Evaluating candidates/attracting candidates

Too often search committees are intent on getting to the evaluation stages – first applications, then interviews. What often gets lost in the heat of evaluation fervor is the fact that the candidates are also evaluating the organization.

From the first announcement of the opening to the final offer, candidates are forming opinions about the organization. Insensitivity to the needs and feelings of candidates can have several negative results. First, candidates may withdraw if they feel they are not treated with respect. Always remember talented people have many options – not just yours.

At the conference in Erie, one woman told me that she had sent eight resumes and letters of application via email in response to advertisements. She did not receive an acknowledgment from any one of them. That is the first error a nonprofit can make. Even candidates whom you may never interview are forming opinions about your organization. Doesn’t it make sense to have them forming good opinions?

Interviews should be respectful of the confidentiality needs of candidates. It makes sense for a candidate to know, after meeting the search committee, whether this has the potential to be a good fit. Then, he or she might share the search with the board or board chair. But, before knowing if there is mutual interest, it is premature to announce the search to his or her own organization. Many candidates have withdrawn from searches if they realize their need for initial confidentiality is not respected.

Although the search committee is ready to evaluate candidates in the interview setting, it must also remember that their job is to help people leave with a positive impression of the organization and hopefully greater interest in joining it. The committee needs to be respectful of the people it is interviewing – making them comfortable, providing them with pertinent information before the interview and a timeframe for the next step in the process.

Leadership is listening and communicating

Two important points, for me, emerge from Adam Bryant’s article in the Sunday, New York Times. He interviewed Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard’s president.

First, President Faust explained how she connects to people, mainly through email, to understand who they are and what their interests are. This emphasizes the importance of knowing people and what they want and need. Only then can she help them make the connection to Harvard’s wants and needs. A leader who makes assumptions about what people want and need may get it wrong and skipping the dialogue is a missed opportunity to connect with constituents. Leadership is part listening and part communication. The communication piece is likely to be pretty empty, and miss the mark, if there has not been adequate listening.

On the topic of communication, President Faust has realized that it is necessary to talk again and again about important topics. This means talking to different audiences to assure that everyone is included. It also means not being afraid to bring the topics up again and again to re-inforce their importance. Providing up-dates on progress can keep the topics lively.

Attracting great leaders

The best way to attract great candidates is to have a great organization. A nonprofit with an important mission will attract potential leaders who also believe in that mission. If you have challenges, and who does not, state them. Good candidates want to help an organization achieve success. You do not want candidates who are simply interested in maintaining the status quo if you have bigger dreams. So, list your challenges and your aspirations and the resources you already have.

How many references?

This was a question I was asked at the Nonprofit Day in PA. In terms of sheer numbers I would say no less than 12 or 14 if you hear consistent stories. If what you hear is inconsistent I would keep on doing references to see if you can sort it out. If you cannot sort it out, that has to factor into your decision about the best candidate.

Nonprofit Partners

I just returned from Erie, PA where I gave two workshops: Identifying and evaluating leadership and Succession planning and executive transitions. The Erie Community Foundation created The Nonprofit Partnership that sponsored the conference. While they are separate entities, they work together and are incredibly effective at supporting nonprofits in northwest Pennsylvania. It is a great model – nonprofits that receive funding from the Foundation may also receive technical assistance from the Partnership.

The Nonprofit Partnership is very foresighted in the use of technology to advance the work of nonprofits. There are several, very useful tools to maximize the effectiveness of email newsletters or blogs on their website:www.thenonprofitpartnership.org.

Between preparing the two presentations and responding to questions, I have thoughts for many future blogs. Stay tuned! As, always if you have questions or comments please add them.

Interviewing is a performing art

If you have interviewed a number of people you know that the person before you is doing his or her best to impress you. When the performance is good you feel re-assured that this person may be just the answer to your quest. So, you may be feeling comfortable about making a hiring decision.

The performance/interview is, however, not a good predictor of future success on the job. Good interviewers/performers are personable and aware of what you are looking for. He or she will try to give you what you want.

You may have a list of traits you are looking for: intelligence, creativity, integrity for beginners. There are not obvious questions to arrive at conclusions. Here are some silly questions: Are you smart? Are you creative? Are you honest? Are you hard-working? Do you work well with others? Will you fit here?

If, in the course of the interview/performance you hear a story you like or an anecdote that you believe reveals this person’s core, you may hang your beliefs on something as ephemeral as a story or anecdote. Is that enough? Is it safe to base a hiring decision on such a flimsy basis?

