The #1 Employee Skill High-Performing Businesses Hire

"Where there's a will, there's a way." ~ My Mom, every single day of my childhood

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We learned to stretch our dollars and pinch our pennies, but one of the most important skills my single mom taught me and my siblings was how to be RESOURCEFUL.

(Her definition of resourceful also meant saving every Cool Whip container, you know, "just in case!" But I digress...).

• Want something badly enough? Do whatever it takes!
• Short on resources? Leverage what you have; find what you need!
• Circumstances not as you expected? Figure out a way!

Nothing is more time-, money- and energy-sucking than someone who can't push past challenges or figure out how to solve problems.

This is why RESOURCEFULNESS is a key predictor of success in work and life and one of the most important skills to hire and develop (yes, it is developable!).

>> So how do you hire and develop this critical work-life skill? <<

TRY ASKING THIS IN YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW

Add this question to your interview checklist (or as an exercise in your next team meeting!). You can adjust the scenario to fit the position you're hiring:

"Your car breaks down on the way to work. It's 8:45am. You have an appointment scheduled with a client at 9am. What do you do?"

How they respond will reveal their ability to creatively solve problems, how they operate under pressure, their communication skills, and even their personality and candor!

But here's the catch, even when you hire someone who seems gritty and resourceful, you will need to train them on what resourcefulness looks like in practice - specific to your business, industry, and service. *This is especially important for employees with less professional experience.

TWO WAYS TO DEVELOP RESOURCEFULNESS WITH YOUR TEAM

1. Recognize and Reward Resourcefulness:

When an employee demonstrates resourcefulness, celebrate them in front of the team and encourage them to share how they worked through the challenge.

Showcasing peers in real-time provides training-by-example and reinforces positive behaviors you want to see.

2. Operationalize Resourcefulness

This is just a fancy way of saying, "resourcefulness is a standard we expect, encourage, and empower." We're a "do whatever it takes" kind of company!

One way to build this culture of resourcefulness is to create systems that require the skill. The simplest start is with your system for employee suggestions and feedback.

Many leaders make the mistake of allowing employees to voice problems or challenges, which seems like an open-door for good communication. But if employees only bring problems, who ends up solving them? Yes. The owner/manager. This is exhausting, throttles the business, and can perpetuate micromanaging, distrust, and a culture of all talk but no action. Not good.

Instead, institute a feedback system that requires employees to think through the problem, offer solutions, and gives them the opportunity to take ownership to see it through. This turns a problem-focused culture into a solution-focused culture which directly impacts the bottomline (a leader's dream)!

A simple suggestion/feedback form that includes places to provide possible solutions, explain how it will improve the business/client experience/employee experience, costs and resources required to implement, as well as asking if they are willing to take ownership.

[Want my Employee Suggestion Form template? Send me a note or comment and I'll get it to you!]

In Summary:

1. Hire resourceful, solution-focused individuals (even over technical skills).
2. Create a culture of, "We do whatever it takes!"
3. Develop your team's impact skills like resourcefulness. My IGNITE360 employee performance accelerator program will do just this for you
4. Make sure YOU are an example of grit and resourcefulness!

Let's build a gritty, do-whatever-it-takes kind of team!

#employeedevelopment #worklife #softskills #learninganddevelopment #businessowner #leadership #management #professionaldevelopment