The Power of the Pivot
pivot (verb): to adapt or improve by justifying or modifying something
As we round the corner into the final quarter of 2024, the employment landscape continues to surprise us.
Some sectors are still chronically understaffed. Others are engaging in mass layoffs. Workplace needs and trends seem to shift: Some companies are moving their teams to permanent remote status; others are pulling hybrid workers back into the office full time. Employee expectations are changing rapidly, as the generational weight in the workplaces tilts baby boomers toward retirement and millennials and Gen Z takes their place. While political and economic uncertainty might not directly impact every company, the specter of unease can permeate organizational culture.
It’s a tough time to be a leader. And change management is not new. We coach lots of corporate clients on fundamental ways to get it right (see my April 2023 blog). If your organization is facing a major change (layoffs, understaffing, location changes, mergers, leadership transitions, shifting goals and duties, etc.), contact us.
Today, however, I want to talk about the power of the pivot. This concept applies to the workplace in many ways: I see pivots as intentional turns, a change in technique, applied with meaning and knowledge. A pivot is planned; sometimes change is unexpected.
Deciding to pivot a strategy or process can be small but have company- and culture-wide impacts. Here are three key pivots we’ve seen our clients benefit from immediately:
Companies don’t have time to hire the wrong people. Hiring managers feel pressure to hire the right person the first time. There’s a lot riding on the interview. And yet so many interviews don’t actually reveal how a candidate will perform after they’re hired. One easy pivot that I help my clients develop is behavioral interviewing techniques.
Behavioral interviewing asks candidates questions about their specific performance in the past as a predictor of future behavior. Too often, interviewers ask hypothetical questions (“What would you do to solve conflict between two direct reports?”) or vague questions (“What is your approach to managing conflict between employees?”).
Behavioral interview questions sound like this:
- Tell me about a time you had to manage conflict between two of your direct reports. What did you do? What was the result?
- Describe a time you had to shift your strategy because of an unexpected change. What was the situation? How did it turn out?
- Talk about a time you had to manage a project with multiple deadlines. What steps did you take to organize it? Did you achieve the deadlines?
Past behavior is one of the strongest predictors of future performance, according to organizational psychologists. Asking specific questions about a candidate’s previous experiences gives you valuable insight into how they’ve managed situations in the past, rather than allowing them to talk about what they would ideally do in a situation.
We work with human resources teams and hiring managers to develop behavioral interviewing questions that give you as much information as possible about the candidate so you can make a sound decision the first time.
If your company or team is experiencing high turnover or disengaged, unmotivated, underperforming staff, this pivot is all about going deeper into your approach to employee engagement. We know that great benefits and job perks attract new candidates and can keep people at their jobs longer. But to keep people engaged in their daily work and wellbeing of their team? That requires an entirely different toolbox.
Enter The Predictive Index. This science-backed and data-driven tool provides insight into each individual employee’s behavior and potential. It provides supervisors with specific information about each employee: how they communicate, how they want to receive feedback, their quirks, their caution areas, their behavioral tendencies, their potential.
Not only does PI provide a helpful roadmap for supervisors, its tools can also be used to diagnose challenges among teams and increase authentic teamwork.
PI is a global solution that is hyper-local to your specific organization and need. That’s where Anna Mason Consulting comes in. We provide subscriptions for businesses of all sizes; offer team-based workshops using your own PI data; and provide consulting pages to help you implement and leverage the power of PI.
Often, leaders are so busy with the day-to-day drive of directing, managing, and producing that they unintentionally lose perspective. Or they let 1:1 supervision with their direct reports slide when there’s an urgent priority or an immediate challenge.
This pivot is about the power of moving from subjective to objective, and the role that consistency plays in long-term success. We know that leaders, particularly middle managers, are stressed, squeezed, and burned out. It’s tough to lead from that mindset. By bringing in an objective, third-party coach, managers can stay accountable to their strategy and goals. The coach creates a supportive environment that allows leaders to set goals and explore strategies for moving beyond current challenges and into a desired future state.
Plus, a workplace coach can drive consistency when managers’ plates get too full. (I’m a little obsessed with consistency. It’s the secret sauce of great leadership.)
These three pivots are not total direction changes. They are intentional moves and steadying forces that can help you understand the rapidly changing employment landscape, navigate change within your organization, and create long-term stability and success.