- Interviewing Skills: The best answers to behavioral interview questions
- Etiquette & Propriety: protocol of introducing people, overcoming shyness in initiating conversations, keeping good eye contact, remembering names, around a table
- Résumé guidelines: fonts and text size, one-page rule, references, updating often, difference between résumé and curriculum vitae, avoiding clichéd superlatives and proclamations.
- Learning from General Electric: performance management and forced ranking, Jack Welch on fast execution, Jeff Immelt on the importance of context and perspective (also as a podcast / audio file,) four types of managers, Jeffrey Immelt leads by example
- On feedback: sandwich feedback technique and its ineffectiveness, suggested feedback model, accepting compliments gracefully, six steps to recognizing people, on the use of prepositions ‘but’ and ‘however’, on recognizing unhappy employees
- Managing your boss: seeking proactive feedback, four keys to an excellent relationship with your boss, never surprise your boss
Search Results for: people skills
General Electric’s Jack Welch Identifies Four Types of Managers
Four Types of Managers
Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001, described four categories of managers in General Electric’s year 2000 annual report.
Type 1: shares our values; makes the numbers—sky’s the limit!
Type 2: shares the values; misses the numbers—typically, another chance, or two.
Type 3: doesn’t share the values; doesn’t make the numbers—gone.
Type 4 is the toughest call of all: the manager who doesn’t share the values, but delivers the numbers. This type is the toughest to part with because organizations always want to deliver and to let someone go who gets the job done is yet another unnatural act. But we have to remove these Type 4s because they have the power, by themselves, to destroy the open, informal, trust-based culture we need to win today and tomorrow.
We made our leap forward when we began removing our Type 4 managers and making it clear to the entire company why they were asked to leave—not for the usual “personal reasons” or “to pursue other opportunities,” but for not sharing our values. Until an organization develops the courage to do this, people will never have full confidence that these soft values are truly real.
Live by Corporate Values
Organizations face the challenge of developing and sustaining a culture that is both values-centered and performance-driven. They begin by developing mission and value statements that, in due course, become little more than wall decorations because the organization’s leaders and managers fail to uphold these values.
Nothing hurts morale more than when leaders tolerate employees who deliver results, but exhibit behaviors that are incongruent to values of the company. For instance, an organization that thrives on teamwork will suffer, over the long term, if a manager habitually claims all credit for his team’s accomplishments.
Idea for Impact: Core Values Matter!
As a manager, drive accountability. Hold employees responsible for their behaviors. Reward employees for proper behaviors and publicly discourage behaviors that do not uphold values. Do not make exceptions—exceptions signify your own indifference to the upholding of values.
As an employee, understand that an essential requirement for your success in your organization is your fit. Your behaviors must be congruent with the character and needs of your organization. Even if you are talented, you will not fare well if your behaviors are inconsistent with the values of your organization. Reflect on your behavior. On a regular basis, collect feedback from your managers, peers and employees. Seek change.
Keep the company values front and center in people’s mind.
Stephen King’s Tips for Writing Better
Here are tips on writing from the celebrated science-fiction author Stephen King’s popular book “On Writing–A Memoir of the Craft.” The first third of this book is a short memoir of the prolific author and the second section, the namesake “On Writing,” is unadulterated inspiration for serious authors and anybody with an inclination to improve their written communication skills.
- Get to the point. Do not waste your reader’s time with too much back-story, long intros or longer anecdotes about your life. Reduce the noise.
.jpg "'On Writing--A Memoir of the Craft' by Stephen King (ISBN 1413818720)")
Write a draft. Then let it rest. King recommends that you crank out a first draft and then put it in your drawer to let it rest. This enables you to get out of the mindset you had when you wrote the draft and get a more detached and clear perspective on the text.- Cut down your text. When you revisit your text, it is time to kill your darlings and remove all the superfluous words and sentences. Removing will de-clutter your text and often get your message through with more clarity and a bigger emotional punch.
- Be relatable and honest. One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and honest characters with both bad and good sides to them. People we can relate to with all of their faults, passions, fears, weaknesses and good moments. Another key to being honest and relatable is keeping a conversational style.
- Write a lot. To become a better writer you probably—and not so surprisingly – need to write more.
Communication is all about the audience: it is about directing the audience to identify with your point of view and comprehend the precise message you want to convey. The writing tips in Stephen King’s “On Writing” will help you focus on your message—be it in a speech, a blog post, an essay, or an email.
To echo the ideas summarized above, read my earlier blog article about beginning with the end: the most effective start to the communication process is to begin at the end and enumerate the outcome. List the conclusions the audience should draw from your effort. Setting a goal for your communication helps you collect and present ideas logically.
Hamish McRae on Drivers of Change in the World Economy
In an essay entitled “Reading the Future,” Hamish McRae, one of Europe’s leading futurists, argues that we can all understand the changes in the world today and get the future right. He identifies five important drivers of change in the world economy.
