The Single Most Important Trait of Personal Success by Lou Adler

Reproduced from here (https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130204210649-15454-the-single-most-important-trait-of-personal-success?_mSplash=1&sessionid=bfrpwHmVtRvGV8cVDWJ4)

Here are some ideas on how more accurately assess the most important trait of success:

1. Replace traditional job descriptions with performance profiles. The process used to promote people internally is a pretty accurate predictor of success since it’s based on the person’s past performance. A similar result can be achieved when hiring people from the outside by clarify job expectations upfront using a performance-based job description, or performance profile. Rather than box check skills, dig deep into the candidate’s accomplishments and compare these to what needs to get done. Patterns of performance and motivation will soon emerge.
2. Emphasize cultural and situational fit. While drive for results is a critical factor for on-the-job success, motivation to do the actual work is far different than motivation to get the job. Motivation to do the work is dependent on the content of the actual work itself, the leadership style of the hiring manager, and fit with the company culture. Hiring someone fully competent but a misfit on these factors is a surefire way to decrease motivation, reduce job satisfaction and increase turnover.
3. Wait 30 Minutes! More hiring mistakes are made in the first 30 minutes of the interview than any other time. If an interviewer instantly likes the candidate, he or she asks self-fulfilling questions to confirm this initial judgment. Candidates who fail the first impression bias are asked tougher questions for the same reason. By scripting the initial part of every interview, it’s possible to get past the first treacherous 30 minutes unscathed. Too many interviewers use the level of assertiveness to assess motivation. Waiting 30 minutes will clarify what’s actually being assessed.
4. Ask the Most Significant Accomplishment (MSA) question for every performance objective listed in the performance-based job description. In an earlier post I suggested that the Most Important Interview Question of All Time was to dig deeply into the candidate’s most significant job-related accomplishments. Since each of these MSA questions takes about 15-20 minutes to fully understand, it’s best to divide them among the interviewers. This ensures each interviewer is measuring the candidate against the same criteria and using a similar objective assessment approach.
5. Never (ever) violate the “No 2s!” rule. The NO 2s! rule refers to the 1-5 ranking system used as part of the debriefing process described in The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired. A Level 2 person is someone who’s not motivated to do the actual work required even though the person’s perfectly competent. These type of mistakes can be prevented by digging deep into what motivates a person to go the extra mile or take the initiative during the MSA questioning process.

You don’t need to be a Vince Lombardi to know that drive for results, motivation to succeed or will to get it done, is the most important trait of success. While it’s more difficult to accurately assess in people you don’t know, misjudging motivation to do the work you need done, is a sure way to hire the wrong person.

“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?” – Vince Lombardi

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Lou Adler is the Amazon best-selling author of Hire With Your Head (Wiley, 2007) and the award-winning Nightingale-Conant audio program, Talent Rules! His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired, was published on February 1, 2013.