We didn't know that Claudia didn't know how to get organized, or that she would get distracted easily and miss EVERY deadline she was ever given, when we interviewed her.
Her background was stellar. She interviewed well. The entire interview team liked her, so we hired her.
Which is something we began to regret a month or so after she started.
She was smart and attentive in meetings. She had good ideas. Personally, she was great to be around. But, she was easily distracted, couldn't manage priorities and was late on EVERY deadline. It was a drain to the team.
Skills Found In ALL Top Performers, Across ALL Positions...
Since these skills are so important to superior performance on the job - I want you to begin looking for them in every candidate, for every position. Here's an overview on the Time and Self-Management Skill, plus interview questions you can begin using right away:
Time and Self-Management Definition: It is the ability to prioritize and complete tasks in order to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames. It is when a person consistently demonstrates self control and an ability to manage their time and priorities.
(What job can you think of that does not need these strengths? My point exactly - it's important in EVERY position.)
Typical Behaviors of People Who Are Strong in this Skill:
- Independently pursues business objectives in an organized and efficient manner.
- Prioritizes activities as necessary to meet job responsibilities.
- Maintains required level of activity toward achieving goals without direct supervision.
- Minimizes work flow disruptions and time wasters to complete high quality work within specified time frame.
Our "we like her so we hired her" candidate - Claudia, didn't do any of these things very well. And, I bet you can think of a low performer on your team who struggles in these areas too, can't you?
You NEVER want to do what we did. Use your heightened awareness of how important this skill is, use the
interview questions and listen aggressively - so that YOU don't hire Claudia!
