I once blogged about leadership and the idea of “Top Grading.” It’s the title of a book that Bradford Smart wrote in 2005. It is full of insights on how to hire, develop and keep “A” players on your team. A quick summary of the value of “A” players is:
- You don’t save money by settling for low-quality hiring and fixed pay scales.
- Instead, you should focus on the value “A” players bring to their roles.
- Having a team of “A” players makes your job easier and more fun.
- Having a team of “A” players helps your organization succeed faster.
- Consider the true cost of weak performance and having to replace failure.
- The cost of hiring failure is calculated at 15 X base salary (opportunity cost).
Resourcefulness is Key
Today, I want to focus on a major concept that Bradford Smart brings up in the book. Smart says that resourcefulness is the new “meta” competency in team members. Think about it. Because information is ubiquitous, you no longer need people who know a lot. Information is readily available. You can search and find answers to almost any problem if you know where to look. That’s why the virtue of “resourcefulness” is now the most important skill to find and hire. I’m speaking of team members who know how to find answers; ones who can identify and solve problems because they can find solutions far beyond the walls of your workplace. Resourceful team members:
- Can comprehend the key problems that slow down progress.
- Search for and find ideas they can connect to those problems.
- Are able to develop a series of solutions to the problems.
- Have the ability to modify and implement the best solutions.
These are the kind of team members we are hiring at Growing Leaders. We have both seasoned veterans and young team members who possess this skill. They are resourceful as they connect ideas, create new systems, and find ideas others have used somewhere else, then tweak them for our organization. They are priceless.
One additional thought. As I review this key virtue with our leadership team, I am reminded of one more valuable commodity. In addition to resourcefulness, I believe the competency of resilience is key as well. The speed and convenience that mark our culture have diminished the virtue of resilience. People give up too easily. We don’t like problems that take too long or require too much effort to solve.
So, with every new team member, look for resourcefulness and resilience. When you find them, hire them.
