Confidence Matters
A really impressive person called the other day. I wanted to learn about him and he wanted to learn about my company and my services.
As the call began, I asked the person on the other end of the phone what he was great at. In other words, I wanted to know right away what he was better at than anyone else in his building.
Most people can’t answer this question but this caller knew exactly and precisely what he was great at and what he wanted to do moving forward.
It’s rare that someone answers my question quickly, decisively and with clarity. I love it when they do because I know they’ll interview well if I can put them in front of one of my clients at some point in the future.
You can possess skills and talent but if your skills and talent are not packaged with confidence when you deliver, you may be passed over.
Jeff Snyder’s, Security Recruiter Blog and Jeff Snyder Coaching Blog, 719.686.8810
He Has a New CISO Role...What Will He Do First?
The CISO stepped into a new role in a new company. It was time for him to strategically plan what kinds of first impressions he was going to make.
In this new role, he needed to develop a strategy for managing up, across and down. The first group that needed his attention was the team he inherited. He had not hired anybody on his team. Each team member was in place when he arrived.
The last CISO’s performance left many people on the team sitting on the fence. Would they stay or would they go? They were all waiting to see how their new boss would be the same or how he might be different from their last boss.
Fortunately for the CISO, his strategic plan was far more of a plan than the plan most CISOs carry with them to a new employer. His plan looked like this.
· He worked with Jeff Snyder at Jeff Snyder Coaching to become super-clear about his own Strengths and just as clear about the areas where he might need help. Through Jeff’s Strengths Coaching, the CISO knew exactly and precisely what he had potential to be great at and where he needed to delegate.
· Not knowing anything about the team he inherited, he had each person on his team take a StrengthsFinder assessment to gain an instant understanding of how each of his team members was uniquely wired.
· The CISO worked with Jeff Snyder to gain an understanding of how his unique strengths would work well with his team member’s unique strengths. Just as important, the CISO wasted no time in discovering how his unique strengths might clash with some of his team member’s unique strengths.
· Now that the CISO understood how he was wired and how each of his team members was uniquely wired, he immediately scheduled one-on-one time with each member of his team. This was the smartest move he could have possibly made because the last CISO rarely invested time to communicate. Immediately, the CISO moved the fence sitters to a point where they decided to stick around to find out what the new CISO was all about. Instead of guessing as to which team member to delegate to, he delegated with a well-thought-out plan and immediately empowered people on his team.
· Over time, the CISO worked with each team member to put each person in the right position…a position that aligned best with each team member’s natural strengths.
· The CISO retained every team member he wanted to retain. For those who were not in the right positions and an appropriate role could not be created, the CISO helped each person who needed to find a new job to do so without them having to worry about repercussions.
· The CISO did everything he possibly could to engage with each and every member of the team he inherited. He got the right people in the right seats so everyone could deliver their best performance.
Why Won’t They Interview Me?
The email in my Inbox read like this.
“Unfortunately, to my surprise, I have had very little luck”
What this quote refers to is the lack of interview opportunities a job seeker is receiving when he sends his resume. I reviewed the job seeker’s approach and I know precisely why he isn’t having success. When I reviewed this person’s resume, I could not figure out what he was great at, what he had accomplished, what his contributions were and how he added value to his past employers in a matter of seconds.
According to research from www.theladders.com, the amount of time resume reviewers invest into reviewing resumes before forming a first impression of the candidate connected to the resume is down to 6 seconds.
There is very little time to form a first impression when sending a resume. There is very little time to register a first impression when someone opens and reviews your LinkedIn profile. Investing time to ensure that the first impressions you’re making are your best impressions could mean the difference between getting on the interview stage or not.
When my clients interview, more often than not, they’re interviewing for 6 figure positions. If a person is sitting at $120,000 today and they have an opportunity to interview for a position at $130,000, it makes sense for that person to do everything possible to be sure they’re registering the best first impression they can register.
