The old adage is that when you hire a new person to take on some of your workload, things get worse before they get better. This is very true.
But, assuming the new person has true potential*, the work, effort and time is well worth it. How do I know this? Read on.
I’ve interviewed and hired many people over my career. There are a very few times when I know I have found a “slam dunk”. My slam dunks have never been wrong. All my slam dunks have proven to be excellent hires.
But these are rare. More often, you hire a person who seems like they have potential, and it turns out they are not what you expected.
In my own experience, many of my hires, if given sufficient time and mentorship, have proven to be more than worth it. The problem? It takes more time than you want to admit.
I find that it takes as much as two years before a person who has potential reaches that potential. But the end result is worth it.
I know that it seems, in the moment, like things will never work out with people. But if you slow down, take the time, and have confidence in your own ability to mentor people, it will work out and your team will be far better for it.
But how can we actually successfully find and mentor people?
Be prepared to fail - fail fast fail often is a great idea - hire people and some will be great, and some will suck - keep the greats and fire the sucks
Use radical candor - this concept emerged from Google in the early 2000’s - the idea is that people want feedback - but they want constructive, direct feedback - they do not want empathy, they do want passive aggressive, they want direct, real feedback so they know where they stand (it is worth learning more about radical candor - see https://chatgpt.com/share/67ac010d-e5c8-8003-8fa0-eaf008699797)
Care about the person - what are their dreams, their needs, what is important to them - spend time with them to get to know them - but be genuine
Ask them what they need
Ask them what you can do to help them succeed
Trust your gut - my biggest mistake in my career has been not firing people soon enough
Get some consensus - every company has a small set of people who make the company work - ask them about the employee you are mentoring. If appropriate, ask your clients who work with the employee for feedback
The end result of this is that even though you will spend tons of time mentoring people, that time will pay off if you find the right people, fire people who should not be part of your company, and have the patience to give people what they need to succeed. There is few experiences bettet than seeing a person reach their potential and help you and your company succeed.
* Potential - a person with potential is someone who has at least some amount of many of these traits:
Ability – Natural or developed skills that can be refined.
Curiosity – A drive to learn and grow.
Resilience – The ability to overcome setbacks.
Adaptability – Willingness to change and improve.
Vision – A sense of direction or ambition.
Work Ethic – The dedication to put in effort.
Creativity – The ability to think in new ways.
Emotional Intelligence – Awareness of themselves and others.
Confidence – A belief in their ability to succeed.
Discipline – The ability to stay focused and consistent.
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