Dr. Henry Cloud is a clinical psychologist, best-selling author, and business consultant with unique insights on relational dynamics in organizations. He is the co-founder and co-director of Cloud-Townsend, Inc.
Carly Fiorina is the former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She was the first woman to head a Dow 30 company and was named “The Most Powerful Woman in Business” by Fortune for six years in a row.
Dr. David Ireland is senior pastor of Christ Church in Montclair, NJ, a 6000 member multi-ethnic congregation which he founded in 1986. The author of several books, he holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership.
Patrick Lencioni is founder and president of The Table Group, Inc., a specialized management-consulting firm focused on organizational health. He is the author of six best-selling books, including Death by Meeting.
On Hiring…
- You’ve got to connect people to the culture of your church/organization.
- Cultural fit is so critical in any organization.
- Churches think it’s enough that people love Jesus, which is critical, but it doesn’t mean they will fit the culture of the church.
- A lot of decisions about hiring, especially in a great state of need, leads to the idealization that people are exactly what we need, when in actuality they aren’t.
- First impressions are frequently wrong.
- What are the 1 or 2 behavioral things that you want people to exemplify?
- Competency is one thing you have to be absolutely clear about.
- People can practice for an interview; but observe and see what they are like in real-life interactions.
- Ask them what people would say about them.
- Ask the same question three times. (a la “Law & Order)
- Ask conversational and probing questions, not “yes” and “no” questions.
- Ask how their weaknesses would impact your organization.
- Talk less and let them talk more about their answers.
- Have a clear, strong culture that the people who would fit there would be drawn to it… they will self-select in.
- Don’t list skills on a job description… but competencies required for it.
- Take the time to have a substantive conversation about why you’re hiring, what you’re expecting etc… and find out a lot about the person.
- Get a process that works for you.
- Don’t hire out of need… endure the pain of not having someone in a position than having the wrong person in the position.
On Boards…
- For boards to work well, they need their own values and covenant agreement about how they will function.
- Problem with boards is that they don’t see each other often, so it takes time to build trust.
- You need a retreat. You have to get clear on the values and behaviors, and build trust.
- You cannot build a team or a board without vulnerability.
- Take 10 minutes at the end of every meeting and sit back and say, “How did we do?”
- Boards are a team of people who meet together to make decisions.
- It takes work for the team to understand how it works together.
- If the board isn’t functional, the organization isn’t functional.
- People should be on boards for three reasons: 1) influence, 2) affluence, 3) unique skill set that works to meet the needs of the organization.
- You need to have all the ingredients around the table to make what you’re trying to make happen, happen.
- Boards need to have an immune effect… a team that works to meet the needs as a team.
- The New Testament teaches that a plurality of godly people will lead an organization well instead of one single person.
On firing…
- Leaders have to make tough decisions in tough times, including firing.
- There’s a time and season for everything…
- “How” do you terminate in a dignified way?
- People consider it compassion to not be honest with people, but that’s not being compassionate, it’s disrespectful.
- Be candid. What’s working? What’s not working?
- Give people a chance to work on what’s not working.
- A firing should never come as a surprise.
- If you give them a chance, they’ll either get better or decide it’s not right for them.
- Do you give enough REGULAR feedback for them to make the right choices?
- 3 Step Process: 1) Retrain them… 2) Reposition them… 3) Retire them.
- There should be a sequence of communication.
- Bill invoked a grading system at Willow… giving people an A, B or C.
- If you give them a B, be clear how they can become an A.
- Have a well developed system.
- The system will not substitute for the conversation.
- The kindest from of management is the truth. – Jack Welch
- It helps people to tell them the process up front.
- Uncertainty is horrifying for people, especially about their jobs.
- Give more certainty.
