Assessments

Are Your Future Bosses and Leaders Ready to Lead the Way?

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“Preparation is the key to success – that includes developing your team’s talent as future leaders too!” Jeannette Seibly

“Leader and manager development” is at the top of the list of priorities for HR leaders during 2024, according to Gartner’s annual HR Priorities survey.

According to the survey, here are several of the factors driving this priority:

  • Productivity anxiety
  • Employee conflict
  • Mutual distrust between employees and bosses
  • Pressure for operational proficiency

Also:

  • Bosses (managers) are overwhelmed by the growth of job responsibilities
  • Bosses (managers) are poorly equipped to lead change

The bottom line – here are the mistakes we often make:

  • We wait until the new leader or boss has been given the job title before we provide the tools and training required to do the job. But that is not enough!
  • We assume there is no difference between being a top performer versus being the boss. But leveling up and the added responsibilities will cause failure. (Level up = emotional intelligence, flexibility, and resilience to name a few).
  • We subscribe to the traditional sink or swim mentality of letting them figure out their new job on their own! (Yes, there are still employers that rely on this poor practice.) We only intervene when it’s necessary to put the new leader or boss on a performance improvement plan or fire them if there is too much turnover, conflict, or other nefarious outcomes!

All of these costly mistakes ensure loss of top talent and customers, while negatively impacting business revenues and results.

How to Prepare Future Leaders and Bosses

Start with:

Develop a Career Pathway.

  • What are the person’s primary interests and goals?
  • How can they achieve these in your workplace culture?
  • What type of training and education is required to meet the company and the person’s goals?

Map out the career pathway in writing and provide the dollars necessary. Remember, not all people should be or want to be bosses or managers of people to move up in the company. This often-overlooked issue can be very expensive when the person fails and leaves the company.  All their knowledge, experience, and other attributes go with them! And, your reputation as an employer suffers too. Create different career ladders and opportunities for employee growth. This should include exposure to cross-training and other customer related opportunities.

Use Valid and Reliable Job-Fit Assessments. It’s important to hire and promote based on job fit. Another benefit of using objective data and predictive validity (the ability to measurement or predict future performance in a job) is the ability to change the job responsibilities to fit the incumbent’s thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests! Some job-fit assessments also provide leadership reports with objective data and insights into strengths and areas for development. Remember, people today refuse to work in jobs that don’t reflect their interests and do not provide perceived value to advance them on their career pathway!

Now, Provide Hands-On Training and Development:

Build Expertise. While providing ongoing leadership and management training is important, it’s even more important that they are given opportunities to use the training and develop those skills!

Example: “1 in 5 managers would prefer not being people managers.” Yet, guiding them to learn how to work with and through other people is required in most jobs. But managing people working on projects is different than managing people on a daily basis.

Ideas for development include: leading team projects, working on a corporate team project, being on boards for non-profits and for-profits too, volunteering, etc. The key is to ensure they are actively participating and not just observing!

Proficiency with Technology. Technology and innovation are here to stay! It’s important future leaders and bosses develop an entrepreneurial spirit or curiosity to think like a business leader and drive needed change. If they don’t have the authentic curiosity or interest in technology or business, your company and customers will suffer.

Provide Talent Mobility. Post jobs and allow employees to be considered for them. This provides incentives for them to expand their skills and knowledge – always critical components to improving retention, revenues, and results! Remember to use a strategic job fit selection system for internal job transfers and promotions. Have candidates interview for the job as if they were new job candidates. Also, review their job-fit assessment results and training and education to-date.

Ask these types of questions (these are offered to get you thinking):

  • What was your most recent mistake? What did you do to fix it? What did you learn from it? (Listen for: coachability, awareness)
  • How have you used xxx (pick one or two new skills) effectively? How do you know you were using it effectively? (Listen for: ability to adapt, be flexible, and use skill appropriately)

Also, conduct internal reference checks. Example: True story – a young man was promoted by his boss because of the young man’s likability. The problem? He wasn’t courteous or likable by his co-workers and customers(!) – his overconfidence and ego got in the way too often!  

Use Objective 360-Degree Feedback Assessments. Many companies use internally designed 360-feedback questionnaires. Most of these create a lot of employee apprehension rather than provide valid insights for bosses and leaders. The main reason? There is no objective measurement being used! Pay now or pay later when using internally designed 360-degree tools versus professionally validated assessments.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.

