Posted

Smarter-than0you_July2016

 

From Bill Gates to Steve Jobs, most top executives have made no bones about hiring people smarter than them.

Smart people add value to your company, and hiring managers need to put their own egos aside in order to see that and embrace it. Furthermore, a prosperous business is one that stresses constant learning and sharing of expertise, as those actions contribute to higher performance, greater passion, and more engagement.

Pooling collective expertise is the fastest way to boost the productivity of an entire business. Top leaders are always pushing their employees to spread their knowledge and be open to what other people may know.

Put egos aside

It all starts with company leaders taking an honest assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.

On a personal level, it is important that you consider the fact that you have blind spots when it comes to assessing job candidates, and you must be able to trust others around you to compensate for those blind spots. Realize that IQ isn’t everything, and bringing in someone with a higher IQ doesn’t mean you’re handing leadership over to that individual.

Ultimately, you must be able to trust someone with more expertise so that they can share original opinions and ideas, allowing for better decision making.

Bringing in outside opinions

An honest assessment of your skills should reveal your potential to assess job candidates. If your expertise or skills are lacking with respect to understanding what a job requires, you should consider bringing in someone with more expertise into the hiring process. That could mean either someone within the company or an outside advisor.

Build a recruitment network

Highly intelligent job seekers aren’t just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs as they wait by the phone. Often, they either engrossed in their own personal academics or they are currently being employed by another company. These folks aren’t necessarily seeking out a job, but they’re open to the right offer if it comes along. They are what we often refer to as ‘passive candidates.’

An effective way to access these passive candidates is to have your own employee refer them to you. Having a great workplace culture is a step in that direction. So is promoting employee loyalty.

Once you have built an environment that attracts top talent, you can help your employees spread the word using your company’s social media channels.

Break down barriers to change

The biggest obstacle to increasing your organization’s brain power is fear. On the personal level, it’s the fear of ceding leadership to someone who seems brighter. On the organizational level, it’s the fear of change. For instance, the idea to build an enthusiastic culture might be countered by fears of “coddling employees.”

While some fears are legitimate concerns, leaders in an organization need to honestly weigh the potential benefits of bringing in more top performers.

At Cornerstone, we specialize in connecting businesses with the best and the brightest. If your company is looking for a custom talent acquisition solution, please contact us online today.

 

CTA_See-What-Cornerstone-Can-Do

 


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *