How This Simple Exercise Will Help You Hire The Right Talent

Finding the right talent for your team is a daunting and sometimes confusing task. Use this simple exercise to get clear on what future results you want and what might stop you from getting it.

The FutureProof exercise is inspired by the FeedForward exercise co-created by Marshall Goldsmith. The goal is to help you find the right skills in the applicants selected by you.

You can change the future. You can’t change the past. The goal is to help you to envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past.

This exercise is especially suited to hiring managers. Hiring Managers are always output focused and thinking about the next goal that needs to be met. They also tend to resist negative judgment. By focusing on improving their future, this exercise helps circumvent dwelling on past negative decisions.

A Simple Exercise: Why Did You Fire Your Hire?

• Picture yourself in the future. Imagine that you have hired your dream candidates. She has passed all tests, she had great chemistry in the interview, your colleagues liked her. This picture of your dream candidate, is your Future.
• Avoid losing your Future. Now that you who you want to end up with, add the following element to that picture: At the end of the 3 month trial period, you discover that your dream candidate is not good enough. In fact, the candidate has performed so bad that you have to fire them.

What are the technical reasons to fire you ‘perfect hire?”.

• When thinking about why you would fire a hire after three months, focus only on technical (non interpersonal skills, such as communication, team chemistry). Focus on craft/)

Takeaway: Determining why your future dream hire will not work out, will help you have a better idea what to avoid in your present hiring cycle.