The Essential Interview Question

It's interview season, and we've been interviewing for several positions over the last few weeks.   Although the course of the conversation with the candidate always varies some, there is one question I like to ask at least twice, in two slightly different ways.  

"Tell me about the last time a customer or coworker was mad at you - how did you handle the situation?"

Getting along with your coworkers is at least as important as the job function - even if you do your job perfectly, there is a net productivity loss if no one else in the office can stand to work with you.   As such, you might think that discovering how a candidate might work with others would be a good idea and you'd be right.   Oddly enough, however, many prospective employers don't think to ask questions along these lines or if they do, they are questions which are guaranteed to get "the right answer".

  

Compare the question above with ones which I've heard many times: "How do you handle conflict?", or "How well do you work with others?"    No candidate would answer these questions with "Not very well" (if they did, you'd thank them for their time and send them on their way).   Instead, they answer with what they think you want to hear.    Answers such as, "I would approach the individual directly" or "I would try to learn the best way to work with that individual" are common - and largely theoretical.       When I am interviewing a candidate, a warning flag is the candidates use of the phrase "I would".   Of course I am interested in what the candidate would do, but knowing what they did do is likely to be far more indicative of their behavior.

A candidate who says they haven't had anyone mad at them is a question because it may mean they are either disingenuous (everyone has someone mad at them at one time or another) or that they have no strong opinions.    The former is obviously a problem, while the latter may prove troublesome if the position involves any decision making or leadership responsibilities.  Of course, an answer such as "Why sure - it happens all the time" is deserving of further investigation as well.

The best answer I have heard was a situation in which the individual took responsibility for the situation, then worked to resolve it directly with the individual.    This demonstrated responsibility (taking ownership) and humility (willing to admit they were wrong).    The individual was hired, and has been a strong performer on the team.

The answer to this question can be very enlightening, as we have seen, and there is another individual whom you should pose this question to at least occasionally: yourself.   How do you handle conflict with your coworkers?

How to Become an Expert in Three Simple Steps

Everyone needs to have some specific area of expertise.   While broad knowledge is useful, one or two areas in which you are deeply knowledgable are important for career and personal growth reasons.   These areas of expertise become what you are known for professionally, and will have a direct impact on your financial growth and security.

Fortunately, the steps required to become an expert in almost any subject are pretty simple:

1) Learn - really learn -  everything you can about the topic

Anyone can read a book or take a class on a particular topic, but that is only where the learning begins.   What periodicals do you read?   What conferences, seminars, or other gatherings do you attend to learn more from other people?   Which blogs do you follow?     These and other sources of information plant the seeds for new thought patterns around the subject and stretch your sphere of knowledge a little each time.

Be careful not to disregard newcomers to the topic or those who know far less than you.   Even if you know 95% of the available information and they know only 10%, their 10% might include the 5% you don't know.

2) Practice the topic daily in some way shape or form

This isn't practicing in the form of mindless repetition each day, but rather thoughtful, intensive application of your knowledge into something real.   You might work on a computer program, work on your car's engine, or some other productive activity.   This can be either professionally or as an avocation, but the goal is to use your knowledge to do something real and practical.

Another approach would be to teach a course or write a book.   Depending on the topic, your local community college may need someone to teach a night course on your area of interest.    Learning by teaching is a time honored way to increase your knowledge of a topic.

This exercise is important because it demonstrates the difference between theory and practice.    Remember, theory and practice are the same in theory but not in practice.   Learning the difference deepens your expertise.

3) Repeat steps 1 and 2

Learning and doing, if done once or twice, may give you a better understanding of a topic but they will not make you an expert.     Malcom Gladwell, in his book "Outliers", states that mastery of a subject requires about 10,000 hours of practice.      This is, obviously, a considerable amount of time - it would be approximately five years worth of full time professional work.   ( At this point, I'd like to specifically point out that I said it would be simple, not easy).

While many forms of advice are given every day about securing your financial future, consider this:  almost all of them assume that you have some area of deep expertise which serves as the engine to power future success.    If you don't have one yet...why not?

Software engineering is my chosen area of expertise, and I can say that with 20+ years of experience, I am still learning new things each day - literally.   Find something you're interested in and go for it!

Expertise vs. Authority

In an otherwise entirely forgettable movie, "Battle: Los Angeles" features a subplot which juxtaposes a grizzled Marine sergeant and a green Lieutenant.   Not exactly original stuff, but rather a recurring element across many genres of films and theatre:  expertise vs. authority.   The same plot plays out in the business world as well, pitting subject matter experts against business managers.   Most of the time, the plot isn't nearly as interesting as those conjured up by Hollywood.   Every so often, however, an authority figure believes he or she is also an expert, which can lead to problems if not dealt with quickly and carefully.