Jeff Snyder Coaching, Resume Coaching, LinkedIn Profile Optimization, 719.686.8810
Are Your Employees Engaged or Disengaged?
Is the Command Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Command talent are part of a small group. Out of 34 traits that are measured in the StrengthsFinder assessment, Command comes in at 34 in frequency. Only 5% of people have Command in their Top 5 Traits or Strengths.
People who possess strong Command have presence. They naturally take control of a situation. They make decisions and they lead.
Command gifted people need to be in the driver’s seat. They need for things to be clear amongst other people. They are willing to speak up. They’ll share good to know, bad to hear news to give people a realistic idea of where they stand.
People with high Command do not shy away from confrontation. They can be direct and highly decisive. Command gifted people can inspire others to rise above their fears.
Command comes with a powerful high side to leverage if you have it. Command also comes with a powerful low side if you have it and you haven’t built a strategy to manage it properly.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is the Includer Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Includer talent are exceptionally skilled in the act of accepting others. They have an instinctive awareness that helps them to spot those who might be left out of a group.
Includers look for ways to make the circle of inclusion larger. Includers see everyone as being the same. Therefore, everyone should be included. Includers bring a high tolerance for acceptance and diversity to a group or team. Includers generally hate cliques.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is the Futuristic Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Futuristic talent are inspired by what they envision being just down the road. Futuristic people can inspire those around them when they share their visions of what could be in the future.
People who possess the Futuristic talent have the ability to see what is around the corner. They can often see what’s ahead in ways that other people cannot see.
The Futuristic talent enables those who have it to spot trends. People who have this talent can often see what’s just beyond the horizon.
Another word for Futuristic is Visionary. Companies look for vision in candidates when they hire to fill leadership roles.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is the Restorative Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Restorative talent are exceptionally capable when it comes to dealing with problems. They are instinctively gifted when it comes to determining what went wrong and what should be done to fix a problem.
Restorative people are energized by solving problems. People who are wired in this way can effectively deal with personal, professional, financial, systems problems and more. They are diagnostic experts who can deal with problems in a calm and collected manner.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is the Developer Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Developer talent are able to spot talent in others and they have an instinctive ability to know how to develop the potential that lies in others.
When a Developer gets to assist in developing another human being, this is one of the best experiences they can possibly have. Developers possess a selfless desire to help others succeed. Developers can often see talent in other people that those people don’t see in themselves.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is the Adaptability Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Adaptability talent are “right here”, “right now” kind of people. They embrace change and can implement change quickly. They are energized by chaotic situations because they have a unique ability to work their way around obstacles that chaotic situations tend to present.
Adaptability people aren’t swayed by sudden change or sudden requests for a change in direction. They prefer to go with the flow and they aren’t stopped by obstacles. Instead, they’ll figure out a way to work around what might be obstacles to other people.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Is Your Management Style Working?
This is one of many questions I ask when I meet a new hiring manager. One hiring manager I shared this question with proceeded to tell me that he likes to interact with his team as little as possible.
I asked a few more probing questions and quickly determined that placing people with this particular hiring manager might be a problem.
Is There A Problem Here?
Most of the candidates who would fit this hiring manager’s openings would be at the 7-12 year mark (give or take) in their career. People at this stage in their careers are Millennials.
Most (not all) Millennials prefer regular feedback from their coach. Notice I didn't say manager. Most Millennials would rather have a coach than a manager.
Millennials generally like to know where they stand and they like to know how they’re going to get to the next level.
The problem with the hiring manager’s hands-off; interact as little as possible approach is that his one size fits all approach to managing people would likely not fly with most of his Millennial-aged employees.
This issue is not unique to Millennials. I can’t really think of anyone from any generation who wants to work for a boss who is mostly absent.
A Solution
This hiring manager, he could benefit from coaching that addresses how to manage a multi-generational workforce. He would benefit by learning not his own strengths but also the strengths of each individual on his team.
Beyond simply learning about his strengths and the strengths of those around him, if this manager was willing to adjust his leadership style to match each person's unique needs (based on each person's unique strengths), he would find his leadership results changing significantly.
