When it comes to hiring, the terms recruitment and talent acquisition may seem synonymous and can be used interchangeably. While they may be for certain sectors, organizations today lean more towards acquiring talent because the process focuses more on attracting and hiring high-potential individuals instead of merely filling a vacancy.
When an organization has a talent mindset, it recognizes that it’s better for the company long-term to hire for character than to train for skill. And that character is not to be confused with personality or likeability. Candidates with the right characters are the ones that can be trained for hard skills. Here are the nine character attributes of talent that are predictors of high-performance:
1. Curiosity
Curious characters are drivers of change. These are the people who ask the right questions that lead to innovation and improvement.
2. Drive
A person with drive pushes themselves thanks to an innate desire to always be on top. They’re hungry for competition and seek challenges. With a desire to improve themselves, a driven person takes risks.
3. Emotional Strength
In times of disruption, change, and stress, emotionally strong individuals have the right attitude to survive. This is thanks to their increased self-awareness which leads to high empathy and a strong grasp of their emotions. You can identify emotional strength in people who show positive attitudes consistently.
4. Effective Intelligence
An individual with effective intelligence can use their natural and developed capabilities to learn quickly while performing instinctively. High intelligence isn’t always an indicator that the person is likely to succeed, particularly if they lack other attributes such as emotional intelligence, humility, and the ability to work with a team.
5. Resiliency
An individual with high resiliency recovers quickly from unexpected and challenging environments. Stress does not consume them as their mindset prepares them for the realities of failure but also for the process of recovery.
6. Adaptability
Adaptability is not to be confused with resiliency. If resiliency is the willingness and flexibility to change, adaptability can adjust according to the situation.
7. Integrity
A person with integrity knows what is right, aligning their beliefs with their words and their actions. Integrity is a learned trait, which can be modeled by parents, teachers, and leadership.
8. Team-ability
Silos rarely succeed. The highest performing teams are the ones whose people value teamwork and collaboration.
9. Humility
A person with humility accepts feedback and is willing to learn. They do not put themselves above others regardless of their high levels of intelligence, skill, and experience.
Because character is ingrained and not something that can be easily taught, the talent acquisition team may find it challenging to identify candidates that have these characteristics. Therefore, interviewers should be changing their strategies and avoiding traditional questions. Questions should be framed so that the focus is on revealing high-potential character attributes.
As a former CEO and COO, I have built leaders and their teams for over 30 years. I now count top organizations among my grateful clients.
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