No VP Consideration for Hillary?
No sooner had Barack Obama announced the selection of Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) as his running mate than many in the media, with the smiling support of Republican operatives, were chirping about Senator Hillary Clinton having been dissed by the lack of consideration for the job. The question on the minds of many was/is, “why didn’t Obama at least show her some respect by vetting her, even if he wasn’t going to consider her for the position?”
While I don’t know and really don’t care what was on Senator Obama’s mind, I do know that there is a larger lesson here for those of us who daily interview people (or not) for positions on our team. The lesson is this: Gratuitously inflating a person’s hopes by putting them through a sham interview process, or otherwise wasting their time is one of the most disrespectful things you can do to them. Moreover, very few of us have the acting talent to pull off such a charade, hence doing so also imperils your reputation for authenticity.
In the early days of FedEx, company founder Fred Smith called me one afternoon to tell me that, though I had been recommended for a vacant VP position, he already had his mind pretty well made up, and I wasn’t on the “short list” this time around. He added that he had, however, noticed my work and felt sure that my time would come. I thanked him for his candor and kind words about my work, and went about my business, feeling good about what had just happened.
Over the years, I have tried to show similar respect to people who have expressed interest in a position on my team. In many cases, after telling a person that I’m not going to create false hope or disrespect them by putting them through a phony interview, I have asked if we could instead spend some time talking about their interests so that I might get to know them better. Most of them seemed to appreciate it. To me, that type of “courtesy interview” is more productive, and a lot more courteous.
A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com
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