WorkPuzzle

How Mastering Habits Can Have a Profound Impact on Your Performance in the Upcoming Year

As things wind down for the year, I’m sure some of you are already starting to do some strategic planning for next year.  While reflection on the events of the previous year and hope for improvement are foundational pieces of any good planning process, I think many of us wonder if we truly have the capacity to make and sustain significant change. 

I’ve personally pondered this question even more than usual in the last few months after reading Charles Duhigg’s best selling book titled The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.  Why?  Because I’m starting to understand the powerful grip that habit has on my life—especially as I get older.

The researchers have been making this point for a while.  In fact, I even wrote a blog on this topic a couple of years ago where I highlighted the work of Tony Schwartz.  Schwartz made this statement in his book Be Excellent at Anything:

“Fully 95% of our behavior occurs out of habit, either unconsciously or in reaction to external demands.  We’re run by the automatic processes of the primitive parts of the brain far more than we rely on the complex conscious capacities of our prefrontal cortex—we think we’re in charge of our lives, but we’re not.”

If this is true, then mastering habits is one of the most important components to making positive changes in our lives.  

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the lessons that I learned from Duhigg’s book.   The information I’ll share will not only impact your personal performance, your ability to coach, and your effectiveness as a recruiter, but it will also help you understand your customers better.  It really is amazing how the science of habit infiltrates nearly every part of a person’s life.

To get you thinking about this topic, I’d like to share a movie clip of Meryl Streep playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.  This performance won Streep both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for best actress in 2011. 

This clip shows Margaret Thatcher, long after retiring from political office , reflecting on the importance of "thoughts" over "feelings" during a tense doctor's visit.   Notice what she says about habit.

 

Our habits are directly connected to both our character and our destiny.  Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks and we will learn how to “mind our habits….”

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Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

7 Reasons to Hire an Optimist

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Does it really matter? Rigorous scientific findings suggest your outlook on life directly impacts the success you experience.

You might remember me describing, from a variety of angles, the concept of learned helplessness over the last several years. Today, it dawned on me, I have never discussed learned optimism and how understanding this concept can improve you and your organization.

Whether you are an optimist or a pessimist is easily determined by the explanations you use to account for the negative events in your life.

This is part of what psychologists call "explanatory style."  Explanatory style is a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves why they experience a particular event.

There are three dimensions to every explanation that goes through a person's mind in response to an event.  And, all other things being equal (talent, environment, circumstances), the choice in the explanation will determine the level of success you'll experience in whatever you do. 

The three dimensions of explanatory style are personal, permanent, and pervasive:

1.  Are things that happen to me personal?   This involves how one explains where the cause of an event arises. People experiencing events may see themselves as the cause; that is, they have internalized/ personalized the cause for the event.

Example: "I always have problems with math" (internal) as opposed to "These math problems can be difficult for some people" (external).

 2.  Are things that happen to me permanent?  This involves how one explains the extent of the cause. People may see the situation as unchangeable or changeable.

Example:  "I always lose my keys" or "I need find a consistent place to put my keys". 

3.  Are things that happen to me pervasive?  This involves how one explains the extent of the effects. A person with a pervasive perspective would see the situation as affecting all aspects of life.

Example:  "I can't do anything right" or "Everything I touch seems to turn to gold".

In terms of explanatory style, optimists have the following perspective when things go wrong:

-they place no blame on themselves.

-they assure themselves that any setback can and will be corrected soon.

-they believe this experience was specific to a particular event and cannot be generalized to all other events. 

I know these distinctions may sound trivial on the surface, but researchers have consistently demonstrated the powerful impact of explanatory style on the lives of people. 

What impact?  Here is an abbreviated list of some of the researched-based consequences of being an optimist:

1. Optimists suffer much less anxiety and depression.

2. Optimists adapt better to negative events (including bypass surgery, and breast cancer) 

3. Optimism enables problem-focused coping, humor, making plans, positive reframing (putting the situation in the best possible light) and, when the situation is uncontrollable, to accepting the situation's reality.Optimists are capable of learning lessons from negative situations. Thus optimists have a coping advantage over pessimists. 


4.  Perhaps surprisingly, optimists don't tend to use denial, whilst pessimists often attempt to distance themselves from the problem.Optimists are not simply people who stick their heads in the sand and ignore threats to their well-being. For example, they attend to health warnings and usually discover potentially serious problems earlier, rather than later.


