Imagine that you’re a sports coach and you need a new player
on the team. Would you walk up to someone in the street and
say – “I want you to come and play for my team. I’ll train
you to become the best player in the country.” Sounds a bit
ridiculous doesn’t it?
What you’d probably do is watch players in other teams. On
the other hand, you might decide to find some young player
that you could develop for your team. So you’d spend some
time looking for players in schools and colleges.
What is it you’re looking for when you’re watching these
young people or more established players? Is it experience
of the game or perhaps an all round knowledge of how it
should be played or even just a good all round player.
All of these would be good to have but what you’re really
looking for is – talent!
You’re looking for that gift or flair or capacity to achieve
your outcomes.
If you’re looking for a goal keeper, then you’re looking for
someone with that extra something that keeps the opposition
from scoring. If you’re looking for a shooter, or a winger
or a quarter back then it’s the same story, you’re looking
for talent.
It doesn’t really matter how long they’ve been a
player or whether they have a great knowledge of the game –
you just need them to produce results.
It’s no different when you’re picking someone new for your
team – you’re looking for talent. And it’s a different
talent for every job. It could be:
*The talent to strip down an engine and rebuild it in
record time
*The talent to make other people feel at ease
*The talent to produce reports that are clear and easy to
read
*The talent to persuade people to buy your product or
service
Be absolutely clear what you need this person to do – keep
in the forefront of your mind the outcomes that you’ll be
ultimately judged on.
Use your talent, be happy
It’s important the person you employ is happy in their new
job. Think for a moment about something you’re good at, a
talent that you have, something you can do better than lots
of people. Do you enjoy doing whatever it is, does it make
you happy? I’m sure it does.
When people use their talent in their job – what they do
best, it makes them happy. It makes the customer happy, it
makes the boss happy and it makes the person more
productive.
Sad to say it’s not like that out in the world.
The Gallup Organisation did some research by asking millions
of employees from countries throughout the world to respond
to this statement –
“At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every
day.” The results were staggering; only 30% of employees
were able to reply in the affirmative. And it’s extremely
unlikely that the remaining 70% will achieve world-class
performance.
If you want success in your business and in your team –
Pick people for what they do best, what they have a talent
for.
Discover how you can interview and recruit the best people
for your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
by Picking the Best Team” This book is packed with
practical things that you can do to make your life easier
and achieve your business goals.
Click here now:
