The Right Hire Fails When I Don't Do My Part

It has been three months since you brought in your newest VP. You are getting to the point where that nagging feeling is becoming more of a certainty:

They aren’t fitting in

They aren’t picking up the ball and running with it; They are not supporting your vision.

It’s not working out?

It has happened to all of us at some point. The wrong hire. But the wrong hire has two faces:

1. I hired the wrong person for the job - that happens.

2. I was not clear on expectations
I communicated poorly, or
I was not clear on what the job is and desired outcomes that I want

3. I did not spend the time onboarding my new team-member

The bottom line is, if an executive that we hired is not working out, then usually both sides of the coin are to blame. And yet often we hire a new executive (or the next executive) using the same mindset and process … because we haven’t looked long and hard at our responsibilities before and after the hire.

In other words, the right hire fails when I don’t do my part.

In my experience, when we play a part in the failed hire, it is most likely to occur in how we engage with them in the first months:

How we agree on the first 90 day action plan

( https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-first-90-days-hans-hickler?trk=mp-reader-card )

How we indoctrinate them into the team, into the organization

How we align expectations – tactical, strategic, deliverables

How we support our executive and mentor them as they get settled in

How quickly we resolve unclarities or misunderstandings

How well we understand each others’ styles

In other words, in addition to clearly defining the ideal needs for the position (experience, skill, style); and in addition to a solid interviewing process, the hard work, the big time-allotment comes when the offer has been agreed and signed. That first day on the job.

We may hire the wrong person from time to time. But let’s make sure that it is not because we didn’t do the heavy lifting that it takes.