Those of you who are familiar with my popular attributes concept will understand why I cheered for this video clip of David Roche, president of Hotels.com, as he shared his wisdom about tolerating a diversity of weaknesses within an organization.
Great strengths are often balanced out by corresponding weaknesses. So a healthy company will maintain a culture that not only values a balance of strengths, but also tolerates the natural challenges that all of us have.
It’s a quick listen, and well worth noodling:
Great video, short and direct to the point!
Agree with the principle. The next step is so critical – make sure you place people in positions where their strengths are needed, where their weaknesses are less relevant and where they have the best chance to excel. This can mean some dramatic changes in responsibilities and can be quite scary for all. Management and employee need to take the leap together when making big career changes for an individual.
Mike, your comments are very insightful. What you describe is a major innovation in the way companies can think and manage people. While the concept might run into resistance in tradition-bound corporations, that doesn’t change the fact that again and again, this approach creates extremely positive reactions throughout organizations. So for those who are toying with this notion, I encourage you to take Mike’s insight, cut through the red tape, and make it happen! You’ll be amazed at the results.
– I’m using a hard copy of your attributes glossary when talking to candidates, and make (+) and (-) signs as we work through the interview. I circle the attribute when I think I have their power alley. When the attributes are really clear, I can actually envision the person interacting with specific team members.
My goal is to understand how the attributes support the skills set. It’s very helpful.
Thanks, Mike, for a great idea! Mike’s is a tool that will help keep you focused on the attribute patterns of a given candidate, and he’s doing exactly the right thing in envisioning how that profile fits the existing team.