Character over capability
BREWYD recently conducted a review on the High Performance Talent Identification and Development (TID) system in Triathlon in Australia. We looked at all the components that need to be measured and identified, determining the best time in an athlete’s life to do the evaluations.
TID is a complex combination of science and art. But with all the interviews conducted it was clear, with even the most avid sports scientists agreeing - whilst capability is essential, character is king.
So why is it that the Australian sports TID systems are performance based and not person based? Because it’s hard.
In business we have exactly the same issues when we’re selecting people for roles. The majority of organisations will look at skills and experience, rather than the intrinsic personality traits that will contribute to the role, the team and the organisation.
Simply put, when shifting to a traits based approach, organisations will be looking for people that will be able to take full advantage of the skills that they have. The outcome? These people will be your top performers.
Some organisations might look at the traits required by the role, some might look at the organisational culture fit, but high performance is also deeply rooted in the diversity of the team – and we don’t just mean diversity or gender, the colour of their skin or where they were born. We’re talking about so much more.
At BREWYD we use tools developed by Red Bull and an expert team of psychology professors from University College London and Columbia University New York. Using these tools, we help organisations understand how to select talent based on character with the following principals:
- Firstly, conduct a study of your top performers as individuals AND teams. What strengths do they have that contribute to their performance and what does the construct of the team look like?
- Then look at the way you are interviewing for these roles. Do you know how to identify the traits that you need for the role? Do you know what gaps you are looking to fill in a team when it comes to traits?
- Then ensure that during the probationary period, you aren’t just reviewing performance every month, but you also treat this time as a long-term interview where you continue to review the traits you identified to ensure you were right during those initial conversations
- And it’s important to remember that strengths look great on a good day, but they can lead to chaos on a bad day so look out for these behaviours as well
This is likely to be a very big change in the way that you identify talent, especially if you work in the Australian Public Sector where roles are filled with cookie cutter profiles.
At BREWYD we work with you on how you identify talent from a process point of view, as well as show you how to progress the change through your business one step at a time. We help you marry the science and the art.
Finally, a helpful tip from the All Blacks when it comes to building your team: No Dickheads. No one is bigger than the team.
Simple really.