A note from Jeannette: Are your leaders and managers (bosses) ready to lead? Are they comfortable with change? Do they have the interests to develop the skills and competencies required? Want to tap into my 31++ years of experience of developing effective leaders and bosses? Contact me now with your questions!

It’s time to get honest and genuine! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Bosses and Leaders Need to Develop Conflict Resolution Skills

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“Resolving conflicts between employees and teams is a top 2024 challenge for bosses and leaders today – but they are not ready!” Jeannette Seibly

Many bosses and leaders today need to focus on conflict resolution between individuals or teams more so than ever. But they are not ready. (Gartner Research) It no longer works (and never did) to rely on “Do as I say.” Or ignore conflicts and difficult employees while hoping the issue will take care of itself. While some will fire the perceived offender, this doesn’t resolve the real issue since it takes more than one person to create conflict.

Unresolved conflict is like a virus – it spreads invisibly into everything we do – and causes top talent and customers to leave!

Reasons conflict resolution has become a top issue during 2024 for bosses and leaders:

Employees are:

  • Taking comments and situations personally
  • Unaware of the negative impact they have when not doing their work as required
  • Unwilling to value the facts over gossip, lies, and innuendos
  • Upset when they feel unfairly treated (I’m right, and they’re wrong)

Boss and Leaders lack the following:

  • Willingness to be effective and instead focus on likability (not rocking the boat)
  • Ability to create win-win-win results (I’m the boss, and I’ll do it my way)
  • Skills or interests to get to the core of the real issue(s)
  • Objectivity is required, and instead, listen to the “loudest” or “favored” person or group
  • Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills are required to effectively manage brainstorming sessions and allow for differing opinions to create new solutions – when this is not managed effectively, it is experienced as conflict

Addressing conflicts requires getting to the core upset or issue. This can be difficult due to the various communication styles and skills in today’s workplace. Additionally, perceptions of how co-workers, bosses, and customers should talk and behave are traditionally handed down through family cultures, communities, and religious beliefs.

The solution? Everything can be resolved through communication. Often, you are unwilling to talk it out and resolve conflicts because you dismiss other’s thoughts and feelings as unimportant.

Three Key Communication Skills

Listening Skills. Focus on listening, being present, and hearing what others are saying. Listening takes awareness and lots of practice. It requires being present during conversations and not letting your mind wander. It’s especially difficult when you cite, “I’m too busy,” and fail to listen!

Remember, the longer a conflict goes on, the more mischief, factionalism, and other costly challenges occur (offsprings of the original issue). It’s important to unravel the core problems before you move forward. These conflicts do NOT go away on their own without working through the facts.

It’s up to you as the boss and leader to exemplify the skills required! To improve listening and reduce misinterpretations during meetings (a significant source of conflicts), a good place to start is with no “cell phones” allowed during meetings! Hold your supervisors, managers, and management team accountable and responsible for doing the same! Employees will follow your lead.

Speaking Skills. Many employees have limited speaking skills in the workplace for various reasons (e.g., different primary languages, fear of voicing their ideas, and remote and hybrid work concerns). Learn to speak slowly and carefully and engage all team members during meetings, virtually and onsite. Keep your word choice simple and be able to use synonyms (similar words and phrases) to help employees and team members understand what you’re saying.

Stay away from sound bites or using jargon. When explaining decisions you’ve made, be prepared to answer questions without diminishing any question as unimportant. When you humiliate one team member, others will side with them — causing instant conflict.

Influential leaders know that miscommunication is one of the top reasons for employee conflicts today! The words you choose and whether or not you listen make a big difference in causing or managing conflict. It takes less time to ensure everyone is on the same page today than to deal with tomorrow’s conflict.

Non-Verbal Gestures. While verbal and written skills are essential, non-verbal skills account for 80 percent or more of what people hear (e.g., tone of voice, hand gestures, head nods). Given that interpretations of gestures are often based on family and community cultures, one gesture may mean one thing to one person and something different to another. Take the time to talk through these differences. It’s time to listen and learn.

