Unless you’ve been asleep like Rip Van Winkle (Google it if you’re too young to know the story), you know that change is a constant in today’s world. But just because it’s constant doesn’t mean we’re good at it.
Change would be easier if we all viewed it the same way. But inevitably, while some are clamoring to have changed yesterday, others are saying, “not in my lifetime!”. Continue reading Ready or Not, Here Change Comes!
I want to share this list of insightful interview questions, adapted slightly from those used by a client[1]. Try asking some of these in your interviews to assess the culture impact of your potential hires:
Can the candidate properly assess himself/herself? Humble enough to see where a skill is missing? Desire to learn new skills? Hunger to be better?
Looking for: HUMILITY; SELF-AWARENESS; DESIRE TO IMPROVE; HUNGER
Does the candidate have the humility and integrity to admit mistakes and apologize? Have the people skills to effectively verbalize the admission of mistakes to others? Care enough about the team to be honest for the benefit of the team?
Looking for: HUMILITY; INTEGRITY; PEOPLE-SMARTS; TEAM; CARING ABOUT PEOPLE
Is there humility to put team above self? Indications of caring about fellow team members? A passion regarding team performance; a shared team standard of excellence; results better together than apart? Examples of team innovation?
Looking for: TEAM; HUMILITY; CARING ABOUT PEOPLE; EXCELLENCE; INNOVATION
Can they explain the dynamics without disparaging the person? Do so in a professional way? Do so while protecting the other person’s reputation? Express empathy or understanding about someone they do not like?
Looking for: PEOPLE-SMARTS; INTEGRITY; CARING ABOUT PEOPLE
Is this person able to be flexible? Innovate or find creative solutions? Have a hunger for excellence that will not be derailed by obstacles?
Looking for: FLEXIBILITY; INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY; EXCELLENCE; HUNGER
How realistic is the candidate’s self-perception? Humble or selfish as they express the misconception? Mature/immature in what they express? Care about how the misconception affects their team or others? Express their concerns about this misconception in a socially appropriate way?
Looking for: SELF-AWARENESS; HUMILITY; CARING ABOUT PEOPLE; PEOPLE-SMARTS; TEAM
Is the candidate aware of what helps them succeed? Express their relationship with the boss in the context of team? Examples of humility in describing the best boss? Want a boss who holds to high standards vs. coddling them?
Looking for: SELF-AWARENESS; TEAM; HUNGER; HUMILITY; EXCELLENCE
What gets this person excited? Animated? Truly hungry about? Examples of caring about other people as more important than self? Service-oriented traits? Passion to do something really well? Passion for self-improvement?
Looking for: PASSION IN GENERAL; CARING ABOUT PEOPLE; EXCELLENCE; HUNGER
[1] Courtesy of Action Property Management
”Team” is one of those words we use too loosely. Or maybe we’re just hopeful that calling a group of people a “team” will magically make them act like one. But becoming an effective team takes intentionality, skill, and hard work.
Whether it’s a project team, a management team, or an operational team, here are four foundations to build a team on: Continue reading Four Foundations of a Team
I’ve written before about dealing with the pervasive problem of being too busy (see https://enlumenls.com/say-no/, or the videos at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlqgjjR3m68). 
There is a way to gain significant ground against this problem. Now don’t roll your eyes at me until you’ve heard me out, but I believe the best, most lasting solution to being too busy is… Continue reading The Cure for “Too Busy”
I was sitting in a CEO’s office when he excused himself to take an important call. While he was on the phone, I read through the mission, vision, and values statements hanging on his wall. When he hung up, I asked, “How do these documents influence what happens out there in the office every day?”
All too predictably, he rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Not much.”
My advice to him was to do one of three things:
Continue reading Dangerous Mission Statements
It happens all the time. A client tells me about a difficult situation they’re dealing with and wants to know what to do. It’s a fair question and I’m happy to help. The sad part is that more often than not, the difficult situation could have been avoided altogether. The sadder part is that it will most likely happen again.
Continue reading Making Tomorrow Easier
From the CEO to the low man on the totem pole, every person we hire has some effect on our organizational culture. Obviously, the higher up the ladder, the greater the opportunity for impact. And one lower-tier 
person has a lot more impact in a ten person organization than in a 10,000 person organization.
We hire because we need a skill or capacity. So our focus tends to drift toward the hard skills the position requires. But according to most surveys, lacking the skills to do the job is not the top reason people leave their jobs – voluntarily or involuntarily. Character and soft skills are usually the culprits. Yet there isn’t one perfect model of character and soft skills that fits every organization.
Continue reading Hiring for Culture Fit
C.S. Lewis said, “Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things.”1
That’s sound advice, but it raises the question, “What are the first things and what are the second things?” As free-thinking individuals, we get to choose what our first and second things are going to be. But our choices have consequences and to make the choice is to accept the consequences of that choice.
When it comes to our careers and growing our organizations, one of those choices is how we’re going to view other people. We can choose: Continue reading Selfishly Selfless
Pete couldn’t wait to implement the new project management process his friend Bill told him about. 
After Bill described the incredible success their organization had with it, Pete ran out and bought the book Bill recommended and read it that week. Replacing their aging donor management system seemed like the perfect project to launch it on.
Fast forward six months…
Pete’s frustrations were at an all-time high. The original project plan called for the implementation of the new system to be well under way by now. Instead, they were still arguing over which vendor to select. How could Bill have been so successful with this methodology that was failing him so miserably?
Continue reading Building on Quicksand
When Jack launched his homeless shelter he had no idea
it would grow to house over a hundred people at a time and provide meals and showers for thousands more. He didn’t expect to have a staff of eighteen people and numerous volunteers. But his passion for helping the homeless was contagious. He discovered he was good at raising support, launching creative programs, and recruiting people.
He knew he wasn’t good at the administrative stuff, so he hired people or outsourced those functions. But now he had hit a plateau that he just couldn’t get past. Continue reading Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill…Now What?
