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Developing emotional intelligence in the workplace isn’t easy — and that’s exactly why so many people struggle with it. Some people think their personal flaws are set in stone. Others don’t know what emotional intelligence is or that it’s something that can be developed.  And that’s a problem because emotional intelligence is a major indicator of job performance . For almost 30 years, The Metiss Group has partnered with entrepreneurs to help develop their leaders. In this article, we’ll unpack the common challenges businesses and their employees face when prioritizing EQ development.  Whether you're enhancing your own emotional intelligence or helping your direct reports grow, this guide will help you understand how to approach EQ development with more clarity. 1. EQ development requires self-awareness Picture this: you meet someone who instantly puts you off. They’re abrasive and offensive. They might even call out their behavior and say, “This is just how I am. I tell it how it is.” Many people don’t develop their emotional intelligence because they believe their faults are simply who they are.  They think it’s in their blood. They lack the self-awareness to understand that things like empathy and impulse control are skills to be developed. Even more often, people aren’t aware of how their behaviors impact and offend others. “I didn’t intend to offend them,” they think, “so why are they so angry?” That’s why emotional intelligence development requires self-awareness, so you can take responsibility for which traits you’ll need to develop. 2. Most tools that measure EQ have flaws Once you understand that EQ can (and should) be developed, the next step is to assess yourself. This step defines the categories of EQ in which you should improve. But this presents another challenge with developing emotional intelligence: many of the tools out there to measure EQ are pretty weak. These tools are often self-reported, which means you’ll bring your personal biases to the table. For example, say you’re surrounded by people just like you every day. You may think you’re great at feeling empathetic toward others, but someone from a different demographic might disagree. Another challenge with these tools is they typically use a Likert-based scale . This means the questions ask you to answer on a scale of 1-5 how much you agree with that statement. Here’s an example question: “On a scale of 1-5, how well can you identify the emotions you are feeling?” The problem with a Lickert-based scale is its simplicity makes it easier to game. If you want to rank high in emotional self-expression, you’ll answer a 5 in that example question. It often prioritizes ease over sophistication, which can make it draw inaccurate conclusions. At The Metiss Group, we recommend an EQ 360 assessment  to overcome these gaps. It removes personal biases by collecting feedback from a variety of sources, including supervisors, peers, direct reports, clients, friends, and family. It still uses a Likert-based scale, however, its sophistication makes it much more difficult to game. It asks enough questions of similar EQ traits that allow it to look for discrepancies between answers. 3. EQ development is personal Another challenge with EQ development is that it’s personal. It requires vulnerability. It’s difficult enough to learn a hard skill. Think back to the last skill you learned and how often you wanted to give up. For example, if you tried to learn tennis for the first time, you’d probably feel a lot of frustration every time you missed the ball.  But at least you could blame that on external factors: The grip on your racket was slippery, the weather was bad, your partner is horrible at serving… you get the idea. But with emotional intelligence, it gets personal.  It’s admitting that you’re not a perfect human being.  It’s looking in the mirror and realizing the soft skills you need to develop. It takes a lot of self-esteem to even begin exploring that. 4. Many people misunderstand EQ A lot of people think emotional intelligence is defined as their interpersonal skills. So when they have a conflict with someone, they think, “That person must have horrible interpersonal skills.” But Interpersonal Relationships is just one of 15 types of emotional intelligence . Some people are surprised to see skills like Flexibility, Optimism, and Independence under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence. Understanding EQ is more than studying the 15 different types – it’s also understanding how they affect one another. It’s important to keep various traits in balance. Imagine a person looks at the 15 types of emotional intelligence and decides to develop their assertiveness. They ignore everything else and only focus on becoming more assertive. But because they lack empathy, they don’t understand when they’re talking to an introvert who would rather die than engage in an assertive discussion. These misunderstandings cause many challenges when developing EQ. And if you don’t understand how to prioritize your EQ development, you can spend a lot of time moving in the wrong direction. 5. EQ development is a marathon, not a sprint The final challenge with developing emotional intelligence is that it takes time and effort. You can’t just read a book and become an expert in EQ. You should think of EQ development through the 70-20-10 learning model : Spend 10% of your development with structured learning methods, such as books or webinars Spend 70% of your development practicing emotional intelligence in the real world Spend 20% of your development working with an EQ coach or asking for feedback from your peers And that journey isn’t linear – often after receiving feedback, you’ll go back to the real-world application to try out new strategies. And like training for a marathon, you may want to consider having a coach guide you through the process. Without understanding which practices need development, how you can develop those traits, and which traits to keep in balance, you can end up putting a lot of effort into something that doesn’t work. The bottom line about challenges with developing emotional intelligence in the workplace Developing emotional intelligence isn’t straightforward – it requires self-awareness, assessment, vulnerability, time, and more. Many people struggle with EQ because they believe their personality is fixed. Others don’t understand the full scope of EQ, or they use flawed tools to measure it.  Without addressing these challenges, businesses and their employees risk missing out on a key driver of personal development. At The Metiss Group, we help leaders and their direct reports learn practical ways to develop their EQ through The Emotional Intelligence Journey™ program. Now that you understand the challenges with developing emotional intelligence in the workplace, it’s time to learn how to overcome these challenges by using  a 360 assessment when developing emotional intelligence .