Three Key Solutions to Diminish Conflict

Hire Yourself an Executive Coach. Many leadership blind spots can create conflicts. Address them as they occur and work through them. You’ll become a more decisive leader and boss.

Training and Development. To reduce conflicts, close the communication gaps. This requires investing money to create onsite workshops and video training libraries. Hold everyone accountable for developing and using these skills—especially all leaders, bosses, and supervisors.

Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. How do qualified job fit assessments reduce conflicts and improve communication? They help team members understand objective differences in each other. They also provide a foundation for those difficult conversations about difficulties experienced when working with each other. For example, with objective data, employees are less defensive about traits that impede team progress (e.g., a hyperactive employee attempting to work with an employee who fails to meet deadlines).

Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.

A note from Jeannette: Conflict resolution has become one of the top 2024 issues bosses and leaders must address! But many are not ready to do so for a variety of reasons … and I’ve seen too many to count. Want to tap into my 31++ years of experience? Contact me now with your questions!

It’s time to get honest and genuine! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Hiring for Likability Causes Company Results to Suffer

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“Likable job candidates are easier to hire but harder to fire.” Jeannette Seibly

Why is it so easy to hire based on “likability?”

Job candidates:

  • Are positive
  • Listen to what you are saying
  • Smile a lot

The problem?

  • They tell you what you want to hear
  • You fail to ask job-related questions
  • You don’t listen to their actual responses
  • You fear deep-diving into their actual skills and responses
  • All because you like them

The results?

  • Customers are upset they have another person to train on your behalf
  • The new “likable” employee has little to no interest in doing the job as it needs to be done (e.g., the employee lacks the initiative to get answers the customer needs)
  • The hiring boss waits too long to let the person go — in the meantime, the bottom-line results suffer due to loss of customers and top talent (again)

In a recent video, a GenZer claimed that bosses should hire based mostly on someone’s likability. The problem? Most companies have been doing that for decades. Now, turnover and poor job fit are at an all-time high since we have negated the importance of job fit, an important indicator of job success.

A new employee was hired to train employees in an insurance agency — the hiring boss liked her spunk and positivity. But she had no experience working in an agency, having previously worked in the benefits division of a large company. The current employees, who had also applied for the job, were now expected to train the trainer. The new trainer lasted 60 days. While everyone felt she was “likable,” the truth was that she was ineffective in training people to succeed in their jobs due to her lack of hands-on experience and poor job fit. (She worked better in a large corporate setting.)

These Are the Pitfalls When Hiring for Likability

Hiring too quickly. On average, many hiring bosses and leaders make a “yes” or “no” decision within 4.3 minutes of meeting the job candidate based on likability and other biases. For example: “It’s unusual for job applicants to like the color orange – I love orange too.” OR “They attended the same college I did.”). Note: Yes! These situations happen all too often and have no objective basis for job fit!

Relying on fragments of information. Savvy job candidates are likable and are good at telling hiring bosses what they want to hear. Since the hiring boss feels good about the person, s/he fails to ask job-related questions and deep dive to determine if the person has the required work experience. As a result, many hiring managers make decisions based on fragments of information instead of obtaining complete objective data.

Failing to admit we are wrong. When a person is likable, many hiring bosses will defend the job candidate even with data that shows they are not a good fit for the job (e.g., hiring accountants with excellent math skills but no interest in using them). Why? Once we’ve made up our minds, it’s difficult for us to change and admit we were wrong (again). Remember, this happens way too often… you cannot change a person’s fit with the job, but you can change the job to fit the person. Examples: People may learn the skills but lack the interest in using these skills effectively. OR, Former employees from large corporations find it difficult to work in smaller environments where more initiative is expected to keep the customer happy.

Expecting them to clean up issues. While likable job candidates will tell you what you want to hear, they do not have the capability to make the tough decisions and have the difficult conversations to “clean up issues” they were hired to do.

How to Focus on Job Fit and Less on Likability

Create a Strategic Job Fit System. Then, follow it! It’s not complicated. But it does require accountability and responsibility for who you hire and why you hired that person(s).

