I believe it’s all about people but not simply recruiting the best people and everything will magically work out. It's more complex and it requires a lot of work from the leadership team, from creating a clear long-term vision to over-communicating day in and day out across the organization.
I started this master's in organizational psychology program to answer the question: How do you lead and build a group of amazing individuals to consistently perform at the highest level?
So far I'm following Simon Sinek's Performance x Trust video on the Navy Seals approach to high-performance teams. A short, two minute video, but extremely powerful.
I have just completed week 4 of my studies at Harvard and we have begun to explore how to hire the best talent for any given position and the whole process starts with a curated analysis of the Job Analysis.
“Job analysis answers the questions of what tasks, performed in what manner, make up a job. Outputs of this analytical study include: (a) a list of the job tasks; (b) details of how each task is performed; (c) statements describing the responsibility, job knowledge, mental application, and dexterity, as well as accuracy required; and (d) a list of the equipment, materials, and supplies used to perform the job.” (Clifton, 1989, p.187). Job analysis is a systematic procedure by which one describes the way a job is performed, the tasks that constitute a job, and/or the skills and abilities necessary to perform a job.”
Now that you have a full description of the position(s) that your organization is recruiting, the next big challenge is to develop the KSAO’s for that position.
KSAOs are the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that are required for successful job performance (Primoff & Eyde, 1988).
Basically, you want to find the candidate with the most knowledge, the best set of skills, the right ability, and as many characteristics to best perform at that job position. In order to accurately identify such individuals, the HR team will use a scorecard to match the best candidate with what they are looking for.
And the process is a bit like this….
The process involved initial identification of critical statements and analyses of task statements; compilation of a task inventory and getting that task inventory rated by multiple incumbents and SME‟s to arrive at a final list of task statements, which were based on 75% agreeability of all incumbents performing the job. This was done after the mean of the frequency, importance, and difficulty of each task statement was rated by incumbents in the sample. Only 11 task statements were finally considered from initial 14 that had a mean of 3 and above on a 5- point scale. Key KSAO‟s were identified and analyzed based on their importance and proficiency. Finally, a task statement and KSAO matrix was drawn and evaluated for the number of positive indicators. Those components that received percentage weighting/ rankings and those which had a 50% and higher occurrence of each knowledge, skill, ability and other attributes within each task statement was ranked for significance.
Thus, of the total 37 KSAO components derived from the initial 14 task statements, only 15 final important KSAO‟s received a final percentage of weightage. These final 15 KSAO‟s were used as performance dimensions in the Behavioral Description Interview tool. This was done by evaluating 11 Task Statements using the KSAO Matrixes and by focusing on the KSAO‟s that met most tasks (derived by taking KSAO‟s averaging at 50% and above) in the matrix. Finally, these 15 KSAO‟s were given ranking. These final, weighted 15 significant KSAO‟s form the basis on which several other HR tools were developed such as a Job Description, Job Specification, Behavioral Description Interview Questionnaire, Standard Structured Performance Evaluation etc., using KSAO‟s that have been arrived using the rigorous method of job analysis.
It has been an amazing learning journey and it’s only the first class in the program. If you want to further explore the subject I strongly recommend the following three articles:
Making Yourself Indispensable - Harvard Business Reviews
Tactics and framework to develop competencies that can make you a winner.
The Skills Leaders Need At Every Level - Harvard Business Review
Psychological safety and the critical role of leadership development - McKinsey
Bonus:
I’ve been using Readocracy to follow the content I’m consuming and keep track of my information and knowledge wellness.
If you want to follow what I’m reading here is my link. Out of full transparency, I’m an early investor in Readocracy.
Best from Linkedin
“Esprit de corps” is what we usually call "culture" nowadays, and culture is essential for startups. When things are going well, when the business is coming in and the company growing, culture doesn’t seem so important. But things rarely go well for long; at some point, something goes South. When the storm hits, the one thing that will keep teams from leaving the company is the culture. Culture gives the feeling that teams are in it together. It’s that feeling that other team members have got your back and that you are not alone.
“When weighing purchase decisions, consumers consider two things: price and perceived value. Price is easy to understand, but the perceived value of a particular product often lies in the eye of the beholder and can pose a challenge to marketers. However, using the elements of the value pyramid, companies can leverage perceived value by identifying their customers’ needs.”
Top Three (this week I bring you Five)
Five Predictions for the Future of Learning in the Age of AI - A16Z
Who Becomes an Entrepreneur [thank you Camila for the tip] - The Generalist
“In the years before they enter the workforce, future entrepreneurs show higher intellectual aptitude, stronger self-esteem, and a greater belief in their ability to decide their future. They are also more likely to engage in illicit activities. Compared to employees, entrepreneurs are 2x more likely to have “taken something by force as youths” and nearly 40% more likely to have been stopped by the police. On an overall “illicit activity index” score – which incorporates behaviors like truancy, gambling, drug dealing, shoplifting, and vandalism – entrepreneurs score 21% higher than employees.”
Preparing for The Future of Work with Kelly Palmer, founder of Degreed and former Chief of Learning at Linkedin - by Authority Magazine
When To Hire a CPO [Spotify] - by 20VC
Ev Williams is a co-founder of Twitter and served as CEO of Twitter Inc. from 2008 to 2010 and as a member of its board from 2007 to 2019. He founded Blogger and Medium, two of the largest blogging internet platforms. In 2014, he co-founded the VC firm Obvious Ventures.
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Made with Love in Madrid, Spain.