How to Manage Creative Geeks

How to Manage Creative Geeks:
Some of your company's most creative employees may thrive on social rejection. So how do you make them part of a functioning team?
Much of your company’s success may depend on kernels of ideas that keep you on the cutting edge. In that sense, we’re all dependent to some degree on creative people, those individuals capable of coming up with the new formula, the new technology, or the new process that will change the game.
But there’s a problem. It’s not a consistent problem and not one that is endemic to all creative people, but it is a problem. Creative people often possess certain attributes that can make leading them a bit difficult.
Creative people sometimes operate most effectively on the outside of the collective. They often find themselves rejected by the group, and at times, they take the initiative and reject the group themselves. They may seem, at times, to be more entranced by their own thoughts than whatever problem the collective is trying to solve. Isn’t that the world of the creative geek?
There’s increasing evidence that a sense of social rejection actually fuels creativity, which makes things even harder for a leader trying to inculcate some sort of esprit de corps. Research by Sharon H. Kim of Johns Hopkins University, Lynne C. Vincent of Cornell University, and Jack A. Goncalo, also of Cornell, has recently found that the more that people feel excluded from a group, the more they may resort to creative endeavors. (This work is scheduled to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology.)
This isn’t true for everyone. It does hold true, though, for those with a so-called "independent self-concept”--those who don’t need the group to feel whole and self-confident. The authors write that “for individuals with an independent self-concept, rejection will reinforce their desire to differentiate themselves from others, and that mind-set should, in turn, lead to more creative outcomes.”
So how do you lead strong, creative individuals who operate outside of the group while making sure that they don’t feel totally rejected? How do you make sure independent outsiders don’t become idiosyncratic rebels? In short, how do you lead the creative geeks?
There are three things to keep in mind:

• Incorporate their creativity. Consciously reinforce the idea that creative geeks fit into a larger collective effort. Make it as clear as possible that their ideas are important in moving the agenda of the group. This brings creative geeks in while enhancing their self-worth and celebrating their creativity.
• Engage them through dialogue. Ask creative geeks what they’re doing. Ask how you can be of assistance. Coach them, and partner with them as much as possible.
• Establish parameters. Within your company, you need to set boundaries for your most creative people. Though you want to give them enough space outside of the group, you also need to monitor them to make sure that their agenda does not spin out of control, putting the interests of the larger collective in jeopardy.

Leading creative outsiders is a balancing act. Feelings of rejection can stimulate creativity, but you need to make sure the creative geek feels like part of the group. In leading creative team members, make sure they have enough space to operate as outsiders, but give them enough opportunity to be part of the team. While these people may be independent and creative, and even may relish the role of outsider, they also look for social recognition and a sense of belonging.

How to keep employees you can't afford to lose

How to keep employees you can't afford to lose: Even in this sluggish job market, your best people always have other offers. Here's how to entice them to stick around.
Dear Annie: I liked your column about the art of quitting gracefully, but unfortunately several of my most talented and experienced direct reports seem to have read it, too. Three of them have quit (gracefully) in the past three weeks, and certain others seem less enthusiastic about their jobs than MORE

9 Hiring Tips Learned the Hard Way

9 Hiring Tips Learned the Hard Way:

I've hired hundreds of people, and fired a few too. Here are the best recruiting insights I've gleaned the hard way.

When you're hiring, you're growing. That means business is good. It's easy to let that euphoria go to your head and, in a rush of enthusiasm, hire great people who, nevertheless, could be wrong for the job, or your business.

During my career, I've hired hundreds of people and fired a few too. Here are some of the most important insights I've gleaned the hard way:

1. Write up a job description that matters.

The best job descriptions don't just outline duties, responsibilities, and necessary skills. They also articulate how you want the work to be done, and the moral climate in which the company operates. If you're a fiercely competitive company that likes to pit teams against each other, say so. If customer or patient care is critical, don't assume that a candidate's empathy is a given. I'd say the how often matters more than the what but it's so hard to measure that most people prefer to ignore it. Do so at your peril.

2. Know the talent you already have.

Are you sure there isn't internal talent that might seize an open opportunity? Internal hires tend to do better than outsiders so if you promote from within you're likely to reduce your risk. You want to encourage the talent you already have so work hard to discover what you have before you go looking for more.

3. Align your values with your hiring process.

There's no point saying teamwork is important and then letting one person make the hiring decision. If you say you value instinct, then doing a wide array of personal and professional assessments probably isn't the way to go either. If you value creativity and risk-taking, don't set ridiculously hard problems that humiliate the people who can't solve them.

4. Use professional assessment tests for senior leaders.

Every HR professional I've spoken to argues that interviews don't work; everyone is so hopelessly biased that, however lengthy the interview process, results are just too subjective. So bring in a professional assessor who can match evaluations to the skills and qualities you are looking for. Using an outside assessor can save you from yourself because she won't be swayed by likeability.

5. Listen hard for dissenting voices.

If everyone loves your preferred candidate, something is wrong. No hire is perfect and there should be some dissenting voices around the table. What are the candidate's weaknesses? They may not be critical but they must exist and it's better to identify them (and figure out how to accommodate them) early.

6. Watch the salary negotiation like a hawk.

How people manage money will tell you a great deal about how they'll handle partners and customers. If you don't like what you see, pull the plug.

7. Start with a trial period.

I don't think you ever know anyone until you see them in action (and vice versa). So agree--for both your sakes--to a joint review after one to three months. Give very honest feedback and ask for it too. No new hire is ever as alert and insightful as at the beginning. Most companies lose all sense of how they come across to outsiders so this feedback is precious.

8. Assign mentors.

Most organizations are bad at explaining themselves. Each new hire should have someone she can turn to with questions. And, of course, this mentor should not be her boss. It's also important that everyone in your company is good at mentoring; if you're great with co-workers, you're more likely to be great with customers too. Mentoring new hires is excellent leadership training.

9. Never sell your organization.

Interviewing should be all about unfettered exploration, not persuasion. You shouldn't sell your company, and the candidates shouldn't sell themselves either. What you're after is an intelligent, adult discussion about what constitutes success within your company and within the candidate's professional and personal life. The stories have to be honest and fit.

One Employee Message That Should Never Be Mixed

One Employee Message That Should Never Be Mixed:
Vision, goals, and guidelines all are important. But not as important as this.
It's incredibly easy to send mixed messages to your employees.
For example, you can tell your employees that quality and customer satisfaction are vital to your business's success... but that message can easily get lost when weekly, daily, and even hourly productivity results are splashed across every bulletin board in your facility.
The key is to help your employees find a larger meaning in what your company does--and in what they do.
But that's not easy.
Productivity vs. Quality
Years ago I worked in a run-and-gun book manufacturing plant: Our goal wasn't to produce the highest quality product possible; our goal was to avoid customer complaints while maximizing productivity.
Publicly management might have disagreed with that goal, but since there is often a difference between what is said and what is expected, on the shop floor we were well aware of the real expectations. Numbers mattered--a lot.
(Keep in mind I don't disagree with striking a balance between quality and productivity. Commodity production, especially when price is the major competitive factor, requires meeting quality expectations while maximizing output and minimizing costs. Exceeding quality expectations is fine, as long as it doesn't slow you down or cost you more.)
In the mid-80s our plant expanded its printing and binding capabilities to include Bible and hymnal production. Convincing publishers we could reliably manufacture Bibles and hymn books wasn't easy for our sales force; one publisher even sent a vice president to talk to everyone at the plant involved in producing their work.
I only remember one thing she said: "You aren't running books," she told us. "You're running Bibles."
At first I assumed she was speaking from a religious perspective. Years later I realized her statement carried a larger meaning. Her point was that a Bible can be more than just a book: It can also be a cherished gift, a source of comfort, or an heirloom passed on from one generation to the next.
In short, a Bible can take on a meaning greater than the words it contains. Unlike a "regular" book, a Bible might be more than just a book to be read once and placed on a shelf; it could, over time--even if a page is never turned--become an item that takes on real significance in a person's or a family's life.
So can almost anything.
What's the Larger Meaning?
What your business sells--no matter how transitory--may turn out to have a larger meaning. The restaurant you own doesn't just serve food; your restaurant may create a touchstone for a family's memories. The smartphone you sell may not just store music and images but could provide the soundtrack and photo album of a teenager's life. The clothing you sell might be worn on the first day of school or on a first date.
At the time I didn't take her message to heart. I stayed focused on out-producing the other crews and trying to set production records.
In large part that was my fault, but some of the responsibility does rest with the expectations our management team set. They occasionally told us to run quality Bibles--but they constantly measured how fast we ran those Bibles.
The products and services you provide can at times make a lasting impact in a customer's life. Help your employees understand how they sometimes provide customers with a lot more than a product or service.
Maybe that is better quality; maybe that is better service; maybe it's the recognition that most purchases have an objective and an emotional component, and that emotional component must be supported during and after the sales process.
Whatever you provide, help every employee find the meaning in what they do.
That's the most important message of all--and one that should never be mixed.