Use Qualified Job-Fit Assessments. It’s crucial to see the “whole person” (e.g., thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests). Using the wrong assessment allows applicants to show themselves as they want to be seen, not as who they are. With over 3,000 published assessments available, it can be difficult to discern which ones comply with the Department of Labor guidelines for pre-employment and selection use. Recommendation: Ask for a technical manual and check for distortion, predictive validity, reliability, and validity coefficients. (See Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skill Tests, Hire Amazing Employees). Using the correct assessment correctly makes all the difference in the selection process!

Conduct Due Diligence. It’s not uncommon for applicants to provide education, job titles, and companies that don’t exist! (Yes, likable job applicants can lie.) Make sure to conduct background, licensing, education, and other checks. Many times, using a third-party provider ensures a thorough and consistent process. (SEE Chapter 17, Types of Checks, Hire Amazing Employees)

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.

A note from Jeannette: Too often, we hire based on likability and ignore selecting for job fit (employees that fit their job responsibilities and workplace culture). But with high turnover of top talent and customers, poor job fit impacts results and your bottom line. With a well-designed job-fit selection system, let’s make 2024 a great year. Want to tap into my 31++ years of experience? Contact me now with your questions!

It’s time to get honest and genuine! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Talent Mobility Creates a Profitable Company

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“Talent mobility (moving people within the company) creates a powerful impact and positive workplace culture.” Jeannette Seibly

Often, companies fail to embrace talent mobility that focuses on hiring employees for job fit, providing laser coaching, and moving these talented employees into the “right” seats. This failure leads to companies experiencing significant layoffs, high turnover, and quiet quitting.

How To Achieve It!

Use Qualified Job-Fit Assessments. Often, we use assessments that are not validated for pre-employment and selection use. It’s one of the reasons employees leave or quietly quit. Instead, use the PXT Select® for hiring, coaching, and managing insights. These reports provide needed information for talent mobility and coaching. They guide bosses, employees, and teams to excel faster.

Develop Individual Career Paths. Use objective data and the employee’s interest(s) to build a viable pathway to fulfill professional and personal goals. Employees (at all levels within the company) will stay longer and do a better job when they feel the employer is supporting their interests and providing needed coaching to build their skills.

Provide Training Consistent with the Employees’ Growth and Needs. Training everyone the same way doesn’t work. (However, one consistent area for growth is teaching employees, bosses, and leaders to listen.) Use the PXT Select® Coaching Report to determine growth needs before promoting or moving someone into a different job. High-quality assessments help leaders and bosses coach and manage employees for success and let them know ahead of time where the obstacles will occur. And issues will occur! Forearmed is forewarned.

Develop Leadership and Boss Skills Before Needed. While everyone can be a leader in their job, not everyone will be a great boss of people! Take the time to train and develop all employees interested in promotion or new work opportunities. Start with the PXT Select® Leadership Report for objective insights into strengths and areas for improvement. Then, set up an individualized training and coaching program (aka career path). For example, training all team leaders and members to conduct effective virtual, on-site, or hybrid meetings is critical to achieving the intended results the customer requires.

Provide an External Coach and an Internal Mentor. Top talent will have questions and want answers. Often, the boss is too busy, doesn’t have the answer, or cannot provide effective coaching. Providing the ability to have a confidential conversation with their executive coach or ask internal or industry questions of a mentor will provide everyone with answers when faced with difficult situations or politically charged relationships.

These five crucial areas will impact talent mobility and the company’s profitability. (Hint: Picking at least one of the five areas above and implementing it will advance the company further than most.)

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, it always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: “Moving people within the company (aka talent mobility) can have a powerful impact on the bottom line, create a positive culture, and grow the company’s, leaders’ and boss’s reputation.” However, too often, we move and change people’s jobs without considering job fit, their true interests, and how to get the best results for our customers and our company. Have questions? Contact me now!

It’s time to get honest and real! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes during 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Spotting Hidden Talent Easily

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“Selecting people based on job fit increases employee and customer retention and profitability.” Jeannette Seibly

Did you know hidden talent can be easily spotted using a well-designed job-fit selection system?

While everyone is complaining about the difficulty in finding “hidden talent,” the reality is that the person could be right in front of you! However, your biases often get in the way of seeing their hidden talents. Other blocks that can get in the way include lack of objective data, unrealistic expectations … the list goes on and on.

Bottom line: We miss spotting hidden talent due to a lack of good, reliable, and objective data when making our hiring, promoting, and job transferring decisions.

