Right Bus, Wrong Seat

Human capital is your greatest asset. Period. Then why would we ever “promote someone to the highest level of incompetence?” Take brilliant sellers and give them teams to develop—when they are good at selling and not good at leading teams? How often are we putting the people on the right bus but in the wrong seats?

It’s not necessarily wrong to keep employees in their roles if they are effective, like what they are doing and it’s a good fit. Yet sometimes people feel pressured to move forward when they are happy. Then how often do we take a happy employee and ultimately make them unhappy in their new role? They can’t go back in time to less authority, compensation or responsibility so they take the company’s training and investment on to another employer.

What if we could take some of the emotion out of it? Instead, take a rational look at how a person best works, what motivates them, how they see the world/work/themselves and look at their skills. Finding a comprehensive assessment like TriMetrix HD details the how of behavior, why of motivation, view of the world in acumen and skill competencies. You can use many different assessments to get pieces of the puzzle. Yet with the money, time and energy you invest in your team, a bit more information, digging deeper improves your bottom line.

In the past week I spoke with two different candidates who didn’t get the job. Both were impressed with the candor of the hiring managers. The higher managers took the time and responsibility to explain the job was the “wrong seat” for them. They liked the people, loved their skills/experience and knew they belonged on the bus. Yet, the employers were not going to put them in the wrong seat because no one wins. Now, those candidates need to continue to work the relationship, invest their time and be patient as they wait for a seat to become available.

If you aren’t clear on why you are a good fit for the job or the organization, why should the organization be clear for you? You both have “skin in the game.” Find a way to create a win, win. Understand your behavior, motivation, skills and find the right seat on the right bus.