Hamish McRae on Drivers of Change in the World Economy
- Demography: how many more people there will be in the world, how old they will be, and where they will be located.
- Resources and the environment: whether there will be enough resources to give these additional people a decent lifestyle, the pressures this will create on the environment, and the impact on the business community.
- Globalization: how long it will continue to race onwards and how it will change its nature from emphasis on international trade to emphasis on movements of culture and talent.
- Technology: how we can see an outline of the technologies that will dominate for the next twenty-five years and how we must try to understand the broad social impact of these technological advances.
- Government and social change: why we will ask different things of government, why government will tend to retreat, and the opportunities that will be created for the private sector.
Call for Action
The five macroeconomic trends identified by Hamish present an opportunity to understand the future in a broad context. Translate these trends into microeconomic indicators and examine how they may affect your lives: your society, marketplace, industry and the economy. What opportunities do these trends present to your career, your personal and professional growth, your choice of investments, etc? How will you capitalize on these opportunities?
Example 1: In the United States, the oldest segment of the population—persons 65 years or older—is predicted to grow to 20% of the population by 2030 from about 12.4% in 2005. The aging population will increase the demand for healthcare services and preventive medicine. What investment choices can you make?
Example 2: Assume you dispense cash at a bank in a semi-urban location in India. In their relentless pursuit of productivity, banks in India will push new technologies: transactions over mobile phones and wider adaptation of ATMs and online recordkeeping, thereby shrinking the functions of bank tellers. There will be a greater demand for employees who understand customer needs, spot business opportunities and execute growth plans. How will you expand your skills and graduate into such roles?
Biography
Hamish McRae is one of Europe’s leading futurists and the principal economic commentator of ‘The Independent’ and ‘The Independent on Sunday,’ both published from the United Kingdom. He is the author of “The World in 2020: Power, Culture and Prosperity.” Hamish’s essay is part of the book “Leading Authorities in Business,” edited by Marshall Goldsmith and James Belasco. [Biography adapted from the website of the ‘Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.’]
Ethel Romm on Building Consensus
Ethel Grodzins Romm was the President and CEO of NITON Corporation, a maker of scientific equipment. NITON is currently part of Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO.) Ethel is an accomplished engineer, entrepreneur and author.
Guy Kawasaki features Ethel Romm in his book ‘Hindsights: The Wisdom and Breakthroughs of Remarkable People.’ In her interview for this book, Ethel emphasizes the need for leaders to build consensus instead of enforcing their will.
Ethel Romm on Building Consensus
“Business is a garden of forked paths, and when we can’t agree on which one to take, then I make the call. There are occasions when you have to say, ‘I’m the president, and it’s got to go this way,’ but that’s the weakest appeal of all.”
“If it’s everybody’s decision—if everyone has helped to make it, or talked you out of something—then we’re all rowing together. Bosses say, ‘Go!’; leaders say, ‘Let’s go!'”
Sometimes, it is difficult for managers “to see why or how they are inefficient. They believe that they are succeeding—after all, nobody mutinies. They fail to understand that when you are the boss, everyone salutes you and follows your orders, regardless of your personality.”
“Thus, they are misled into believing that their meanness or callousness is keeping everyone in line. They can easily get the idea that if they don’t command, control, and coerce, the place will fall apart. The feedback is all wrong.”
Call for Action
Quite often, members of a team may realize that they have very little influence on the decision-making process and withdraw from active participation. However, the team buy-in on the decision to ensure prompt follow-up on expected contributions. Building consensus as part of the decision-making process, therefore, is one of the core team skills—for team members and team leaders.
Listen to every idea offered during a team conversation. Do not ignore or sidestep any ideas or concerns. Do not criticize or show objection. Instead, seek clarifications and discuss: “That is a great idea. And, one of the challenges we will face is…. How shall we work around that? What if we modify…? How about…?” Differences of opinion are natural and expected. Work on reaching decisions by building on the agreements.
As Dwight Eisenhower said, “Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.
What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is a popular approach to screening job candidates. It is based on a philosophy that assessing a candidate’s past behavior and experiences is a reliable indicator of his/her response to identical situations in the future.
Traditional Interviewing v/s Behavioral Interviewing
Screening candidates gives interviewers a glimpse into an applicant’s characteristics, skills, and experiences to determine their fit for a position. Unlike a traditional interview, which poses hypothetical questions, in behavioral interviews interviewers ask questions intended to elicit concrete examples that reveal whether the candidate demonstrated particular behaviors or skills in the past.
For example, instead of asking a candidate, “How will you deal with a team member who was not pulling his weight on a project?” as in a traditional interview, an interviewer using the behavioral interviewing technique may ask, “Describe a project where one of your teammates was not pulling his weight. What did you do? Did he change?”