Here Are Ways to Avoid These Common Pitfalls

Prepare Job Applicants. Send them a helpful video about your interview process and what to expect. Remember, for many, this is their first time talking with your company. Provide several interview questions (and be sure to ask at least one or two of these questions) so they feel comfortable with your selection process. I would also recommend sending them a link to the brag book: “How to Sell Yourself Anytime, Anywhere: Start Bragging!” Many applicants have hidden talents that they need to learn how to share effectively!

Use Valid a Honesty/Integrity Assessment. These direct admission tools can help weed out those job candidates that are good at selling themselves, but have things to hide. They also help provide safer workplace environments. Be sure to check with local and state statutes to avoid asking inappropriate questions (e.g., age, marital status, children, etc.).

Conduct Phone Screen Interviews to Gather Objective Data. Ask questions designed to reveal the facts of their past employment and education. Remember, verifying and documenting is essential. Too often, job candidates fail to get honest about job fit… they want the job. (For help in creating questions, READ Chapter 10, Hire Amazing Employees)

How many times have you hired someone and 2 hours or 2 weeks or 2 months later realized who you interviewed was not the person who has showed up for the job!

Use a Qualified Job-Fit Assessment. It’s crucial to see the “whole person” (e.g., thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests). Using the wrong assessment allows applicants to show themselves as they want to be seen, not as who they are. With over 3,000 published assessments available, selecting ones not designed or complying with the Department of Labor for pre-employment and selection use is easy. How do you know the difference? Ask for a technical manual and check for distortion, predictive validity, reliability, and validity coefficients. (See Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skill Tests, Hire Amazing Employees). Using the correct assessment, the right way makes all the difference in the selection process!

Interview for Job Fit. Too often our beliefs in the skills required are sabotaged by our subjective biases (e.g., since they are good in math, they will be good accountants or financial consultants; since they were friendly during the interview, they’ll be great bosses; etc.). Ask job-related questions and listen! Deep dive into their responses using the “Rule of 3” to determine the depth of their skills. (For additional insights about “Rule of 3” and creating job-related questions, READ Chapter 10, Hire Amazing Employees)

Conduct Due Diligence. It’s not uncommon for applicants to provide education, job titles, and companies that don’t exist! Make sure to conduct background, licensing, education, and other checks. Many times, using a third-party provider ensures a thorough and consistent process. (SEE Chapter 17, Types of Checks, Hire Amazing Employees)

Require Onboarding for Best Results. Start when the job offer is accepted and will continue over a period of months. Otherwise, your newest talent will “leave” while remaining on the payroll. (READ: Chapter 20, The Success of a New Hire Is Up to You! Hire Amazing Employees)

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, it always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve amazing results.

A note from Jeannette about discovering hidden talent: Often, we miss spotting hidden talent due to the lack of good, reliable, and objective data when making our hiring, promoting, and job-transferring decisions. With a well-designed job-fit selection system, let’s make 2024 a great year. Need help? Have questions? Contact me now!

It’s time to get honest and real! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus … they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Are You Frustrated that You’re Unable to Find and Keep Top Talent?

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“Are you feeling the stress due to your hiring practices? It’s time to make real changes.” Jeannette Seibly

There are four often overlooked reasons.

Many companies realize they have a problem finding and keeping top talent. They even know it’s due to their hiring managers’ bad habits and practices!

But realizing the obvious (e.g., interviewers need training) does nothing to create a positive difference with your job fit selection system.

How to Improve (not just read about) Your Company’s Retention, Revenues, and Results!

Use the Right Job-Fit Assessment. Legal and scientific (e.g., validity, reliability, predictive validity, and distortion) factors are often overlooked! And most assessments are not designed to comply with the Department of Labor Guidelines for pre-employment and selection purposes. Using the right one will help you achieve real results (e.g., salespeople who can close sales and CPAs/financial planners who enjoy working with financial data). When selecting a job-fit assessment, ask for the Technical Manual. Beware … run the other way if they provide a letter from their attorney. These letters are designed to protect them, not you! (Read Chapter 9, Use the Right Assessments and Skills Test, “Hire Amazing Employees)

Ask Job-Related Questions. Even though most hiring bosses know better, many ask inadequate or inappropriate interview questions. For example, “What’s your favorite movie/book/color/restaurant?” These questions have nothing to do with the job and are illegal! The focus needs to be on questions that address: Can they do the job? Are they willing to learn the job? Will they actually do the job? Can they be successful in doing the job here? (For help designing interview questions: SEE Chapter 12, Pointers for Successful Interviews, “Hire Amazing Employees”)

Recognize Your Competition’s Top Producer May Fail in Your Company. No two companies have identical cultures and values. It’s why a top results producer in one company may fail in another! A well-designed job-fit selection system will reveal whether or not they will succeed at your company. (SEE: Chapter 2, Create a Strategic Selection System, “Hire Amazing Employees”)

Know Your Biases and Judgments Make Little Difference. Yes, we ALL have them! Even you! How do you minimize the negative impacts of the biases and judgments? Recognize them using a well-designed job-fit selection system to hire, promote, and transfer your people! Do this now before the next rendition of the “Great Resignation” or “Great Attrition” occurs in 2024! It will save time, customers, and sleepless nights. (SEE: Chapter 1, The Selection Triad – What Is It and Why Should You Care? “Hire Amazing Employees”)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, it always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner with Wiley for over 31 years. To learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool, contact Jeannette.

Why Do You Need to Make Crucial Changes Now?

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“Waiting to make the right changes in hiring and retaining top talent costs you time, money, and your business.” Jeannette Seibly

Because the right people in the right jobs are your most valuable assets!

Many bosses and business leaders in private and family-owned businesses are failing to make crucial changes now. Instead, they wait until there is an “Oh! S^&T moment!” By then, it’s usually too late. It’s gut-wrenching; they are looking for someone or something to blame.

Have you recently:

  • Noticed a leak in your financial profits? (There is no line item for hiring or promoting the wrong employee!)
  • Lost a major client … the one that has kept your doors open?
  • Lost a key employee … the one who knows everything about the company and its systems?
  • Spent more time updating your computer systems than hiring the right person?

The bad news? Ignoring these issues with the ostrich approach never worked well for anyone and never solved any of the “people challenges” you continue to have. Remember, the right people in the right jobs are your most valuable assets! Your reticence to make required changes takes a toll on your current employees and customers.

The good news? When you upgrade and update your hiring, promoting, and job transferring systems to collect objective, valid, and reliable data, your profits soar, and your employees and customers are happier.

It’s Time to Get Real

About the Numbers. Having high turnover is insane! And costs a lot of money. Relying on the excuse that it is less than “industry standards” won’t make a difference to your bottom line, retaining top talent, or keeping great customers. Conduct an analysis of the cost of hiring mistakes. Then, compare the cost of updating and upgrading your hiring and selection practices. Usually, a wrong hire costs much more than a well-designed strategic selection system.

About Your Selection Process. Are your people in the right jobs? Most employees today would give a resounding, “NO!” The Great Resignation and Great Attrition (along with other new terms for old issues) are employees’ battle cries for help! They are bored and stressed! A well-designed strategic job-fit process includes conducting effective job-related interviews, using real qualified job-fit assessment tools validated for pre-employment and promotion use, and following through on collecting true due diligence data.

About the Importance of Onboarding. Without following a well-designed plan to onboard new hires, you will lose them. Why? The boss is often too busy, so that the employees will step in. Employees have a way of doing work that may or may not reflect company policies and procedures. Bad habits, employees not on the same page, and mixed customer reviews will cause new hires to leave.

About Managing and Coaching Practices. Many bosses today are promoted for the wrong reasons and make poor managers and coaches. What missing? They lack coachability. It’s why many former employees blame bad bosses for leaving. These bosses take feedback as criticism of them personally instead of understanding it’s an opportunity to learn how to improve the quality of their work. Also, they fail to provide critical feedback to their employees.

How do you determine coachability? Ask the following interview questions more than once,

  • “What was your most recent mistake?”
  • “What did you do to correct it?”
  • “Who was involved in building the solution?”
  • “What were the results?”

If the job candidate or person you want to promote cannot think of any mistakes, move on to other candidates!