If you feel like you can’t find good employees, then you’re probably frustrated by settling for mediocre talent. There are plenty of reasons why you might not be finding good employees, and many times the issue lies within your hiring process. If your job descriptions lack clarity, or if you're prioritizing hard skills over the right soft skills, you're likely attracting the wrong candidates from the start. And a historically low unemployment rate means the talent pool shrinks even further. At The Metiss Group, we specialize in helping companies refine their hiring strategies and develop future superstars. This article will show you the reasons why your hiring process might be flawed and will show you strategies to improve. You can’t find good employees because you’re not clearly defining the role The most common reason why hiring managers can’t find good employees is because they lack clarity around the role. It sounds obvious, but many hiring managers struggle to identify what they actually need in a candidate. Many will over-inflate what they want: for example, they’ll post “master’s degree required,” hoping to attract more bachelor’s degree candidates. Others struggle to distinguish between which skills sound good and which are a true necessity. We once had a client say, “Our new hire needs to come from a SaaS company.” But if you’re not hiring a programmer, why should that matter? Or if you hire a candidate just because you like their dominant extroverted personality — maybe the two of you get along, but if the role requires someone who is steady and compliant, then they might actually be a bad fit. So if you find you’re struggling to find good employees, the first step is to clarify what you need in the role. Look at hard and soft skills: which are a must-have, and which are a nice-to-have?  As a result, you’ll screen candidates you actually need. And you’ll stop wasting time with candidates with great resumes who don’t fit the role. Historically low rates of unemployment make it harder for you to find good employees Another reason you may be struggling to find top talent? Historically low rates of unemployment. In other words, there aren’t enough humans looking for jobs. See the graph below, which shows unemployment data  as far back as 1948 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Besides a quick spike from the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment rates have remained below 5% since September 2016.  And when unemployment hovers around this number, companies start hiring the unemployable. Job openings have increased while unemployment has remained low, which puts the country in a worker shortage. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , there are 85 workers for every 100 open jobs in the U.S. This means hiring managers might see fewer superstar candidates when they post a job opening.  It also means that companies are frequently asking people to lead at an earlier stage of their careers — a 2017 study found 38% of American workers report to a young leader . There just aren’t enough seasoned leaders searching for jobs.  These young workers try their best to catch up to speed, but companies also aren’t prioritizing leadership development. Two of every three millennial workers report they aren’t receiving enough leadership development opportunities .  You may feel too impatient to train them, but if your leaders aren’t growing along with your business, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars  in lost productivity. You need to hire for the soft skills There’s nothing we can do about the unemployment rate and labor shortage. So you need to ask yourself: what’s the minimum skill level you can hire? And then, how can you develop them to where you want them to be? It’s time to start hiring for soft skills — not just hard skills. Check out our Candidate Selection Matrix: Look, we get it. Everyone wants a “Current Superstar.” Someone who ranks high in both hard skills and soft skills. But they’re often hard to find, and they’re expensive. You can go ahead and cross out the “Unqualified candidates:” those who lack both hard and soft skills.  It’s the next category that’ll get you in trouble: “Future Headaches.” These are the candidates with a rock-solid resume, but they come up short in the soft skills. For example, we once saw a candidate who graduated from Harvard, had traveled the world, and had plenty of relevant work experience.  On paper, he was a perfect fit. But his assessments  revealed that he was someone who lacked stress tolerance, optimism, and other key emotional intelligence traits. When hiring managers see this candidate, they think, “I can deal with the other stuff. I just need someone who can hit the ground running.” But it’s incredibly difficult to take a candidate from “future headaches” to “current superstars.” You’ll have much better luck in the top left quadrant: future superstars. If someone is a great fit in the soft skills and meets the bare minimum requirements in the hard skills, you can train them to become a superstar. The bottom line about why you can’t find good employees If you’ve been asking yourself, “Why can I find good employees?” It's time to look in the mirror and evaluate your own hiring process. Without clearly defining the role and learning how to train for the soft skills, you’ll throw away thousands of dollars each time you fail to attract and retain top talent. Now that you understand why you can’t find good employees, it’s time to learn the difference between traditional recruiters and The Hiring Process Coach™.

