Julie had her reservations.  She wasn’t sure if this guy was right for the job.  Over my first 18 months on the job, Julie always spoke with candor, and she seemed to be a good judge of people.

But, I didn’t listen.  I convinced myself, and then her, that this guy was right for the job.   I made a good case. With some skepticism, she finally agreed. So, I hired him.

Within 90 days, I knew I was in trouble.  I should have listened to Julie.

My Un-Resume

It turns out my instincts about this guy had been wrong.  His arrogance soon alienated him from both his customers and the rest of our team.  When I would coach him, his face would turn crimson red.  He would argue with me and blame others for his problems.

Our company had a rigid performance management process that I had to follow.  I could not just tell him I had made a mistake and fire him.  It took another 6 months to move him out.  But, the damage to my team and my relationship to Julie lasted longer.

3 Reasons I Didn’t Listen

Reason #1:  I Had A Deadline

I wanted to get this guy into the next scheduled training class.  The sooner he was in training, the sooner he would be in the field selling.  The company measured the number of days a territory was empty.  I wanted to look good and make my boss happy.  Bad decision! 

Revelation #1:  A deadline is a terrible excuse for doing a bad job.

While hiring deadlines come and go, bad hire’s come and stay!  I may have lost 30 days if I had listened to Julie.  But, I lost 8 months by paying attention to a deadline.

After this experience, I did not let deadlines imposed by the training department or my boss get in the way of hiring the best person.  I found that sort of external pressure made me hire the best person I’d seen that day, versus the best person for the job.

I did have to fight my bosses a few times and explain my delays in hiring. But, most of the time they understood.  Sometimes the best candidate doesn’t show up before a deadline.  I needed to have the courage to wait and the faith to know the right person was out there.

Reason #2:  I Was Good At Interviewing.

I am a good interviewer.  People had told me I was really good in a 90 minute interview. I ask great questions and can often get people to tell me things about their past they had not told their spouses.

Unfortunately I put too much stock in my instinct and my interviewing skills.  I did not give Julie’s opinion the weight it deserved.  Big Mistake!

Revelation #2:  I needed to trust others.

I brought Julie into the process because she was good at her job, she was a leader and she was discerning.  I ignored all three of those attributes because Julie was not able to give me specific feedback.

When she told me she wasn’t sure he was right for the job, she wasn’t able to give me any specifics.  She told me she saw something in him that made her uneasy. But, she could not explain what it was.  On the other hand, I had plenty of reasoned arguments for offering the job to him.

When I asked Julie to evaluate this candidate, I told her that I trusted her judgment and believed in her.  When I ignored her advice, I demonstrated to her and the whole team that I did not trust her.  As a result, it hurt my trust with all of them.

Since that time, if one person in the hiring process ever has reservations, I listen.  Each time I have stopped the process and reassessed, the red flags found by others saved us all months of heartache.

Reason #3:  I Was In Charge.

I believed I had a good grasp on what was best for my team.  Honestly, I thought Julie was just overreacting.  This was my decision.  I needed to act decisively.

Arrogance and insecurity are often two sides of the same coin. 

I did need to act decisively.  Unfortunately, I acted decisively because I NEEDED ME TO ACT DECISIVELY.

The sad but true fact was I needed to prove something to myself.  I needed to prove I had better judgment than my subordinates.  I wanted to be able to say, “I told you so.”  Bad Leadership!

Revelation #3:  Leaders Can Be Wrong

I thought I was showing weakness if I changed direction due to the advice of one of my people.  I believed a strong leader acted decisively.

Unfortunately, I had spent a total of 2 hours with the candidate. While Julie had him work with her for almost 8 hours.

Even though Julie spent 4 times as much time with him than I did, I was still the best judge of his character?  Really?   My arrogance as a leader caused me to believe I had better judgment than one of my most trusted people.

In reality, what I thought was strength was actually my weakness.  I became a stronger leader when I was able to accept counsel from my team.  As soon as I realized I did not have the market cornered on wisdom, I became wiser!

To read another blog on the topic of Humility click on the following title:

Six Reasons I Like Humble People

The Bottom Line:

If I had listened to someone I claimed to have trusted, my team would have been better,  my relationship with Julie would not have taken a hit, and I would not have had to deal with the nightmare of working within the HR system to fire my bad hire.

My need to meet a deadline and my arrogance hurt others.  I even hurt the individual I hired and fired.  That was 8 months of his life he wasted because I did not listen.

Don’t get me wrong, every piece of advice I get is not good advice.  I must first determine who my trusted advisors are.  Then, I must take the time to listen, evaluate and act based on their advice.

They will not always be right, but they will always be trusted.  I show them I trust them by listening and not assuming I always know better.

Question:

When could you have listened to others better?