5.  Optimists exert more continuous effort and tend not to give up, possibly assuming that the situation can be handled successfully in one way or another. Pessimists, on the other hand, are far more likely to anticipate disaster - and, as a result, are more likely to give up. 


6.  Optimists report more health-promoting behaviors (like eating a healthy diet or having regular medical check-ups) and enjoy better physical health than pessimists. 


7.  Optimists seem to be more productive in the work place.

In the future I may share real life examples of where this has separated those who do well from those who don't. All the more reason to have a hope-filled Christmas season!

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

10 Ways to be Happier at Work

It has been awhile since I have written something light hearted, and I couldn't resist highlighting a recent article I read in Inc. Magazine 

I have a special interest in the research of human well-being. It’s not surprising that the article in Inc., entitled, “Be Happier: 10 Things to Stop Doing Right Now,”  piqued my interest.  Now, I don't know if the following tips are research driven, but I CAN tell you that it all rings very true.

Sometimes the route to happiness depends more on what you don't do.--by Jeff Haden

"Happiness--in your business life and your personal life--is often a matter of subtraction, not addition. Consider, for example, what happens when you stop doing the following 10 things:

1. Blaming.

People make mistakes. Employees don't meet your expectations. Vendors don't deliver on time. So you blame them for your problems. But you're also to blame. Maybe you didn't provide enough training. Maybe you didn't build in enough of a buffer. Maybe you asked too much, too soon. Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic, it's empowering--because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time. And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier. 

2. Impressing.

No one likes you for your clothes, your car, your possessions, your title, or your accomplishments. Those are all "things." People may like your things--but that doesn't mean they like you. Sure, superficially they might seem to, but superficial is also insubstantial, and a relationship that is not based on substance is not a real relationship. Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll only form genuine relationships when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

3. Clinging.

When you're afraid or insecure, you hold on tightly to what you know, even if what you know isn't particularly good for you. An absence of fear or insecurity isn't happiness: It's just an absence of fear or insecurity. Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will. Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

4. Interrupting.

Interrupting isn't just rude. When you interrupt someone, what you're really saying is, "I'm not listening to you so I can understand what you're saying; I'm listening to you so I can decide what I want to say." Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say. They'll love you for it--and you'll love how that makes you feel.

5. Whining.

Your words have power, especially over you. Whining about your problems makes you feel worse, not better. If something is wrong, don't waste time complaining. Put that effort into making the situation better. Unless you want to whine about it forever, eventually, you'll have to do that. So why waste time? Fix it now. Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself. And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't just be the shoulder they cry on. Friends don't let friends whine--friends help friends make their lives better.

6. Controlling.

Yeah, you're the boss. Yeah, you're the titan of industry. Yeah, you're the small tail that wags a huge dog. Still, the only thing you really control is you. If you find yourself trying hard to control other people, you've decided that you, your goals, your dreams, or even just your opinions are more important than theirs. Plus, control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself. Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships. And all of you will be happier.

7. Criticizing.

Yeah, you're more educated. Yeah, you're more experienced. Yeah, you've been around more blocks and climbed more mountains and slayed more dragons. That doesn't make you smarter, or better, or more insightful. That just makes you you: unique, matchless, one of a kind, but in the end, just you. Just like everyone else--including your employees. Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people--and yourself--in a better light.

8. Preaching.

Criticizing has a brother. His name is Preaching. They share the same father: Judging. The higher you rise and the more you accomplish, the more likely you are to think you know everything--and to tell people everything you think you know. When you speak with more finality than foundation, people may hear you but they don't listen. Few things are sadder and leave you feeling less happy.

9. Dwelling.

The past is valuable. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others. Then let it go. Easier said than done? It depends on your focus. When something bad happens to you, see that as a chance to learn something you didn't know. When another person makes a mistake, see that as an opportunity to be kind, forgiving, and understanding. The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.  

10. Fearing.

We're all afraid: of what might or might not happen, of what we can't change, or what we won't be able to do, or how other people might perceive us. So it's easier to hesitate, to wait for the right moment, to decide we need to think a little longer or do some more research or explore a few more alternatives. Meanwhile days, weeks, months, and even years pass us by. And so do our dreams. Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today. If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step. Put your fears aside and get started. Do something. Do anything."

