unsure of in the first place?

“I thought talking was building rapport”, you say. Sure, to the extent you are only talking about 15% of the interview time. While talking more may help you and the candidate feel like the interview is more conversational, it has one major drawback – you get less data for assessing the candidate.
Building rapport is about enabling greater openness and sharing. It is a critical element to enable learning about the “whole person” in the interview process. It is the “whole person” who ultimately shows up on the job and not just the polished interviewee persona.

So, you are thinking of hiring someone. Maybe one of your team members recently resigned. Or you are ready to get going with some initiatives you have had on hold for the past year plus. Or you need to work through a change that has stalled.
In any case, you are ready to get some important things done. And that should be your clue to approach hiring differently than you likely have in the past.
Growing Grapes and Learners
alex galmeanu - www.alexgalmeanu.ro I recently accompanied an Executive MBA class from Kennesaw State University (Atlanta, GA) to Romania as they began a seven month international joint international residency program. In advance of [...]
Avoiding the Experience Trap
Help Wanted...Only those with current experience in our market, industry, product, technology, systems, etc. need apply....Many companies believe that in today's environment the best candidates are those whose prior experience closely matches the company's situation. [...]