Sunday, May 4, 2014

Quote-A-Day: Day 124

needs to be just as much about the , as it does the .

When we hire, we have to stop thinking about hiring to fill a position, and instead we have to focus on hiring to build a community, or forge a direction.  This difference might seem small on the surface, but it yields a major visionary change for most current leadership.

When we hire to fill a position, we hire from a reactionary standpoint.  We know we have a teacher, or teaching assistant, or assistant superintendent leaving, and because we need someone to take on that role, we're hiring.

Contrast that with hiring for certain characteristics, methods, and vision.  When we hire for the future, yes, we might still need a high school science teacher, but we aren't so much concerned with filling an FTE as we are with what this person will really do for students, staff, and the community-at-large.

This visionary shift also has implications for the way the hiring process is done.  Gone can be the standard questions that yield no real answers.  In their place can be fluid interviewing, where the questions asked don't have to be static, and can be tailored directly to the person, so we might learn more about him/her

This is information that can't be covered with a cookbook answer to a cookbook question.

We can also begin asking applicants to "do" more throughout the process.  We don't necessarily need to focus on seeing as many people as we can in a short period of time.  If we're focused on more than just filling a position, we can do more legwork on the front end, reduce our hiring pool, and truly run applicants through the rigorous process we want all to experience.  Nothing says we can't ask prospective assistant superintendents to run a "mock" curriculum leaders meeting or a potential instructional technology specialist to pitch a purchase for a tool that the school/district needs.

One of the best responses we can get after someone goes through the hiring process (regardless of whether they are hired or not) isn't just the staple "Thank You" card.  It's a response that expands beyond that, where we're thanked not only for the opportunity, but for providing one of the deepest and most expansive hiring experiences yet.

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