I hope you and those you work with can embrace the heart of these timeless messages. Doing so will certainly bring more joy to your life.

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

What is Crock Pot Recruiting?

Everyone has heard the saying "If it were easy, everyone would do it." A couple of years ago, Ben wrote a great piece on the difference between microwave and crock pot recruiting that closely follows this principle.

Every tool and philosophy we espouse at Tidemark is built upon this central principle. It is not surprising that 95% of our clients hold to this principle as well. They have an underlying conviction that in order to see results tomorrow, they must consistently engage in systematic and seamless steps today. It's understood that "microwave" recruiting will only obtain low hanging fruit that competitors are also vying for. Conversely, "crock pot" recruiting may take more time and discipline, but, over time, yields the higher caliber and supplemental fruit that companies need in order to beat the competition.

The differences in the conversations of a microwave recruiter and the conversations of a crock pot recruiter resemble two entirely different languages. A microwave recruiter typically offers anecdotal excuses, usually with no statistics, regarding why they aren’t achieving their goals. When asked a statistical question, the microwave recruiter will usually give you an anecdotal answer. When asked how many candidates it takes to get ten interviews...or how many interviews it takes to get each hire, a microwave recruiter is usually unable to provide numbers. What do they provide instead? More excuses. Why? Because a microwave recruiter does not track methods or results.

What isn't measured cannot be managed, predicted, or improved upon. However, recording and tracking results doesn’t come naturally to most people. I often fall into the common trap of not measuring what I do, or how I spend my time. And guess what? That’s invariably when I’m not accomplishing much.

Now, don't get me wrong...there are always factors that change percentages and numbers from one cycle to the next. There is a time and place to dissect reasons and interpret the changes in percentages, however, making excuses with no grounding in metrics is typically used as an attempt to avoid accountability.

Discipline is the key to tracking and keeping records. Disciplined people and organizations rarely offer excuses. They implement systems to drive, track, and improve performance.

Discipline is defined as:

1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior.

2. Controlled behavior resulting from training.

3. A set of rules or methods.

4. Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill.

5. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.

6. A set or system of rules and regulations.

Two years ago, I wrote a four-part piece on an expert recruiter (Andy Nazaroff) who clearly exercises discipline (1,2,3,4). He provides specifics regarding calls, interviews, information, timing, conduct, etc... all of these methods amount to consistent and impressive success.

For him and others like him, a belief system is at the core of their success. They believe that discipline drives results, and increases responsibility -- two characteristics of every successful company.

Let me know your thoughts and your own methods for assuring your own discipline.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

To Recruit 100 or Date 25?

It has been my tenet over the past three years, as I've grown into my role with Tidemark, that we don’t "recruit" - we build relationships.  Every now and then I have a little epiphany.  For example, two years ago, while folding laundry, it occurred to me that the essence of recruiting is relationship building, and most all of the managers with whom I have worked with have a natural talent for that.  So, the question then became, “How do I promote this paradigm shift?”  Well, I had another mini-epiphany the other day...With whom do you WANT to build a connection or relationship with over time?  So, let’s "Reframe Recruiting," as Dr. Dave Mashburn would say.  Dave touched on this topic a couple of years ago, from a slightly different perspective -- I recommend reading that brief blog as well.

I have consulted with hundreds of managers on this topic.  When I ask how many agents are in a manager’s pipeline, I often get an answer that is in the hundreds.  Now that is a daunting and exhausting task!  Developing quality relationships with hundreds of people?  That explains, at least in part, why 75% of the respondents to a survey we conducted reported the part of their job about which they hear the most complaints is recruiting.  No wonder!  Imagine trying date 100 or more people at once!

It is my belief that effective recruiting comes from selecting a smaller subset of candidates and nurturing that pipeline.  As I have said in the past, most managers are excellent at building and cultivating relationships.  They are good at this aspect of their job because they enjoy it.  However, everyone has a saturation point.  I think it is safe to say that managing and keeping track of hundreds of relationships at various stages could be counter-productive.  When you sit down to the task of recruiting with this mindset, you run the risk of facing “paralysis of analysis,” and may be more inclined to find another task you rationalize as being more important.  

