In my current position, I sit on many interview panels for both my
facility and peer facilities throughout our region. Judging others has become my life’s
work. If those readers with whom I
attended school can kindly refrain from smirking and just say, “bless his
heart” and move on with your day, it would be much appreciated.
Everyone has
skills. Some skills are awesome, some are
not; some used for good, some for evil, but we all have them. Most times, people use skills learned at work
only at work and those learned outside of work only outside of work. I think we are selling ourselves short by not
finding new, creative uses of our skills.
For example, I use Lean processes at home to make my shopping trips as
efficient as possible. In preparation for the grocery store, I list the needed
items in the order I will come across them in the store, saving myself steps
and time. I am Lean like Toyota,
people.
As much as I try to be a good executive and always make
the best hiring decisions, I know there are those who don’t seem equipped to
make good choices. I say this only as I
see people making bad choices and I feel as if they simply don’t know the best
way. With this information, I thought I
would share some of my expertise and the interesting genesis of this different
way of thinking.
As you know I began
working with the Miss America system when I was in college at MUW. I began as Assistant Student Director and
have since served as a Local Director, State Judge and State Trainer. When I was still in Mississippi, I attended
Miss America Judge’s Training with a multitude of fantastic people with
gravity-defying hairdos and exceptional outfits. To clarify, Miss America is not, I repeat
NOT, Miss USA which Donald Trump used to own.
I feel the need to distance this blog and my reputation from anything as
gaudy and gold-plated as The Donald.
Miss America
Judge’s Training teaches you not to compare the contestants to each other. Instead you compare each contestant to the
ideal contestant, whatever it may be for you; speaking ability, critical
thinking skills, musical talent, ability to levitate, etc. This way each contestant is judged according
to how well they measure up to the ideal.
This is important.
For example, if
you wanted someone on your trivia team who would help compel you to the winner’s
circle, you would choose someone with significant knowledge of useless
information, wouldn't you? However, if
you were to compare The Dad to my sister, she would know more than he about
trivia, so you’d pick her. The Dad’s
answer to any and all trivia questions are “Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood or
Leave me alone!” My sister would seem to be the best of that particular
group, right?
Let’s look at the facts: my sister thinks Chevy Chase and Bill Murray
look so much alike she can’t remember which one is which, just that she likes
neither. She calls Jack Black, “That
ugly, greasy, not funny guy. What’s his
name? Adam something?” When describing most movies she says “You
know that guy? The one with the face? No, not him, the other one. The one with the hair I don’t like. You know the one who looks like the other one
in that movie that I thought I liked but remembered I didn’t?” She will not help you win trivia. By the way, she was talking about Hugh Grant.
You should always pick the best; not just the best of
the bunch, because your bunch might be a big ol’ mess. I’m just saying. Judge
not lest ye be judged are definitely words to live by, however, since you were
judged in order to get your job, feel free to judge others from the perspective
of selecting a candidate for a job. I
feel sure Jesus is okay with it, in this context.
I use the Miss America training to help me pick the
best candidate. If I am looking for
someone who is skilled at critical thinking, I will choose the person most
similar to my ideal critical thinker. If
no one in a group of applicants comes close to the ideal, I simply choose no
one and re-advertise for the position. I
would rather be alone than regretful.
Of course, I realize there are situations where you don’t
have the luxury of time, but it doesn’t mean you still can’t look at your
options more critically to ensure you are getting the best people on your
team. No one is perfect, except Jesus,
but He’s not applying to work at your business.
He should already be there, in your heart. If He’s not in your heart, we can help you,
heathen, but not in that judgy, interviewy, pageanty way. Bless your
heart.
