Build a passionate firm

To build a great business, companies need a purpose — one that transcends the traditional bottom line. People want to be passionate about their work, and they want to be surrounded by others who feel the same. But how can managers actually foster passion? Here are five ways:

— Let people show their emotions. If you ask your people to check their emotions at the door, you can’t tap into their passion.

— Hire passionate people. One way to get passionate people into your organization is to incentivize current employees to refer people they want to work with.

— Fan the flames. Find plenty of ways to celebrate joint accomplishments.

— Don’t stifle your rock stars. Give your people the autonomy to do the work that interests them most.

— Share context. Connect job functions to the organization’s broader mission.

(Adapted from “How to Build a Passionate Company,” by Jim Whitehurst)

Don’t get fooled by a first impression

Disastrous hires can happen when managers are fooled by first impressions. But how can you get beyond the superficial during a brief interview? The key is to focus on behaviours rather than traits. For example, if the interviewee describes himself as a ‘team player,’ does he credit other people when discussing his work? Look beyond what the candidate is saying and focus on how he is saying it. Watch for nonverbal cues that signal contempt, superiority and disrespect: eye contact when speaking to another person but not when listening, for example. Another telling question: Ask the candidate to describe his least preferred co-worker. Listen for whether he reduces the person to a one-word label (e.g., ‘difficult’ or ‘micromanager’) or reveals a more complex view of the situation (e.g., ‘we disagreed about how to get the job done because we were trained in different ways’).

(Adapted from ‘How to Hire Without Getting Fooled by First Impressions,’ by Tanya Menon and Leigh Thompson)

How to respond to a raise request

One of your direct reports just asked for a raise. Whether or not you hold the purse strings for your team or organisation, this is a tough situation. How should you respond? Your first reaction, regardless of whether you think the employee deserves the raise, should be curiosity. Say something like ‘Tell me more,’ which indicates that you’re not dismissing the request and gets you more information about where the person is coming from. Remain neutral and explain that you will look into the matter. Say something like “Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I want to give it careful consideration. I’ll get back to you within two weeks.” To help make your decision, consider how important the person is to you, your team and the company, and talk to your boss and human resources to determine the fairness of the person’s current salary.

(Adapted from ‘How to Respond When Your Employee Asks for a Raise,’ by Amy Gallo)

Prepare for tough business situations

One key tenet of coaching professional sports is preparing people in the most realistic contexts possible. For example, a coach might pour water on practice balls to prepare a team for wet gameday weather. You can apply similar thinking to business situations. For example, you might work on rehearsing your pitch to potential venture capitalists in front of colleagues you’ve asked to pepper you with difficult questions. You might create situations where a VC is late to the meeting — or is rushing you to finish your pitch. You might do the session in a setting that mimics what you’ll likely encounter in the real world, whether that’s a noisy coffee shop or an overheated conference room. By sensitising yourself to the actual challenges, you’ll have a far greater chance of success.

(Adapted from ‘Practice for Tough Situations as You’d Practice a Sport,’ by Andy Molinsky)

Don’t over-monitor goals

Having goals is a good thing. But the current trend of self-monitoring, whether through time trackers such as Toggl or fitness trackers such as Fitbit, means we’re constantly evaluating ourselves — the sales we make, the hours we work or the miles we run. Over-monitoring can get tiring and cause us to lose sight of what really matters. Avoid this trap by taking a more humane approach:

— Assess yourself. If you’re constantly measuring what you’re doing and feeling uneasy about things you actually want to do, it’s time to loosen up.

— Re-evaluate the why. Think about whether you’re monitoring habits because they work for you or because it’s what you think you should do.

(Adapted from ‘The Perils of Over-Monitoring Your Behaviour and Goals,’ by Elizabeth Grace Saunders)

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, April 25th, 2016