You are not going to win everyone over, but by narrowing your focus, you will become more engaged in the process, and more inclined to enjoy this critical component of your job, thereby engaging in it more often...and ultimately getting closer to reaching your goals.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Spotting a Psychopath in Your Network of Business Contacts

This topic may seem a bit odd for WorkPuzzle, but stick with me—I think you’ll find it beneficial.  Over the last few weeks, two clients have requested information about this topic.  So, I felt compelled to distribute some knowledge about psychopaths to our clients and readers.  Hopefully, this will prevent or minimize your exposure to these dangerous people who can wreak havoc on both your business and personal life.  

Do you really need to be worried about psychopaths?  It is not something I would lose sleep over, but chances are you've come in contact with a psychopath at some point in your career and you probably will do so again.  Experts estimate that between 0.5% and 1% of the population fit this diagnosis.  This means there are roughly 250,000 psychopaths (outside of prison) in the United States alone.  

Professionally, I have performed psychological evaluations on well over 100 psychopaths during my career, and I unknowingly attempted therapy on three high-functioning psychopaths before figuring out their condition.  I have also had the displeasure of trusting two psychopaths in my business network.  The first was a former boss who was a well-respected and gregarious leader.  The second was a financial advisor.  In both cases, these individuals eventually left a wake of devastation in the lives of everyone I knew who trusted them in the context of a business relationship.

I’m sharing this information in hopes that you can avoid some of the pain I’ve experienced personally and have seen others experience because of these people.  I’ve come to the conclusion that spotting a psychopath and then extracting yourself from any relationship you may have with such a person is a skill that could save years of heartache for you, your co-workers, and perhaps your family.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding psychopaths.  In essence, they are people who don’t care about the irreparable harm they cause their victims.  They lack any empathy for their victims.  They have no conscience.  No guilt.  No shame.
 
The common thing people think of when they picture a psychopath is a serial killer.  Serial killers are indeed psychopaths, but this accounts for a very small percentage of the total.  Some criminals are psychopaths.  In fact, many lower IQ psychopaths end up in prison.  But, even the prisons contain only a small percentage of the overall number of psychopaths. 

The type of psychopath you would be most likely to encounter is termed a “high-functioning” psychopath.  High-functioning psychopaths can be very successful, appear confident, calm, and seem have their act together.  In fact, most psychopaths are actually more engaging than the average person.  They can be charming, knowledgeable and quite believable.

The primary characteristic that distinguishes a psychopath from the general population is that they are insatiable liars and skilled manipulators.  The reason for the masterful lying is that they feel absolutely no shame or guilt about the deception.  No regrets.  In fact, science is discovering, through recent brain scans, that psychopaths don't feel much of anything, with the exception of becoming quite irritated when things don't go their way.

Because they are such skilled manipulators, they are exceptionally good at figuring out your weaknesses, exploiting those weaknesses, and feeling absolutely nothing regarding their actions.  Even when their efforts are stymied, they usually return to test your willingness or gullibility to go one more round. 

When research is conducted on psychopaths, they’ve been shown to repeatedly convince people they are worthy of trust.  Inexperienced interns often describe a psychopath as “one of the wisest, most humorous and engaging men (most psychopaths are men) they have ever met.”

What does this mean for each of you?  I’ll answer this question with two warnings:

1. Don’t get overly paranoid and begin suspecting everyone around you is a psychopath!  And, don’t begin rumors out of pure speculation.
2. Take what I will teach you about this topic seriously enough to be able to identify someone with this condition when it’s appropriate.  And when you do have strong evidence that someone is a psychopath, stay away from them.  They can’t hurt you if you don’t trust them. 

In the next edition, I’ll describe in much more detail how to spot a psychopath through a specific set of characteristics.  I will also describe some interesting research regarding the lack of emotion that is routinely characteristic of psychopaths.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

Drive: New Thoughts And Theories On Motivation - Part 2

From our previous discussions (1, 2, 3) regarding Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, we’ve learned that motivation among human beings has long been quantified in terms of a first level of motivation--the biological or survival drive (hunger, thirst, safety, etc.).  Beyond that, the second level of motivation is commonly described as the tendency of individuals to respond to rewards and punishments in their environment.  Most businesses and work environments focus on motivation from one or both of these perspectives.