Most often, this issue arises when a subject matter expert is promoted or moved into a management position.  Although the titular change occurs almost immediately, learned behaviors die hard and as a result the newly minted manager continues to try to be the expert.   While it may be possible to continue such a "dual citizenship" role for a short period of time, one of two things will eventually happen :

• The manager spends too much time being technical, resulting in poor management and/or leadership
• The manager spends too much time being managerial, resulting in a decaying technical expertise that becomes a drain on the larger group of experts and a poor reflection of his leadership skills.

The key is that the individual, as well as his charges, need to recognize the changing roles and work to accommodate the changing positions.    An expert that moves into management makes room for younger experts to grow and hone their skills, and a manager who recognizes and demonstrates that it's all about the team's success and not his own will have incredibly devoted followers.  

One of my favorite bloggers, Jeff Haden, writes :

"Whatever we are today is largely due to the words and actions of other people. Most of those words or actions were, at the time, small and seemingly inconsequential."

A newly minted manager (or an old salty one, for that matter) operating in this mindset has opportunities to positively influence his team  each and every day.   Looking back, I can think of several managers who had small comments, observations, and insights which at the time seemed small and perhaps even trivial but have had a large impact on me.    The insights they shared with me helped to clarify several aspects of my career and helped me to develop a focus on what it was I wanted to do (which, ultimately, isn't to move into traditional management by the way - I much prefer technical leadership).   I'm not sure a manager who proclaims himself to be the foremost expert would have the same impact.

Understanding the different roles that expertise and authority play within a team, either business or military, serves to grow both the authority figure as well as the technical experts.   Failure to do so generally leads to, well, failure.  

What role do you see yourself in today?   What about tomorrow?

The Burninator

By now, you've probably heard about Greg Smith and his rather pointed op-ed piece in the New York Times. A well written, forthright assessment of Goldman Sachs by Smith doesn't leave the reader with the impression that he is considering the possibility of working for them in the near future - the first paragraph clearly sets the tone for the rest of the article.   Images of Trogdor kept floating through my mind as I read it.   While he may have excellent reasons for leaving the company that everyone loves to hate, I'm not sure that such a dramatic departure would work well as a template for everyone.

In the days leading up to my departure from Trane, I was surprised by how many of my coworkers wanted to know if I was going to "burn the bridge" by telling management exactly what I thought of them and their organization.    In fact, I was determined to share my perceptions and opinions during the forthcoming exit interview.     While I had a great discussion with the engineering VP surrounding the reasons for my departure, I wouldn't characterize it as bridge burning.   Rather, I felt I owed him something of an explanation and therefore attempted to be as factual and data-driven as possible - even going so far as sharing the weighted Pugh concept selection spreadsheet I had developed.    I appreciated his time and thought it was a good conversation; I think (and hope) he'd say the same.

There may be times, however, where the bridge is already burning and there isn't anything you can (or should) do to stop it.   One former employer was rather heavy handed, and failed to honor a previous agreement.   If the bridge was smoldering when I left his employ, it was engulfed in flames when he received a letter from my lawyer.   Such cases are the exception and not the rule, however, and such action should only be taken after seeking council from others and getting impartial advice from trusted associates.    I believe that had I been vengeful during that time instead of trying to remain polite and impartial, the matter would not have been settled as quickly as it was.

Aside from such exceptional circumstances,  any short-lived emotional satisfaction of telling the boss to go to you-know-where may have consequences in the future; there is little to be gained from burning bridges in most cases :

• Not tossing the match honors the team(s) you worked with.   If they are worthy of your respect and loyalty, why not take advantage of the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to leadership to better their environment?  
• The emotional satisfaction you might gain from burning the bridge is temporary, but the feelings it will create in others are indefinite.   It may come back to haunt you, especially in an always-connected, social media world.
• You may not have the whole picture.   Especially in larger organizations, things that happen may not be under the control of your first or even second level manager.   They may be just as frustrated as you - perhaps even more so - and unleashing your wrath on them only increases their burden.

Before lighting that fuse, look around.   Listen to others' perspectives.    Carefully consider the possible outcomes.   If, after doing all that, you think you still need to put flame to fuse - go ahead and write an op-ed piece in a major newspaper - it will give us bloggers something to talk about.

Ever had hair signed off your arms while lighting the match?   What happened?