Transcript:
So the last critical mistake, #5, if you’re making it, that can really sabotage your growth efforts with your team and in your hiring? It’s something I really want you to think hard about. And that is, “How thorough is too thorough?”
Now, what am I talking about? What I’m talking about is this:
When you list out the day-to-day responsibilities of a particular role, are you hitting all of the high notes along with a few of the additional responsibilities or a few suggestions on how the role may evolve over time? Or do you have a laundry list as long as your arm about every possible thing that person could be doing in this role?
And I understand again where this comes from, because a lot of us got to these leadership positions because of our attention to detail. And that attention to detail can lead us to being perfectionists, and letting that inner perfectionist sort of take command, which ends up giving us this long bullet-point list of every possible thing that person could possibly be doing.
Not only do they need to be an individual contributor … but they might need to make some phone calls … and they probably will have some management responsibilities … and they need to be a leader … and they might have to mentor some people … but they might also have to learn from some people.
They could have to attend some workshops on occasion … and maybe on Fridays every once in a while they’ll have to get lunch … and there’ll be a meeting on Thursdays to decide what they’re going to have for lunch on Fridays …
I’m using some ridiculous examples, but you’ve seen these job ads.
You’ve seen these materials that lay out every-second-of-every-day, and what that ends up doing is overwhelming your potential ideal candidate.
Once again, just like listing too many skills and too many “Must-haves.” Being overly thorough in the interest of being thorough can be a huge detriment to what you’re trying to get across, to that message that you’re trying to convey to the ideal candidate.
So think about how you can describe — in an engaging and inviting way — the real nature and the overall sense of just what the role entails, without overwhelming and disengaging with your ideal candidate.