Hiring The Right Person For The Right Position
As a business coach, I’m often asked to help clients think through their hiring practices. The importance of hiring the right people for the right position is a drum I beat regularly. It’s an issue that’s particularly important if you are trying to scale up a business for a whole new level of growth. You want to be hiring multipliers instead of diminishers.
Multipliers and Diminishers
The concept of multipliers and diminishers comes from leadership expert, Lis Wiseman’s book, Multipliers. It’s one of the books I recommend as a resource on my website. Simply stated: Some leaders drain the capability and intelligence from their teams—diminishing their potential contributions. Other leaders encourage and amplify their team member’s skills and abilities—which magnifies or multiplies the impact they have. They create an environment in which the best ideas surface and great work gets accomplished.
A diminisher, on the other hand, tends to be a know-it-all. Rather than asking questions to bring out the best answers, a diminisher will tell team members what he or she knows; and then proceed to tell them exactly how to do their job. Whereas a multiplier is all about seeking the best solutions and empowering others, a diminisher is all about control.
The Impact of Multipliers and Diminishers
The impact of the people you hire (especially key players/leaders) will impact your business in multiple areas. Because diminishers are concerned with control, they are hard to work with. They are more interested in having things done “their way” than in finding the best solutions. Talented people under them get frustrated and become demotivated. That leads to employee churn. You’ve probably known companies that have a reputation for having a “revolving door” when it comes to employees.
That’s a costly problem. The hiring process itself is expensive and time-consuming. On top of that, when key positions go unfulfilled, companies can lose momentum—both on existing projects and on the development of new projects. Add to that the fact that new employees often need time to get up to speed—meaning that, initially, they are not as productive. And often, when an employee leaves, he or she may take corporate knowledge with them that a new employee doesn’t possess. All of those things diminish the effectiveness of your organization.
Multipliers, on the other hand, eliminate (or at least reduce) those problems. There is continuity. You have fewer gaps in knowledge. And instead of taking a step back, you can get better at what you’re doing.
Multipliers and Scaling Up
If your goal is to scale up your business to enable dramatic growth, you want to have people on board that multiply their contribution to the company. The thing about multipliers is that they don’t just add capability—they multiply it. If you’re serious about taking your company to a whole new level, you won’t accomplish that by simply doing “a little bit more” of what you’ve already been doing. You need to transform the way you operate – and multipliers enable that kind of growth.
If you’d like to get a quick look at whether you have the right people in the right positions to move your company forward, we invite you to take a quick, two-minute assessment that will offer you some valuable insights.
Image by Igor Link from Pixabay
Need help growing your business? With over 35 years of experience and thousands of companies assisted, Chuck Kocher and The Transformation Company can help you scale your business into a truly exceptional business capable of high growth strategies. Businesses are always changing, don’t let yours be left behind. Stand out with our business and executive leadership programs – designed to challenge and improve your business. Your business will thank you for it. Contact me today for a free consultation! 719-339-9505