The Perfect Team

There are many articles on Millennials in the workforce, with some comparing them to Baby Boomers.  To be fair, I read these articles as generalization. People must be viewed for their individual merits, experience, education, most of all, skill sets and company/position fit.

So, what does this have to do with teams? It might be obvious - diversity. Currently, I’m using my decades of project management experience, including managing project managers, from multiple industries, to online banking software. I am teamed with a Millennial. When our team was first formed we were literally inverse ages. Our diversity does not stop with age, we are different ethnicities and gender.

The Perfect Team - Millennial and Baby Boomer. We work extremely well together, which like any team, is based on respect. One of the main differences is our problem solving approach. Having different approaches, which at times is exhausting, augments a collaborative environment providing a sound solution. Our collaboration does not stop with problem solving, but extends to process, customer focus, all facets related to our responsibilities.

This blog post is specific to our skill sets, but I hope to illustrate how diversity can benefit any company, by blending Millennials with Baby Boomers.

How to Start 2014

Two of my key subject matters are leadership and hiring. The start of the New Year is the best time to review these strategies. Here is a recent article from The Wall Street Journal that hits the nail on the head.

The Most Important Leadership Trait You Shun

This subject matter is one that I stress in my consulting – honesty. Unfortunately, I have experienced too much where this in not a known practice, especially in a competitive work environment. Associates, managers and leaders are frequently to scared to admit, much less hire, someone with more knowledge than their own. These companies survive for some time, but eventually this culture erodes productivity. The result is loss of clients and worse loss of the business.

My experience has also proved companies who embrace this honest culture thrive, just as this article conveys.

This situation is so prevalent, I experienced it on New Year's day. A sycophant style associate sent an email blast stating the work he accomplished to all levels of the organization. His goal, I presume, was to let the world know he was in the office on the Holiday in hopes of recognition and advance his career in the long run. I'm not involved with this company, so I don't know if the culture will accommodate his goals. Experience will prove danger to the company's well being, if they do. I feel sorry for his family that did not get to enjoy New Year's day with him.

If you're in a hiring position, I hope you will admire a candidate that may not know everything and admits it. Today's job descriptions include everything from strategy to execution for one person. Weigh your preferences, by applying percentages to each trait and hire the candidate that has the experience on the higher attributes.

If you're a leader, admit your weaknesses and surround yourself with those whose augment your shortcomings.

Try this honesty practice wherever you are in the company hierarchy. Trust me, honesty is the best policy.

How Do You Define "Above and Beyond?"

Your answer may not be as simple as you may think. I heard four out of five people answer the question with this response, "I will do whatever it takes to complete the project on time."

Sounds like a great answer, doesn't it? One we would most likely say ourselves. But is it the best response? Ponder this just for a moment. Isn't this what we get paid to do? Deliver our projects on time?

How do you perform, or your associates, depending on your position, that seems truly "above and beyond?" In our industry of marketing, branding and advertising, working overtime, "doing what it takes" are common workplace norms. There is nothing exceptional about it.

By now you're waiting for my answer, so here it is: doing something that is not in your job description or an industry expectation. I hate to give examples, because to define it any deeper only limits the answer, but here are some guidelines: doing someone else's job, that is not the same as yours; presenting an observation or recommendation that benefits the company that is outside your position's scope; exemplifying personal latent skill sets applicable to your department or company.

If you're a hiring manager, ask this question and carefully consider the correct response. If you're a job seeker, carefully consider your response. If you're actively employed, start working above and beyond.

Interviewing vs. Consulting

Every interview I have experienced, seems more like free consulting than a job interview. Granted I appreciate the non-traditional questions, i.e. what are your strengths and weaknesses, but the questions seem to be solving their problems rather than conveying my long term skill sets.

What if candidates could charge for their time and expenses, if they are not offered the job? Do you think this would change the interview landscape? Think of it as "spec" work. No one likes, or should, do work for free. If you build it, it has value. If you educate on problem solving, it's the same thing.

Auto Response

Here is a sad commentary on how some companies approach job candidates.

This is a real auto-response from an internet job submission. This company is so benign, they didn't bother to populate the required fields, before uploading to their system.

Dear Jack DeLine (no punctuation)

We have received your resume submission for the Director of Marketing position at (add company name). We will review your resume within (add timeframe) and contact you should your qualifications meet the requirements of the position. Your submission will be kept on file for (add length of time).

In addition to considering you for the Director of Marketing position, your resume will also be added to our applicant-tracking database and we will review your qualifications as new opportunities develop. You are welcome to apply to future job postings if an opportunity interests you.

Thank you again for applying!

Regards,

Name deleted

(add company name, link to company website, other contact info as appropriate)


Pretty soon we can just have self-directed submission responses and rejection letters.

700 Resumes

Whether you're the candidate or the company, do you ever wonder why there are so many applicants per job?  The answer lies beyond a limited number of opportunities .

In order to collect unemployment, recipients are required to apply for "x" number of jobs per week. "X" is undefined. I have heard that some people will get on the Internet and apply for 30 or more jobs a day!

My heart goes out to candidates, HR departments and hiring managers everywhere.

Next, I will look into criteria based HR practices to cull through this conundrum.

Visit me at The J. Frost Group Website

Candidates are People, too.

With the current high rate of job loss and shortened average career tenure, you could be the subject of your own treatment.