How to Make Smart Hires, Even if You're CEO

How to Make Smart Hires, Even if You're CEO:
CEOs are generally the worst people to do their company's hiring. But most entrepreneurs want to do this themselves. Here's how.
As your company grows, the most important and hardest decisions will be those about who gets hired and who gets fired. Forget what you hear about technology giving companies a competitive advantage. The only sustainable competitive advantage is provided by talented, committed and passionate people.
Unfortunately, CEOs are among the worst possible people to do their company’s hiring. This nugget comes courtesy of my friend Jay Goltz, a successful Chicago serial entrepreneur. Jay notes that CEOs tend to be:

• Short on time, and often, distracted
• Bad listeners. They’re always selling themselves and their businesses rather than asking and learning about the job candidate
• Too good-natured and trusting, and not skeptical enough to ask the hard questions.

Yet most entrepreneurs at least want to have a hand in hiring. How can you give yourself a fighting chance of doing a good job? Here are a few ideas and rules that have helped me over the years:
Check the facts. Nicely.
People lie on their resumes all the time. So it’s perfectly reasonable to ask detailed questions about a resume and to take everything on it with at least a grain of salt. It is not perfectly reasonable, however, to assume the worst about someone simply because you find something on his or resume to be a bit puzzling.
For years, I looked younger than my age. I once flew to France for a huge meeting involving millions of dollars. I walked into the room and was treated so shabbily by these folks that I was dumbfounded. I had lunch and went right back to the airport and flew home. I later learned that when my alleged business partners first saw me, they didn’t think I was old enough to have done everything listed on my resume. Instead, they instantly decided I had been lying. I wasn’t. It was a real lesson in managing information and expectations.
Look for accomplishments, not credentials
Degrees are nice to have, but a candidate’s ability to get things done is what matters. There are plenty of “smart” people out there who aren’t people smart. If the new person can’t get along with the natives as part of an effective and collaborative team, then his or her book smarts don’t mean squat.
Look for the best person for the job, not the best person
Too many CEOs think that they should hire any great person who comes along, and figure out a good job for them later. As important as it is to have super-talented people, trying to “warehouse” them is a losing strategy. Get a clear job description, understand the criteria for a successful candidate, and fill that particular job.
There are no easy jobs
Every candidate should have the basic required skills. But the right prospects are the ones who have the ability to get the job done. Ability is the result of mental and physical toughness, resourcefulness, and powerful concentration.
Age and wisdom are not the same
At some point, young or first-time CEOs often think they need to add some “grown-ups” to the management mix. This is a sure sign that they’re scared. They’re scared of being alone and responsible; scared of being in way over their heads; and scared that they’re going to screw things up. These hires generally fail miserably, because the new person doesn’t have the requisite energy and enthusiasm, isn’t comfortable with the rest of the employees, starts off by criticizing the way the entrepreneurs runs the business, or is just way too focused on financial and compensation issues. Beware.

Outsourcing: New Pressures to Stay Home, Old Reasons to Go Abroad

Outsourcing: New Pressures to Stay Home, Old Reasons to Go Abroad: Has outsourcing run its course in the wake of the recession and complaints from U.S. politicians about stubbornly high jobless rates? Exports from emerging markets fell markedly in 2009, and more companies are thinking harder about the unknowns of going abroad. But the cost savings in Asia are still highly attractive to multinationals, and export levels went up again in 2010. What's more, China's workforce is gearing up to manufacture an ever-wider range of products.

How To Train Your Managers -- Leadership Training For Employees

How To Train Your Managers -- Leadership Training For Employees: In many small companies, there is no formal manager training.  People do well, they get promoted.  Small companies can’t afford to have an internal University or to send all aspiring managers to external training.  If something needs to be done, it often needs to be done immediately, so your motivated employees will jump in to fill the breach and the next thing you know they are managing a small team or project.