About Providing Leadership and Management Development. Again, many bosses and leaders are promoted for the wrong reasons (e.g., longevity, being liked by their boss (but not the employees), or handling a customer issue well once). Take the time on Day 1 to create a career path, leadership and management development training, and opportunities to use these skills based on the employee’s and company’s goals.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for success. As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom comes from 31 years of transforming bosses from hated to respected! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about making crucial changes now in how you hire, coach, and manage your employees: We all like to think we have time … as soon as we put all the fires out. The challenge? The fires never end if you keep hiring, promoting, and job-transferring the right people into the wrong jobs! Now is the time to get real! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation about updating and upgrading your selection processes NOW!

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Or are you one of those bosses? With my depth of experience and wisdom, I transform bosses from hated to respected! Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Podcast info When was the last time to patted yourself on the back? Learning how to brag is critical to your business and career successes! Check out my podcast interview with host, Frank Agin:  https://bit.ly/BragPodcast  Get your brag on! Give it a listen.

Be a Respected Leader and Achieve Intended Results

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“Respect grows based on the quality of the decisions you make.” Jeannette Seibly

Being a respected leader (or boss) and achieving intended results requires taking responsibility for each situation, discovering the true issue, and making the best decisions to improve results. And? Asking for help!

The biggest challenge I’m seeing today is leaders focused on being well-liked by employees and customers, and disregarding the importance of being respected.

A general manager (GM) for a company was well liked by employees and clients. It was a surprise and shock when he was reamed by a new board member about his poor management of the company’s satellite office. After the board session, the GM resigned. After the employees and other board members convinced him to stay, he rescinded his resignation. But nothing was done to resolve the real issue of poor financial management. Several months later the GM was fired.

In this situation, the GM was liked but not respected. He did not ask for help, and no one addressed the real issue of poor financial management.

5 Keys to Build Respect as a Leader

  1. Select the Best People. Stop intuitive hiring practices! Respect begins by hiring, promoting, and job transferring your management and employee teams into positions that fit them! (It’s called job-fit.) Before selecting people, craft a well-designed selection process to collect objective, valid, and reliable data about the person’s ability to be effective in the job. This requires using qualified job-fit assessments, conducting job-focused interviews, and implementing a six-month onboarding program.
  2. Make Faster Decisions. When done right, you will make better decisions. Taking days, weeks, or months to make decisions is often due to poor leadership, and the fear of not being linked. Instead, have the tough conversations and get to the heart of the issue. Remember, integrity, critical thinking, and paying attention to the impact on others will create better decisions now and in the long-run.
  3. Talk It Out. Communication is everything. Too often, leaders don’t pay attention to their own words, as well as not paying attention. When talking it out, go around the table to get everyone’s input until there is nothing new being added. The process includes eliciting responses from those you normally don’t listen to. The answers reside inside the quality of the conversation! Yes, it can take more time. But in the long run, it builds respect for you as a leader, and provides support when implementing less-than-popular decisions.
  4. Build Good Working Relationships. This facilitates getting things resolved faster, with faster buy-in. This is key to developing respect. When are allowed to make statements and offer opinions about how things should be done or how should be viewed before listening to people, relationships falter (and sometimes destroyed). Remember, listening, learning, and asking questions of those involved will always build stronger relationships.
  5. Plan for Your Replacement. Succession planning and development are crucial for future leaders. When you plan for your replacement, you build respect because you are showing your commitment to the longevity of the company, more than your own personal interests. You never know when your successor will need to step up, either short or long-term, due to illness, death of family members, and other issues. The key? Make sure the person is the right one. (SEE #1 above) Too often, a good #2 person does not make a good #1 leader. Don’t skip #1.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for success. As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom comes from 31 years of transforming bosses from hated to respected! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about being respected as a leader: Think of a leader you respect … what was the #1 trait that leader had? Now … think of a leader you liked but didn’t respect. What were the differences? Often, it comes down to how they made decisions that impacted the company, employees, and customers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation about how to become a respected leader.

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Or are you one of those bosses? With my depth of experience and wisdom, I transform bosses from hated to respected! Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

You Need These 5 Confidence Builders to Achieve Amazing Results

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“Building confidence that never fails requires ongoing and consistent attention.” Jeannette Seibly

Building your confidence is essential for you to do each and every day, especially when dealing with daily demands on your time, attention, and energy. Remember to be aware of saboteurs (e.g., your team, boss, customers, and co-workers). Paying conscious attention will help you achieve outcomes faster while continually building your confidence and competence.

