Hiring and Retaining Top Talent Blog

Business guru Peter Drucker has said, “Of all the decisions an executive makes, none are as important as the decision about people because they ultimately determine the performance capacity of the organization.” Warren Bennis, professor of business at the University of Southern California and author of Managing the Dream, calls the search for Top Talent […]

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And all the skills that go with that title.
One day we are just hard working individual contributors and all of a sudden the next day we are hiring managers. One day we know little about managing others and the next we are expected to be competent hiring managers. It is as if with that title comes […]

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All top talent possess the same characteristic. Their level of initiative far exceeds that of their peers. The tough question that we are frequently asked is "How do you measure intiative in the interview?" If you ask someone "Do you have initiative?" -- who thinks the typical candidate will come back and answer "Heck no, I'm a slug". Of course the candidate is going to tell you what you want to hear in the interview - most of them need a job - they'll tell you whatever it takes to convince you they should be hired.

So, how do you avoid the interview syndrome of candidates spewing back in your face whatever they sense you desire? It can be done by first understanding why initiative is the most important behavioral trait leading to success - far exceeding the importance of the other core traits. We explore the five core traits of success and their related interview questions on our website in the section on Interviewing Top Talent. Top performers demonstrate their initiative by:

Going above and beyond the call of duty

Doing the type of things their peers are unwilling to do

Not procrastinating

Anticipating what needs to be done

Not waiting to be told what to do

Being proactive

Who has someone like this on their staff right now? What if you could get 1 or 2 more? What if everyone you hire from this point forward has strong initiative? Would it make a difference in your success as an executive or manager? My guess is that the difference would be extraordinary!

Intiative is not a trait a candidate turns off and on over their career like a switch. They don't wake up at 25, 37, or 42 and leap out of bed one morning yelling "today is the day I start showing initiative". We're wired to show/not show initiative from some of earliest childhood experiences.

The candidates who achieve the greatest success have a strong consistent track record of showing initiative in almost everything they do. Try to measure this in your next interview and you'll be shocked at the low quantity of candidates who possess strong initiative. We contend only the 25% of all candidates will demonstrate initiative on a consistent basis. We'll explore how to pose the initiative interview question in another blog posting and I'll try to use an example of my Frosh-Soph Girls team to illustrate the importance of initiative.

Barry Deutsch

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