It’s literal meaning – the perception of beauty is subjective.
At ISSG, we’re curious to know how this proverb applies to executives as they look to bring in new talent – and think you might be too! This the first in a series of blogs/interviews with Senior Executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership.
Our initial discussion was with Manish Sharma. Manish is the Accenture BusinessProcess Outsourcing (BPO) Delivery and Solution Development Lead, heading up BPO Global Delivery operations, solutions and mobilization. In this role, he leads over 55,000 professionals in more than 50 delivery centers across five continents. He also serves as a member of Accenture’s Global Leadership Council.
LJ: What are the primary characteristics that you will be looking for with new hires that did not play a significant role in hiring previously?
MS: I think there are 2 key things we are looking for candidates today that we weren’t focusing on earlier.
The first is a drive towards innovation. If you think about the BPO industry earlier it was all about predictability, operational discipline and process excellence. Now, we have moved far beyond that. Today we want our employees to be innovative in how they approach their work; to look at a client’s business processes, and be ingenious in the change we can bring about. So a drive towards innovation is a really important quality for a candidate.
The second is industry specialization. We want people with very deep industry expertise who understand a particular industry or sector, what’s current, what’s trending, and what’s disrupting the industry right now. By combining this deep sector knowledge with our expertise in running world class, scale BPO processes we can really deliver value to our client.
LJ: How do you determine if someone has potential?
MS: I would like to understand how the candidate has operated as a learner at all levels and all stages of his/ her career. To me potential comes down to a constant search for learning new things and upskilling yourself- every day, in every role and at every stage of your career. That constant search for knowing more and being better every day is the best sign of potential and that’s what I am trying to assess in an interview.
LJ: If you only had 5 minutes to interview someone, what would you ask?
MS: If I could ask only one question, I would ask a candidate to talk about any one thing in life they are most passionate about and assess how passionate they are as people and as professionals.
When you hire for passion, you are hiring someone around whom you can build an organization, or better- who could build an organization for you. You can train someone in skills, in knowledge, maybe even culture but you can’t train for passion. If you hire passionate people, you will have an organization where everyone is constantly pushing themselves towards excellence. That passion will make them strive for more every day; and that’s what will really push us forward as a company and actually as a larger society as well.
So if I had only 5 minutes, I basically want to understand how passionate the person is in his or her approach towards life.
LJ: What leadership tip do you wish someone gave you when you were starting out?
MS: Lead visibly and passionately.
As a leader, everyone is looking towards you for cues; and everything you do sends a message- including not doing something or being soft on an issue. For your employees to be engaged and passionate, you have to be passionate. They need to feel your commitment and hunger and that’s what will motivate them to strive for more themselves.
LJ: What has made the difference in your own leadership development?
MS: Within my career in Accenture I had the chance to work with some great leaders and coaches who made all the difference and led me to where I am today. I have had the opportunity to work with leaders who are passionate, authentic and taught me about being a true steward for the organization. This has made the difference in my career and this is what I want to pass on to all those who work with me.
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If you have a question that you would like answered, or would like to be one of the folks we interview, please let us know by submitting your ideas to: SURVEY