Here are ideas to develop and build your inner power and confidence!

  1. Believe in Yourself. It’s difficult when you experience a failure, mistake, or rejection. Breathe. Learn for the experience. Now, get back into the conversation for focused action!
  1. Be Present. Allowing your internal mental chatter to get in the way limits results and relationships! When having conversations and attending meetings or events, give 100% attention to the speaker. You’ll be amazed by what you can learn, even if you believe you already know it all! 
  1. Be a Results Producer. Going through the motions without a conscious intention to improve the quality isn’t taking focused action!
  • Get honest about the actions you are taking by hiring a coach.
  • Have the tough and needed conversations.
  • Don’t overlook quality. And focus on performance challenges, not personality differences.
  • Now, you can achieve the goals you used to dream about.
  1. Be Coachable. You don’t have all the answers, and frequently, you do things the hard way with limited results. Hire the right coach and watch your confidence grow with clarity and calmness.
  1. Get Your Brag On! Pay attention to your daily activities and wins by keeping a written log of your achievements. When it’s time for a job promotion, job interview, board meeting, sales presentation, or pitch for your book or product, you’re ready! Your brags make a big difference in building your confidence. They also build your reputation and ability to influence others!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about building your confidence each and every day: Consciously building your confidence each day requires recognizing when it is being sabotaged! Contact me for a confidential conversation about identifying and eradicating saboteurs!  

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? A great boss works with an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs. Remember, being coached accelerates building your effectiveness, influence, and confidence.

What Do You Do When Your Team Is Hurting Results?

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“When a team fails to achieve intended results, bosses and leaders need to look in the mirror first for answers!” Jeannette Seibly

No one likes to think their team is hurting results. But dismissing the issue, believing it’s unimportant, and failing to take responsibility for the systems and outcomes is a no-win for teams, bosses, customers, and leaders! Remember, finding new customers and talent costs a lot of money. And it overlooks the necessity to improve quality and your team’s reputation!

Tips to Discover and Improve Results

Get into Action. Ask questions to get to the core of the issue. Use an objective process: “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?” Debrief as a team. This exercise will end the usual finger-pointing or the blame game. During this process, use acknowledgment for the “good things that did happen.” Appreciation encourages viable solutions!

Be in Communication. Keep your team and co-workers apprised when there is an issue. Ask questions after conducting your team debrief to see what else may be missing. Do this immediately, BEFORE talking with the customer or other people affected. Keep everyone up-to-date while valuing their input! Promise to resolve the issue(s). (Very Important Hint: Don’t drop the ball … people have long memories when promises are not kept! These memories can stifle your co-workers and team from working with you in the future.)

“Excuses don’t help make things better. They only offer a rationale to avoid trying.”

Simon Sinek

Bring in Outside Expertise. Everyone wants to hide that they failed to achieve the intended results, fearing embarrassment and humiliation. Consider that bringing in outside help takes the pressure off you to have all the answers. (Hint: You don’t; others may not value your opinions right now.) Work with these experts to diagnose the actual issue. Listen. Make appropriate changes. Don’t forget that ongoing and consistent training is crucial when developing new habits!

Use a Qualified Job Fit Assessment. When teams and team members fit their job, it diminishes miscommunication, factionalism, and other mischief! Often, issues can be resolved by using people’s strengths and placing them in the right jobs! First, refine job descriptions and job responsibilities. Second, develop the skills that impact the quality of the results: communication, critical thinking, and team management.

Top-Down Challenge. When results fail, many bosses and leaders focus on the bottom-up (employees v. management). Consider the issue may be you! While many bosses and leaders believe they are above reproach, their rigid perspectives and do-as-I-say mindset get in the way. Remember, it’s not business as usual anymore! Bring in an executive coach/consultant to improve the management team’s coachability and ability to coach others for results. Then, empower each boss and leader and provide the tools to make the necessary team changes.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about when your team hurts intended results: Set aside the normal finger-pointing! Now, create conversations and solutions to create win-win-win outcomes. Contact me for a confidential conversation about how to have conversations that produce intended results.

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? Great bosses work with an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom in guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching program. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to achieve intended results for you and your teams!