Blog
Will your 2IC successfully take over from you?
Success in an organisation often means the CEO and their 2IC make a great team. The CEO not only uses their 2IC as a sounding board, they also work well together. They make decisions and execute actions that lead to the delivery of their business plan and budget year...
Culture and the factors that define it
Culture is talked about a lot, but defining it simply is a challenge. Most leaders indicate it plays a part in organisational health. Most people acknowledge the benefits of a positive culture. But what are the aspects that determine whether a culture is strong or...
The interview – a journey of discovery
I love interviewing. However, I know not everyone does. I had a client once say he would rather get teeth pulled than undertake an interview. Why do I love it? An interview is a very powerful communication tool. When conducted well, it is like going on a...
Trust is the X-factor in business
In the entertainment industry, a person’s X-factor is typically a mystery quality that’s hard to articulate. In business, it is generally much simpler. A business’ X-factor comes down to their unique application of known ideas like skill, innovation…and trust. Our...
Visibility has changed the recruitment space
Candidates are now much more visible. Since the advent of LinkedIn, which was only founded in 2002, there has been an explosion of people displaying their professional history and showcasing their skills and background on the web. This may be in the form of a LinkedIn...
Long-term hiring versus the gig economy
The gig economy is growing in its prominence, but don’t lose sight of the advantages of hiring and engaging for the long term. Businesses today require greater flexibility to respond quickly to market changes. The gig economy – or the ability to deliver specialised...
Interviewing the interviewer – for culture-fit, of course
Every employers’ focus these days is on finding the right person for a role. However, as an employee, have you ever gone into a new role only to find out it is not what you thought it was? When the pitch doesn’t match the practice Recently, when interviewing a senior...
Seek out the learners
There is a drive for ongoing improvement in every business. Remember the adage, “if you are standing still, you are going backwards”? Well, it is the same for individuals and yet, in the drive to find great staff, one of the attributes or qualities that seems to gain...
Mind the gap – but don’t try to close too much
Any business should have strategic goals and objectives…and understand the competencies needed to achieve those objectives. If you compare that to the competencies you have within your business, it becomes your gap analysis. At a simplistic level, you then have the...
Your trajectory – being open to change, challenge and blindspots
Changing who we are and what we do can be a challenge. We all realise that to progress, improve and develop, change and evolution are needed. Yet, sometimes, it is just easier to keep doing what we have always been doing. Staying inside in the warm, on a cold day,...
Recruiting A players – Topgrading one year on
It’s been more than 12 months since I undertook the Topgrading course developed by Brad Smart and made famous by Jack Welch. It follows a process Jack rolled out across GE’s businesses giving his management team the skills to identify and recruit ‘A players’. Jack...
Personality tests – a layman’s description
Personality tests have been a key part of human resources functions – particularly recruitment – for some decades now. However, a lot of misrepresentation has occurred over the years around these tests. Some have positioned them as a final arbiter (which they...