4 Non-Traditional Ways People Can Manage Their Careers Better

4 Non-Traditional Ways People Can Manage Their Careers Better: We are indeed living during some of the most interesting times in American history.   People are incredibly uncertain about what decisions to make in their careers; while concurrently, they are searching for happiness.  As NBC News reported last week, the number of men and women suffering from acute anxiety is increasing – and our stressful, fast-paced lifestyles are to blame.    Most people are not just operating in survival mode, they are in a state of denial.

Why You Can Get Fired for Doing Your Job Well

Why You Can Get Fired for Doing Your Job Well: I'm often asked what it takes to excel at your job. As we get into the 21st-century economy, where you hear companies laying off people left and right, I can tell you this: if you do everything you’re asked to do – every single thing – and you do it

The Most Important Interview Question Never Asked

The Most Important Interview Question Never Asked:

I have been hounding my business partner, our CEO, Dave Elkington, to share a very powerful question he has tested in the hiring process over the eight years of interviewing candidates in our growth company, InsideSales.com. He finally relented to sharing in this guest post. - Ken

Dave:

Build Trust: 6 Foolproof Steps to Train Employees

Building trust in an employee is very much like teaching someone to drive. You don't just hand him the keys on the first day and let him take the car for a spin while hoping for the best. You have to show him how the car works, what the rules of the road are, and how to handle emergency situations successfully. Only when he can drive you to a destination without incident can he be trusted to take the car out alone.
So how do you create that trust with an employee?

1. Start everyone as a passenger. 

When a new employee joins our team, he spends a significant amount of time learning our products. He is taught our computer system and our order fulfillment process. Finally, he role-plays the correct way to help customers get what they need. Throughout this training period, he does not talk to live customers or touch actual orders; instead he is kept in a classroom-like environment, much like a student taking driver's ed. Only when he is able to pass a product exam, successfully enter a test order, and impress me with how he handles difficult sales obstacles is he able to move on the next level.

2. Put the employee behind the wheel--in the parking lot.

Just because an employee has been successful on the written road test does not mean he is ready to drive. In phase two of our trust-building process, a new team member is given real responsibilities, but performs them in an off-road setting, still quarantined from customer contact.

Whereas before, he was only allowed to enter test orders, he will now enter actual orders that come in via our website. Because the orders are real, he must enter them correctly, anticipate problems, and make sure they are handled in a timely manner.

Essentially, he is given the chance to sit in the driver's seat, but can only drive around the parking lot, because another team member will be double-checking all of his orders for potential errors. When his orders are error-free, I trust him to take the next step.

3. Let the employee take a drive around the block.

Driving is difficult at first because it requires the use of many skills at once. At this level, the employee must put together all the product knowledge he has acquired, use our computer system accurately, and do both with a live customer on the line. In order to make it a little less frightening (for both the employee and me), a new employee practices by shadowing a senior rep on calls.

The senior rep takes the order, while the new employee listens in, silently getting his cues from the customer, and using them to enter the order on his own computer. At the end of each call, he prints and compares his order to the order taken by the senior rep. Once he is successfully typing in the same thing as the senior rep, and several orders are done correctly, he can be trusted enough to go further.

4. Time to try the open road.

You will never know if someone can actually drive until you let him do it. As a business owner, I find this is the hardest stage because there are real consequences. The employee is now in control of the order-taking situation, but a senior rep will be shadowing him to make sure the order is done right.

Even if the new staffer makes a mistake, the customer will not suffer, and the mistake can be used to teach how to make a better choice the next time. This allows me to let the employee drive, but with the safety of my foot close to the brakes, just in case. Once the mistakes diminish, and the employee feels comfortable in most situations, he can be trusted to take the car out alone.

5. Licensed and ready to roll. 

At this point, the employee trusts that he knows enough about our product, procedure, and mission to be able to drive without a problem from point A to point B. I also trust that he will be able to do that.

6. Send him on his way.

Once the new rep is out on the road, I fully expect he may have some minor fender benders along the way. Being okay with that is the final speed bump in the two-way street called trust.

Vanessa Merit Nornberg: In 2004, Vanessa opened Metal Mafia, a wholesale body and costume jewelry company that sells to more than 5,000 specialty shops and retail chains in 23 countries. Metal Mafia was an Inc. 500 company in 2009. @vanessanornberg