When you make a bad hire
Privately, many acknowledge that El Jefe is not meeting the expectations we had when he was hired. At the same time, the immediate and obvious remedy seems to be off the table. I could speculate why:
- The chief enchilada, Cliff, isn’t disenchanted enough.
- Executives conceding there’s been a bad executive hire is tantamount to admitting they’re fallible.
- Jettisoning him leaves a void to fill. The hiring process was arduous and not one they care to repeat.
Instead, they have been sending him to remedial classes. At first, I thought this was bizarre. Then I read more about the Dunning-Kruger effect, which he personifies so well. (It would be career and identity threatening if I augmented the wikipedia entry with his photograph.) To wit:
- Tends to overestimate his own level of skill - Suppose El Jefe is tasked to create a vehicle to be sold to families with small children. He doesn’t have kids, but because he is confident that he knows best, he undertakes production of a two-seat convertible with Corinthian leather seats, sport suspension, and a talking GPS. If he had bothered to consult an expert — or ask the customers — he would have realized they want a minivan with stout cup holders, stain-resistant fabric, and a separate entertainment system the kids.Overconfidence in his skills wouldn’t be as terrible, except that he…
- Fails to recognize genuine skill in others - Most managers are challenged managing more than six direct reports. El Jefe has over twenty. Twenty. He has never conducted one-on-ones with anyone to understand what talents he can leverage or skills that can be developed. Instead, he behaves as if they are the unclean masses, hoping to sup upon the crumbs of knowledge he chooses to pass along.Like the Defect Policy. People were already doing this. His enacting this as dogma contributed nothing, which brings me to the third “rail” in that he…
- Fails to recognize the extremity of his inadequacy - El Jefe prides himself on being a good listener, yet his definition is “listen until I hear you’re agreeing with me.” Staff meetings that should take less than an hour often balloon to four hours as his staff struggles to convey why he’s wrong.Most people give up after three attempts. On a good day, I can go five or six. I understand that the executives hit nine or ten. His skills are so egregiously bad, his team withholds information just so they don’t have to master-debate with him.
- Thinks his bad, corny jokes are clever. I will spare more examples.
Now, as to where “classes” factor in this: a follow up study to Dunning-Kruger suggests he can improve upon these only after extensive tutoring in the skills he lacks. That’s going to take a while.
I have observed him investing a lot of time in managing up. For example, before an executive presentation, he’s occasionally come in to vet his data with me. A month ago he didn’t, and was ripped by three of the four executives present:
El Jefe: If we went with my original plan, we’d be on schedule.
Executive #1: No, we would not. Not only have we thrown more resources at the project, we’ve also removed 30% of its feature set. That your results align is coincidental.
Executive #2: I can’t make sense of your methodology. You employ multiples of fudge factors and yet your biggest overrun is… “planning?“ Aren’t we deep into the project cycle? [sarcastically, to the group] Do we actually do any “building” these days?
Executive #3: I am still concerned about quality. Your forecast does not account for adequate field testing.
I maintain my poker face… they asked me last time.