The benefits to this manager when he learns how to adjust his managerial approach would include the ability to attract more of the right kinds of candidates as well as a higher likelihood of retaining talent.
Is the Belief Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Belief talent have sound, unchanging core values that produce a well-defined purpose for their lives. People with strong Belief talents know where they stand and they know what they stand for.
Belief people are frequently purpose driven, mission driven, people driven and values driven. The consistency by which they live enables people who are gifted with the Belief talent to provide a strong foundation for their relationships.
People who are high in the Belief talent are people you can depend on. You’ll always know where they stand. They can often raise the ethical standards of those around them.
You can find out how you're uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of talents into strengths!
Jeff: Why Do You Write About Strengths So Often?
This is a simple question to answer
For a long time, psychologists focused their study on what’s wrong with people. Then they focused on trying to fix what’s wrong with people.
Don Clifton PhD came along and decided to focus on what’s right with people. This approach to psychology is a positive approach to psychology. His research led to the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment.
This assessment has now been taken by over 14,000,000 people around the world. The StrengthsFinder pinpoints unique talents each person possesses that would allow them to create their best performance if they simply knew what they had to work with and the knew how to leverage what they had in their bucket of talents.
The world is full of so much negativity and despair
In my pursuit of Strengths Coaching, I chose to pursue work that allows me to show my clients how they can figure out not just what they were built to do but I get to guide my clients in discovering how they can maximize their gifts to create their best performances.
Check Out What I Get To Do!
I'm able to blend my 26+ years of experience working as a talent agent for my clients with my understanding of strengths and how different strengths enable a person to excel at certain kinds of employment.
If everybody knew their unique strengths and if everybody knew how their unique strengths impacted those around them, the world would be a different place. I’m changing my world one client at a time and sometimes in groups!
Is the Analytical Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
People who are strong in the Clifton StrengthsFinder Analytical talent are people who have the ability to think about a large variety of factors that might impact a situation or a decision. They search for reasons and causes. They love to dig deep and they are stimulated by probing and asking questions.
Analytical people will frequently challenge others to prove their point. They don't just accept information as truth. They're likely to do research to verify the truth. People who are gifted with the Analytical talent are often perceived by other people as being logical and rigorous.
Analytical people usually have a passion for data. These people are particularly useful in situations where a high quality outcome is necessary or desired.
You can find out how you’re uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of strengths into leverage that comes out in your personal power!
Is the Strategic Talent one of your top Talents or Strengths?
The Clifton StrengthsFinder suggests that people who have the Strategic talent theme high on their list of talents / strengths are very good at sorting through clutter in order to find the best course of action.
When companies are in search of senior leadership, they are frequently in search of individuals who possess high levels of strategy in their unique makeup. With the Clifton StrengthsFinder, we can find out just how strategic a person is or is not.
People who have the Strategic talent high on their list of talents / strengths offer an instinctive ability to see patterns or trends. They are naturally gifted at finding the best means of moving forward. They can often see a way to move forward when others don’t see any options at all.
People who are gifted with the Strategic talent or strength often begin with the end in mind. In their minds, they see what a project looks like when it is finished and frequently start at the end and work backwards in order to get others on board with their strategic vision.
You can find out how you’re uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of strengths into leverage that comes out in your personal power!
They're Millennials...50% of the workforce by 2020
Strengths Coaching Leads To Clarity
A Corporate Security Leader's Coaching Testimonial
Is the WOO Talent one of Your Top Talents or Strengths?
The Clifton StrengthsFinder suggests that people who have the WOO (Winning Others Over) talent love the idea of meeting new people.
“They see no strangers – only friends they haven’t met yet.”
People who have WOO talent high on their list of talents / strengths bring energy to groups. They are especially gifted when it comes to drawing others out of their introverted shells.
You can find out how you’re uniquely wired and you can learn how to turn your unique set of strengths into leverage that comes out in your personal power!