WCA Leadership Summit Session 2: Bill Hybels, Patrick Lencioni, Henry Cloud, David Ireland, Carly Fiorina

Round table discussion on hiring, firing, and board meltdowns with Bill Hybels, Patrick Lencioni, Henry Cloud, David Ireland, Carly Fiorina.

Notes from the session follow.

Hiring

Funny video of a terrible hiring job.
Cultural fit is so important.
“If you haven’t been on a date in 10 years, anyone looks good.” -Henry Cloud.
Interviews are easily manipulated. See what they’re like in other situations.
Ask, “What would other people say about you?”
Ask the same question 3 times (not right in a row, but throughout the interview)
Ask probabitve, open ended questions questions… What are 2 or 3 weaknesses? How should we manage you?
Orgs with clear cultures attract people who fit the culture. People who don’t fit the culture wouldn’t want to be part of it. When you don’t have a culture, it’s difficult to do that.
Have an up front conversation about the expectations of the position.
Let the process do its work, don’t short-change it.
Better to not have a position filled than to have it filled by the wrong person.
There’s a DVD available with another hour from that discussion.

Relating to boards

Another funny video… horrid church board meeting.
Important for board to have its own culture and rules for how to operate.
You don’t have a family discussion with non-family members.
Retreat can be useful to build trust and build the culture of the board.
Take 10 minutes at the end of every meeting to ask, “How did we do?”
Demystifying boards – it’s a group of people, like any other group of people. Need to set ground rules. What do we do when we disagree? Do we decide on majority or concensous?
Select people to the board for the right reasons, not because they’ve been a member of the church for a long time or they’re faithful.
Ireland believes in term limits.
Hybels encountered board member exhaustion.
Willow has 4 year terms & then must step off.
An hour more of material from the discussion available on DVD.
Hybels: A plurality of people leading is usually better than 1. Some leaders don’t want the accountability of a board.

Firing

Video on firing
So often people think it’s compassionate to not be honest with them. Candor is one of the best gifts you can give someone. Be honest about what’s working and what’s not working.
A firing should never be a surprise.
Managers should be giving people constant feedback so they know when they need to improve or are in jeopardy of losing their job.
Ireland tries retraining, reposition, before retiring
Hybels – Least popular thing I’ve done is a twice a year grading system – A, B, C. Gives clarity.
Fiorina- The system is no substitute for the conversation (honest ones about performance)
Most people don’t how to do hard, confrontational conversations
Good idea to have 2 evaluators for perspective.
Not firing poorly performing people demotivates the entire team.
Tell people up front the process being used in downsizing staff for financial reasons. The more certainty and clarity you can give the better.
The kindest form of management is the truth.
Another hour from this discussion available on DVD