For several decades, a few scientists have been working to quantify and harness a third human drive—what many people call “intrinsic motivation.”  This is a powerful concept and there is much interest now in closing the gap between what science knows and what business does.
 
Have you put some thought into how you can begin implementing ideas surrounding intrinsic motivation with those on your coaching team now, and those who you hope to attract to your team in the future?  If not, I’ll attempt to point you in the right direction today.  There is no way to cover this topic thoroughly in a few short articles, but hopefully I’ll have peaked your interest enough to read more about it.

The research on “Self Determination Theory” (SDT) as summarized in Pink’s book concludes that in order for a person to be intrinsically motivated on the job, their day-to-day work must contain autonomy, engagement, and purpose.  I’ll summarize each of these principles separately:

Autonomy:

Our “default setting” as human beings is to be autonomous and self-directed.  Unfortunately, circumstances, including outdated notions of “management” (including carrot and stick motivation techniques)—often conspire to change that default setting and turn us from being intrinsically motivated to just responding to external pokes, prods and incentives.  To get past external motivation framework and engage a person’s third drive (and the high performance it enables), the first requirement is autonomy.
 
People need autonomy over tasks (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).  Companies that offer autonomy, sometimes in radical doses, are out-performing their competitors.  Examples include: 

• Best Buy: Pioneered the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE)
• Google and 3M: 20% “Work on What Interests You” Time
• Zappos.com and Jet Blue: Perform customer service based on “what makes sense” to the customer service representative
• Gore and Associates (makers of GORE-TEX): Follow the philosophy that "to lead a team, you have to assemble your own team and the members have to agree to work for you."

Engagement/Mastery:
 
While extrinsic motivation requires compliance, intrinsic motivation demands engagement.  If you’re a regular reader of WorkPuzzle, you know we’ve spent a lot of time on this subject.
 
Only engagement can produce mastery - becoming better at something that matters.  And the pursuit of mastery, an important but often dormant part of our third drive, has become essential to making one’s way in the economy. 

Mastery begins with “flow”—optimal experiences when the challenges we face are exquisitely matched to our abilities.  Smart workforces therefore supplement day-to-day activities with “Goldilocks tasks” –not too hard and not too easy.

Mastery abides by three particular rules:

1. Mastery is a mindset: It requires the capacity to see your abilities not as finite, but as infinitely improvable (Do you remember the growth mindset?).
2. Mastery is pain: It demands effort, grit, and deliberate practice (Do you remember the Talent Code?).
3. Mastery is an asymptote: It’s impossible to fully realize, which makes it simultaneously frustrating and alluring.

Purpose:

Humans, by their nature, seek purpose—a cause greater and more enduring than themselves.  But traditional businesses have long considered purpose ornamental—a perfectly nice accessory, so long as it doesn’t get in the way of the important things.  But, that’s changing—thanks in part to the rising tide of aging baby boomers reckoning with their own mortality.

From an extrinsic motivation framework, purpose maximization is taking its place alongside profit maximization as an aspiration and guiding principle.  Within organizations, this new “purpose motive” is expressing itself in three ways:  (1) in goals that use profit to reach purpose; (2) in words that emphasize more than self-interest; and (3) in policies that allow people to pursue purpose on their own terms.  This move to accompany profit maximization with purpose maximization has the potential to rejuvenate our businesses with people who have an internal passion to do their best work.

There is a lot on this topic to digest.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused about how all of this could possibly be applied to your organization, let me encourage you to start making the application to your personal circumstances first.  Is your job structured in a way that allows you to personally experience intrinsic motivation?  If not, start making changes in how your own job is structured and what you’re subsequently experiencing in your daily work regimen.  Build upon the intrinsic motivation you feel to make adjustments in how you interact with your team and impact your organization at large.

If you want to learn more, pick up one of Daniel Pink’s books or any of the great books that we’ve referenced over the last year in WorkPuzzle.  We all have a lot to learn... 

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below. 

Inspiring Candidates to Take the Next Step in Their Careers

It has been a few months since I have shared anything from Peter Weddle with you.  As you may recall, Peter is a recruiting expert I admire, and I’ve referenced his work a few times (1, 2) over the last year. 

Last week, Peter wrote an outstanding article that does a lot to answer a question we hear quite often from our clients:  

How do you inspire someone (during an interview) to take the “leap of faith” necessary to change careers?  

