A few years ago, my daughter came home with Harley, a fish that she saved from certain death in her science class experiment. Reviewing the saga of Harley in a Fish Bowl and Harley in a Fish Bowl continued gave me a great reminder about the power of investing in your employees. I am sad to report that Harley is now swimming in the fish bowl in the sky after a long, productive life at the Smith house… May he rest in peace.
After the fish bowl was thoroughly drained and cleaned, it sat on our kitchen counter for a few weeks. Finally, I said, “Let’s get rid of the fish bowl. There is no reason to have it without a fish in it.” My family’s response was noncommittal, so the fish bowl continued to sit on the kitchen counter. I tried again asking, “Should we move the fish bowl?” Still no response. Then, recently out of the blue, Randy says to Katy, “Let’s go get a fish.” She screamed “YES!” and they scurried out of the house. One hour later, we had Coby, short for cobalt, a blue betta who is now swimming in the fish bowl on the counter.
All too often, we may need to quickly remove an employee. We tell ourselves that we HAVE to have that desk filled ASAP, and we frantically start looking for a butt for that seat. This can (and often does) lead to poor hiring decisions. To find the A-list employee that is ideal for the position, there must be space between the old employee that left and the new one that is coming in; the fish bowl must remain empty for a period of time. Don’t rush into anything new until you are ready. Take the time to contemplate and explore the options: Maybe you don’t need that position any more, or maybe that position should morph into something else. Or maybe, just maybe, it is time to hire the absolute BEST employee EVER! When you give it space and time, you and your team get the opportunity to review the job description, determine the ideal candidate… and only THEN begin to search for the next employee.
This newsletter is dedicated to Harley, who provided hours of entertainment and fodder for my most read blogs. RIP Harley!