Behavioral Interviewing Process
Typically, prior to the interview, an interviewer identifies a set of behavioral traits and characteristics he/she believes is essential for success on a particular assignment. He/she then selects a series of questions structured as follows:
- Describe a time when you had to …. What did you do?
- Give me an example of a time when you had to …?
- Tell me about a situation in the past …
An interviewer may question the candidate’s responses and probe further:
- What was the outcome?
- Did you consider …?
- How did the other person react?
Quite often, an interviewer structures questions such that a candidate cannot note the particular personality trait the interviewer seeks. Instead of allowing the candidate to theorize or generalize about events, the interviewer expects three details of each experience: (1) what was the situation, (2) how did the candidate deal with the situation, and, (3) was what the outcome.
Sample Behavioral Interview Questions
- Describe a situation when your team members disagreed with your ideas or proposal on a project. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time when you discovered a problem before anybody else on your team. What was the nature of the problem? How did you handle it? Did you ask for help?
- What has been your most creative solution to a problem?
- Give an example of when you had difficulty getting along with a team member. What made this person difficult to work with? How did you deal with the situation?
- Tell me about a time when you have had to reject a customer’s request. What reasons did you give? How did you communicate?
- What was a constructive criticism you received recently? How did you respond to it? Did your relationship with this person change?
For more questions, see my compilation of job interview questions.
For more on how to impress an interviewer by discussing your credentials and accomplishments in terms of personal success stories, see my article on the STAR technique.
How Hard You Should Work
People are surprised when I tell them I put in 70 to 75 hours of work every week and get about five hours of sleep every day. The typical responses are “Your Company makes you do that much work?” Or, “Doesn’t your boss realize that is a lot of work?”
The New World of Work
We live in a world characterized by intense competition, globalization, greater volatility than before, and demands for higher personal effectiveness. To be successful in the new world of work, we cannot stipulate the specific number of hours we should put in every day. Our accomplishment in these hours, not the number of hours, is the yardstick of our performance assessment. In fact, a 65 to 70 hour workweek has become the norm for getting ahead in leadership roles.
What Works for You
My guideline for how long you should work is, “Work as many hours as you think you need to achieve your goals, realize your aspirations and be happy.”
Note the emphasis on individuality in the above statement. Not everybody faces the same kind of demands; not everybody is equally productive. Nor does everybody have the same kind of aspirations. The number of hours you should work should depend on the opportunities you face and what you intend to do with them. It is a choice you have to make—a choice between components of your personal and professional lives.
If you are an entrepreneur, you may need to work 80-90 hours a week developing your idea; this involves sacrificing out-of-work activities. If you have an eight-to-five job, wish to spend lots of time with family and attend all of your son’s football games, you may work as little as forty hours a week, the minimum expected at your workplace. However, this may involve slower job growth. If you are a stay-at-home mom, and would like to put your engineering skills to good use, you may find a job that will allow you to work out of home. Make the appropriate choices and chart your life course on what works best for you.
Links
- A year-2002 study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation concluded that the average American employee works 46 hours per week; see reference.
- General Electric’s Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt is regarded as one of the hardest working executives in corporate America. An article written by Geoffrey Colvin of the Fortune magazine in September 2005 quotes Jeff Immelt saying he works 100 hours a week. See this article for insights to Jeff’s disciplined work style.
The Legacy of Peter Drucker, the Original Management Guru
Yesterday was the first anniversary of the death of Peter Ferdinand Drucker, “the father of modern management.”
Drucker is arguably the most influential management philosopher of the modern era. He is the author of about forty books and innumerable essays on managerial skills, management concepts and social analyses. As a consultant, author and speaker for over sixty years, Drucker influenced the thinking of many executives in businesses, not-for-profits and faith-based organizations. Read his detailed biographies here, here and here.
Drucker wrote about many concepts and practices decades before the trends were discernable: knowledge workers, empowering employees, decentralization, management by objectives, focus on results instead of actions, the responsibility of the corporation in society, knowledge-based society, rise of multinational businesses, etc.
Drucker’s writings are devoid of buzzwords and management jargon and easily resonate with his readers. Today, we accept Drucker’s thoughts as conventional wisdom. Consequently, scores of business school courses require reading of his books.
My first exposure to Drucker’s thoughts was when I read his manual “The Effective Executive” during my undergraduate studies. Over the last few years, I have read and re-read many of his books and essays. Drucker’s unique style of expression and simple, clear language have left a deep impression on my pursuits, thoughts and actions. Below is one of my favorite Peter Drucker instructions. See my separate blog post on his inspirational quotations.
Successful leaders don’t start out asking, “What do I want to do?” They ask, “What needs to be done?” Then they ask, “Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?” They don’t tackle things they aren’t good at.
On a question about his legacy, Drucker once said that he has “helped a few good people be effective in doing the right things.” Just a few? Drucker’s farsighted insights and timeless thoughts will influence management thought for generations to come.