If you ask a question and the reply strikes a responsive chord, you may be tempted to give the reply too much weight. Is it an indicator of a life’s work or a single bright moment? How can you be sure? How can you go beyond a one-shot performance and put that performance in perspective as one facet of the individual?

Transformational leadership

What are some of the characteristics of leaders who transform non-profit organizations?

First, they promote the vision clearly and often, emphasizing the important work this organization can do. They set a tone so people feel connected to a larger cause, one they want to contribute to.

Transformational leaders encourage leadership throughout the organization. They let staff know taking initiative is a plus. They make it known they want to hear ideas that may seem “outside the box”. They encourage questions about the status quo that include better ideas for accomplishing goals or tasks.

This leadership style allows the executive director to delegate as much as possible. Delegating continues to build leadership capacity in the organization and frees the leader for
other work.

Transformational leaders are approachable. So, if a staff member is “stuck” it is natural to seek help. Teamwork happens.

For search committees and boards, the task is to develop questions that enable candidates to talk about their leadership style. The question is not: Are you a transformational leader? Something like this is useful: Describe a difficult situation and explain the steps you took to work it out. This will illustrate some pieces of leadership style and additional questions can build on what has been learned.

Leadership lessons from 6th grade and a Pakistani village

Adam Bryant’s articles in the Sunday New York Times always have gems of thoughts on leadership that resonate with my experience and remind me of other places that illustrate the example further. This Sunday he features Carol Smith, Senior Vice President of the Elle Group. She explains how, in sixth grade, she learned a basic lesson of leadership: “The importance of winning over employees as opposed to bossing employees”. As a sixth grader in charge of a class project she assumed that power meant bossing everyone around but after a few days she was “fired”. Early learning!

This reminds me of a story Greg Mortenson tells in Three Cups of Tea. After much difficulty raising money and transporting supplies for the first village school in Pakistan, he began to micro-manage the project. His mentor in the village kindly explained to him that while the men in the village were uneducated they were not stupid and Doctor Greg could step back and do what only he could do and let the villagers build the school.

Greg Mortensen had discovered his leadership abilities when he tried to keep his promise to the Pakistani villagers who had nursed him back to health after his failed attempt to climb the world’s second highest mountain. With no prior experience Mortensen raised money – slowly- won the respect and trust of many Pakistani people, earned the admiration of people in America and again, slowly, built school after school in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

As search committees and boards interview candidates it is also a good interview question to ask someone how he or she discovered what is important about leadership. Most often you will hear a revealing story that gives more insight into the person. As importantly you will learn how self aware this candidate is and whether he or she is willing to tell you about a mistake and the resulting learning.

The inspirational side of leadership

Last Sunday in the New York Times Adam Bryant wrote about his interview with Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive of Adobe Systems. As I prepare a workshop on recognizing leadership during an executive transition process I see in this article many of the elements of leadership I feel are important for nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Narayen talks about setting ambitious or inspirational goals – something that would work well in mission driven nonprofit organizations. People who choose to work in nonprofit settings are committed to carrying out the vision and mission of their organizations. Inspirational goals that would increase the effectiveness of the organization and its work would fit with the ambitions of nonprofit staff members.

A major role for leaders is setting inspirational goals and inspiring and supporting staff in achieving those goals. Effective leaders trust people to do their best, offering support as needed and acknowledging great work. “Getting gratification from what others do” as Mr. Narayen describes it.

In an executive transition the search committee’s task is to develop questions that allow a candidate to describe successes that involved ambitious goals and great work by staff. This is one way to better understand a candidate’s potential to be a great leader in your organization.

Interviewing and hiring know how

On July 5th, the New York TImes business section featured Wendy Kopp, founder and CEO of Teach for America. I started reading the article because of my interest in education and discovered that what Wendy learned about hiring is equally relevant to other nonprofit fields.

Wendy admitted to initially being untutored in hiring and influenced by a candidate’s apparent “niceness” and charisma. As she learned those may be successful characteristics in an interview but do not necessarily translate into leadership ability.

So, Wendy began probing more on their actual experience. And, she discovered that after two days on the job she knew if the new hire was right or all wrong.

So, she added another step to the hiring process. She provided prospective candidates with materials about the organization’s challenges and asked them what they would do. Many years ago, Henry Becton, then the President of WGBH in Boston was searching for a new Radio Manager and did something similar. He sent each finalist an hour’s compilation of programming and asked each for a critique.

Another possibility for learning more about candidates is to do away with the generic cover letter people send and request a more targeted response. The question might be: explain what attracts you to our organization and how your experience would benefit us. A response to that question should yield clues to peoples’ values, their interest in your mission and more specifics about how their experience meets your needs.