...Especially if that change requires them to risk the security and comforts of a stable situation for something that could potentially be more engaging and rewarding in the long run.  Here’s how Peter’s article answers that question: 

“Over the past decade or so, social scientists have been trying to figure out just what happiness is and where it comes from.  While many of us think the answers to such questions are intuitively obvious, it turns out that we may be selling ourselves short.  Humans have the capacity not only to experience happiness, but to experience joy, as well.  And those two states are very different. 

Joy is an emotional state.  It is derived from our relationships with family and friends.  When those interactions engage and satisfy us, when they enable us to be the best of ourselves with the others in our life, we experience joy--one of the human species' greatest gifts. 

Happiness, on the other hand, is a cognitive state.  It occurs when we are tested by meaningful challenges that stimulate us to express and experience our fullest natural potential, our talent.  These challenges can occur anywhere, but they are most prevalent in the workplace.  In other words, our best shot at achieving happiness occurs when we put ourselves in a position to excel at what we love to do.

That is the essence of the American Dream.  It is a personal commitment, a determination to devote our Life and exercise our Liberty to the accomplishment of two tasks:

1. To discovering our natural talent or what we love to do and do best.
2. To working only where we can use that talent to achieve satisfying goals.

The outcome of those tasks will be unique to each of us, but the tasks themselves are the same for all of us.  They represent our right to the Pursuit of happiness.

Those two tasks are also the key to a successful job search and a rewarding career.  Whether we're in transition or currently employed, they enable and empower us to control our destiny, to shape it to an end that is important and fulfilling to us.  It is our right, to be sure, but it is also our responsibility.  For only we can take the first step, only we can decide to set off on our own personal Pursuit of happiness. 

Why should we bother?  Because as wonderful as the joy is in our relationships, we deserve more.  We spend at least one-third of our lives at work, and that experience should offer more than frustration, anxiety and despair.  It should be, it can be a source of profound fulfillment.  Or what the founding fathers called Happiness."

See if you can apply these principles in your next interview.  High-quality people--especially young people--love to be engaged on this level.  

If you can truly help a person discover their natural talents and then paint a picture of how those talents can be used to achieve satisfying goals on your team, you’ll not only win the “most inspiring hiring manager of the year award,” but you’ll also see better results!

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

What Your Science Teacher Should Have Taught You About Thanksgiving

In the spirit of the season, I thought it appropriate to share the research that relates the benefits we can expect from being grateful.  We covered this topic last year, but this is something we all need to be reminded of occasionally.

Did you know that scienctists have something to say about gratitude?  What your parents taught you about being thankful, has been shown to greatly impact the work environment. 

Selfishness comes naturally to most people.  Wishing for more, rather than being thankful for what we have is a theme portrayed in nearly every classic holiday film or tale.  Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carole, George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, and the Grinch in The Grinch who Stole Christmas were all finally saved from their selfish ambition to recognize and savor the smallest treasures of what they had.  

Gratitude can be simply defined as the acknowledgement and pleasure in having received.  For centuries, the topic was ignored by serious scientists because most believed the concept should be left to the realm of philosophers and theologians.

More recently, as serious researchers began studying gratitude in earnest, they found some surprising benefits for both organizations and individuals.

Gratitude is responsible for significant enhancement of mood, and it increases prosocial behavior (i.e. being kind and doing things for others).

Researcher and professor, Dr. Robert A Emmons, writes in Positive Organizational Scholarship: The Foundations of a New Discipline:

"The cultivation of gratitude may be important in organizations not only because of the direct effects of improving organizational climate, but also because as a cognitive strategy, gratitude can improve individual well-being and lower toxic emotions in the workplace, such as resentment and envy.

…Studies have shown that employees’ happiness and well-being are associated positively with performance, morale, commitment, and can reduce absenteeism and staff turn-over.  The techniques to improve gratitude, a key ingredient in positive emotion, could enhance individual and organizational well-being."

If you're coaching those on your team, or trying to recruit the right people for the future, focus part of your effort on the trait of gratitude.  You'll not only be thankful you did (from a performance and culture perspective), but you'll also find yourself becoming a more appreciative person, yourself.  That's a win for everyone involved.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Three Mistakes Effective Hiring Managers Do Not Make

Some of the best lessons for recruiting and hiring come from realities that are experienced in other parts of a business.  Principles that are discovered through the application of buying, selling, customer service, and other business functions often give us important insight into our talent management efforts.

Michael Mauboussin wrote an article in Harvard Business Review this month that demonstrates such an application.  The article is called When Individuals Don’t Matter, and the topic is understanding the behaviors of a complex system.  More specifically, it addresses the hard-to-predict behaviors that emerge from the interaction of individuals in a business system.

I know, this article sounds like something you’d want to pick up when you’re having a hard time sleeping, but stick with me—I think you’ll see how this can make you a more effective hiring manager.

Mauboussin lays the groundwork by describing the nature of a complex system:

“ 'If you watch an ant try to accomplish something, you’ll be impressed by how inept it is,’ said Stanford biologist Deborah Gordon in a National Geographic article about swarm theory.  ‘Ants aren’t smart…ant colonies are.’  If you’re familiar with the ideas behind the wisdom of crowds and swarm intelligence, you’re probably nodding knowingly.  Under the right conditions, groups—whether ant colonies, markets, or corporations—can be smarter than any of their members.”

Effective hiring managers understand that their organizations are made up of individuals, but only gain their true synergy as a team.  When bringing new members onto the team, they spend time considering how a person will fit with the culture and what contribution the person will offer to make the team better.

This is not easy to do.  When there are deadlines and performance pressures with regard to the hiring process, hiring mangers often focus on what’s right in front of them.  The chances of making a hiring mistake increase under these conditions.

Mauboussin goes on to lay out three mistakes that executives make when dealing with complex systems.  A pertinent application can be made to an organization’s hiring process.

Mistake #1:   Managers extrapolate individual behavior to explain collective behavior.

If your team is performing well, there is a tendency to attribute that success to the most visible members on the team.  In turn, we want to hire more individuals who are like the prominent high-performing employees.  This is not a bad strategy, but it can’t be successfully implemented without considering what resources the new high potential employees could disproportionately consume.  For example, if support resources are reduced or diluted in the support of the new employee, could the performance of the existing high performing employees be diminished due to lack of support?  The collective may end up performing worse as you add high performers. 

Mistake #2:   Managers fail to recognize that changes in one component of a complex system have unintended consequences on the whole.

Let’s imagine that you manage a real estate office in a prominent suburb of a large metropolitan area.  While your office is successful, you also have two competitors who regularly attain sales volume equal to your organization.  Recruiting high-performing agents from your competitors is a quick way to gain market share and increase your revenues, right?  It may not be that simple.

One of our clients told us about a prominent real estate agent in his community who was very effective at marketing his services.  He drew a huge amount of attention and new clients as a result of his efforts.  However, due to his ego and abrasive personality, a percentage of his prospects would look for alternatives after initially interacting with the “celebrity agent.”  Several of the agents in our client’s office would scoop up these disgruntled prospects and receive the direct benefit (and low cost) of the competitor’s marketing efforts.

What if you were able to hire the “celebrity agent?”  On one hand, it would be a significant win for your marketing prominence in the community and your short-term market share and revenues would almost certainly increase.  But, hiring this person could disrupt the complex system of how the real estate companies interact with each other and the customers in your community.  You may end up with less business in the long-run because the system compensated in a way that worked to your disadvantage. 

Mistake #3:  Managers tend to prize standout individuals while ignoring how much they draw on their surrounding systems for support.

When you recruit a high performer (especially if it is someone you lure away from a competitor), you naturally have high expectations.  You hope that the new employee’s high performance can be duplicated in your organization.  The reality is…it rarely happens.

One Harvard Business School study tracked more than 1000 high-performing equity analysts over a decade and monitored how their performance changed when they switched firms.  The disappointing conclusion of the research was that only 20% of the analysts could duplicate their high performance once hired into a new company.  Why?  Because the support structures that helped make the person successful in the first company were not made available in the new company.

Conclusion:  All three mistakes have the same root:  Wrong assumptions about the relevance of an individual to the behavior of a complex adaptive system.  While change is necessary, still going to happen, and not something you should fear, effective managers navigate change with the needs and dynamics of the overall team in mind.  In the end, the performance of the organization is going to trump the potential of any particular individual—no matter how high-performing the person may be.

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Editor's Note:  This article was written by Ben Hess.  Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.