The Value of ‘Teachable Spirit with Empathy’

It was an unforgiving Virginia snowstorm, and Eric Rosenfeldt’s preferred candidate for a critical job opening was supposed to be en route. Would he make it? The snow dumped so heavily Rosenfeldt thought the candidate might not bother to come at all.

But witnessing the effort and resolve the candidate undertook traveling some 500 miles from Boston spoke volumes to Rosenfeldt, now the CEO of Houston-based water treatment company Magna Imperio Systems (MI Systems).

“That experience was probably more valuable than any question I asked him over the next eight hours we spent together,” Rosenfeldt told MSH CEO and Founder Oz Rashid on the “Hire Learning” podcast.

Successful hires like that one makes Rosenfeldt a firm believer in emotional intelligence.

“There is no more important characteristic in the workplace right now,” said Rosenfeldt, who took the CEO position two years ago after nearly 20 years in the energy industry.

It is also what attracted him to MI Systems in the first place.

“You start to draw on their (employees’) passion and what drives them day in and day out,” Rosenfeldt said.

MI Systems’ water treatment technology aims at tackling water sustainability across industries. The company works with municipalities in water-scarce regions on recycling and desalinization, while it also partners with industrial customers to recover wastewater onsite.

Rosenfeldt considers the hiring process a way to identify the specific characteristics that he wants the company to cultivate and embody. He looks for hires that demonstrate trust, quality, accountability and common purpose, as well as having what he terms a “teachable spirit with empathy,” among other qualities.

“I invested in the people,” said Rosenfeldt, who backed the company before coming on as CEO. “That’s the reason why: When you’re at a late-venture, early-growth stage, you’re betting on people.”

While a prospective candidate’s previous experience is obviously crucial, Rosenfeldt believes that managers need to dig deep during the interview process to understand whether a candidate aligns with the company’s values.

“Don’t underestimate the value of culture … it is critical and really hard to create that culture,” Rosenfeldt added. “It’s a journey as you go through different lifecycles of the business.”