Raw intelligence (or IQ) is an important factor in most workplace roles— whether it’s problem-solving, strategic thinking, or managing data, critical thinking is a valued employee asset. However, intelligence alone isn’t enough to navigate the complexities of human interactions in the workplace. Simply put, IQ (Intelligence Quotient) measures cognitive abilities, while EQ (Emotional Quotient) reflects your capacity to understand and manage emotions. Both are crucial, but the balance between the two can significantly impact how leaders lead and most everyone succeeds in one’s career. Our team of behavioral experts brings nearly 30 years of experience in helping organizations develop high-performing teams and leaders. We focus on aligning culture with performance to drive lasting success. In this article, we will explore how IQ and EQ differ and why both are needed to thrive. Additionally, you will understand various tools and discover how to develop Emotional Intelligence in both workplace teams and self. IQ vs EQ: What Is The Difference? According to the   American Psychological Association , IQ is defined as a standard measure of an individual’s intelligence based on psychological tests. Historically, IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, primarily measures cognitive abilities — things like logical reasoning, problem-solving, and mathematical skills.  It’s historically been used as a predictor of academic success and intellectual capabilities. Also According to the   American Psychological Association , EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, is defined as the type of intelligence that involves the ability to process emotional information and use it in reasoning and other cognitive activities. EQ often manifests in one’s ability or inability to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions. Therefore, EQ development tends to focus on empathy, emotional regulation, social awareness, relationship management, and decision-making. While IQ determines how well one solves problems or analyzes data, EQ determines how effectively someone navigates interpersonal relationships, manages stress, and leads a team. Think of IQ as the ability to reason through tasks, obstacles, and other situations in a logical manner, while EQ is the toolset incorporating the ability to understand our own emotions and read the emotions of others to adapt accordingly. So, when comparing IQ vs EQ in the workplace, it's important to know the two work hand-in-hand. However, EQ often plays a larger role in long-term success. Why Does Emotional Intelligence Matter in the Workplace? According   to Harvard Business School , employees with high emotional intelligence are more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively, and respond to coworkers using a solution-oriented framework. The same study also revealed 71% of employers place a higher value on emotional intelligence qualities as opposed to technical skills when evaluating candidates. Think now of yourself for a moment. You may be good at what you do—whether it’s analyzing data, solving problems, or driving strategy, you likely have the technical skills. Now ask yourself, do you have the emotional intelligence to become truly effective in a team environment? To answer this question, think back to an occasion when you encountered a situation where a lack of empathy or communication caused friction, or where someone’s inability to handle stress led to a breakdown in team dynamics. These breakdowns occur frequently in the workplace, and the solution is found in EQ development. As Emotional Intelligence has become more of a focus in recent years, EQ development has become a focal point when evaluating leadership and hiring personnel. In a   2023 Forbes article , it was discovered emotional intelligence development creates leaders who are accountable and self-aware and foster trusting relationships.    Essentially, those with higher emotional intelligence are often more adaptable, better equipped to handle conflict, and more effective at managing relationships — all essential skills to succeed in today’s workplace. EQ development leads to better leadership, enhanced collaboration, and improved employee satisfaction. Here’s how EQ shows up in the workplace: Leadership : Leaders with strong emotional intelligence demonstrate the capacity to understand emotions in the decisions they make, both their own and others. Leaders who have developed empathy, have the capacity to better understand the emotions of their direct reports. Communication : High EQ improves communication, helping you understand not just what’s being said but also the emotions behind it. Conflict Resolution : EQ allows you to approach conflicts with empathy and understanding, reducing tensions and finding more effective solutions. Teamwork : Teams with high emotional intelligence are more cohesive, supportive, and efficient. How Do IQ and EQ Interact in Leadership? If you are a leader, you’re tasked with making decisions designed to impact not only the business but the people within it. This requires more than just cognitive intelligence — it demands emotional intelligence to guide your team, build trust, and navigate challenges. You might have all the knowledge in the world, but if you can’t connect with your team on an emotional level, you’ll struggle to gain their buy-in and trust. On the flip side, if you have high emotional intelligence but lack technical skills, you might have trouble delivering on your goals. This is why balancing IQ and EQ is essential. Well-developed IQ in leadership  leads to sound reasoning, problem solving and logical thinking.  Well-developed EQ in leadership  allows a leader to leverage her or his ability to understand emotions, adapt accordingly to make better decisions and manage stress. The best leaders aren’t necessarily the smartest—they’re the ones who can combine their intelligence with emotional awareness to inspire, motivate, and lead effectively. Recognizing the Gaps: Where Do You Stand? As you reflect on your own leadership style, consider this: Do you rely more on your IQ or EQ? Is there a gap between your critical thinking capacity and your ability to connect with others? If so, you’re not alone. Many leaders struggle with this balance. Perhaps you’ve noticed while you’re great at solving problems, you’re not as effective at managing conflict. Or maybe you excel at building relationships but find it hard to stay objective in decision-making. While your IQ may remain relatively stable, the good news is your EQ can be developed by working through your self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation. Steps to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence If you’re ready to start your EQ journey,  a common first step is to examine your personal self-awareness . Take time to reflect on your own emotions and how they impact your thoughts and behaviors. Ask yourself: Under what circumstances is someone likely to push my emotional buttons? Are there some people who are more likely to prompt a reaction out of me than others? In those situations, have I applied any reality testing?  When I consider the phrase that set me off, is the meaning I construed consistent with their other communications? Am I taking their communication out of context? Are their alternative reactions I could have at the ready knowing my propensity to have reduced impulse control? Start by listening more actively in conversations and being fully present. Practice putting yourself in others’ shoes to see things from their perspective. Finally, focus on emotional regulation . This means managing your emotions in a constructive manner, rather than reactive. Reality testing is an effective EQ skill that helps you see things objectively (instead of the way you fear them to be).  Whether it’s stress, anger, frustration or even exuberance,  the key is to stay calm, composed, and in control of your emotions. How EQ Impacts Team Dynamics You might have the smartest team in the room, but if they don’t work well together, you’re not going to get the best results.  This is where emotional intelligence becomes invaluable. When you foster an environment where EQ is prioritized, you create a space where team members feel understood, valued, and supported. This leads to increased collaboration, higher morale, greater innovation and even avoiding landmines.  In teams with high emotional intelligence: Communication flows more easily : Team members are better at understanding each other’s perspectives and resolving conflicts before they escalate. Stress is managed more effectively : High EQ teams are more resilient in the face of pressure and stress, helping them stay focused and productive. Collaboration improves : When people feel emotionally safe, they’re more willing to contribute ideas, take risks, and support one another. Anticipating reactions: With an increased EQ, anticipating how someone may react caan help one choose better phrasing, be sensitive to certain topics, or know when to avoid them altogether. The Long-Term Value of Emotional Intelligence Developing emotional intelligence isn’t just about immediate results. It’s about long-term success. Leaders with high EQ are more likely to foster positive workplace cultures, build strong relationships with their teams, and drive sustained business performance. Think about it: as you advance in your career or navigate the relationships in your personal life, the challenges will become more complex and multifaceted.  Conquering these challenges requires not just cognitive intelligence but emotional intelligence — the ability to stay calm under pressure, communicate effectively, and lead with empathy. In the long run, your emotional intelligence will enable you to build lasting relationships, foster loyalty within your team, and create a positive, productive workplace environment. Final Thoughts: Striking the Right Balance As you reflect on the differences between IQ and EQ in the workplace, remember both are essential for success. While your IQ forms the foundation of your technical skills, your EQ is what helps you navigate the human side of leadership. You don’t have to choose one over the other. By developing both, you’ll be better equipped to lead effectively, inspire your team, and achieve your goals.  So, take the time to cultivate your emotional intelligence, and watch as it transforms not only your leadership but your entire career. The journey to becoming a more emotionally intelligent leader and person starts with self-awareness and the willingness to grow.  Where will you begin? To learn more about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and see if EQ development is for you, read our article answering the question,  Should I Do Emotional Intelligence Developmen t?

When you’re hiring for a new position, you ideally want to get them on board as soon as possible, right? Each day the role isn’t filled, the rest of your team is stretching thin to cover the gaps. Productivity dips. Deadlines pile up. And you’re missing out on the revenue the new employee could be bringing in. Yet, the hiring process drags on—and before you know it, months have passed with no perfect candidate in sight. But what if hiring didn’t have to take so long? At The Metiss Group, we’ve honed a hiring strategy that gets the right person in the right seat within one to two months. In this article, we’ll identify the bottlenecks slowing down your hiring process and show you how The Hiring Process Coach™ avoids these common pitfalls. With a clear game plan, you’ll confidently recognize the right candidate — and secure them — before your competitors do. How long it should take to hire a good employee At The Metiss Group, our program, The Hiring Process Coach™ nails down the time it takes to hire a good employee in one or two months. Here’s each step of that process: Define the role and ideal candidate: 5-6 hours Post the job and screen candidates: 2-3 weeks Assessment and interview process: 1-2 weeks So with a buttoned-up hiring process, you could have your superstar on board in less than two months. 5 Factors that increase the time it takes to hire a good employee Although you can hire a good employee in under two months, many hiring teams (who don’t follow this process) drag it out to three to six months. And sometimes, after six months have passed, their priorities have completely shifted. Which means they need to start over from scratch. So if hiring can take under two months, why does it take many companies much longer to hire a good employee? Lack of clarity around the job needs A lack of clarity from the beginning will greatly increase the time it takes to hire a good employee . Many hiring managers start with a generic job description, which is a long list of all the things the new employee will do. And the last line is always “Other duties as assigned.” When you start the process like this, it’s difficult for you to understand what a superstar truly looks like. And it's also difficult for the superstar to see themselves in that role when they read the job posting. Instead of using a generic job description, establish clarity by asking yourself:  What kinds of employees make me crazy?  What kinds of employees do I absolutely love working with?  What will success look like in this role? What would the ideal person look like to do this job? Slowing down and focusing on this definition stage takes time, but it’ll dramatically accelerate your hiring process. No availability from key interviewers We frequently hear clients say, “I needed this person yesterday!” But then when it’s time to interview candidates, the interviewers have full calendars for the next two weeks. And let’s be clear:  It’s not about having time. It’s about making time.  An interview should only take about an hour. Making availability is important for two reasons. Not only does it accelerate the hiring process, but it also keeps potential superstars interested.  If a candidate hasn’t heard back from you for two weeks, but another potential company is moving them through the process and ready to make an offer, who do you think the candidate will favor more? To address this, work with key interviewers to rearrange their priorities. Offer guidance on which meetings or tasks can be rescheduled. This will make room for interviews and keep the hiring process on track. Hiring manager wants to wait and compare candidates Let’s say the first person you interview is a superstar. No human is perfect, but they’re a great match in the hard and the soft skills. But… they’re the first candidate you’ve seen. So you decide to wait and compare them to other candidates, just to make sure they’re really a superstar. You spend the next three weeks interviewing others for the role, and they’re all total duds. Phew, now you can be totally sure that the first person was a superstar! Time to make an offer, right? Except now that superstar has moved on. While you were waiting and comparing, another company made an offer. If you wait and compare candidates, you risk starting from scratch when the first-round candidates move on.  The good news is this: when you prioritize the definition phase in the beginning, you’ll recognize the superstar as soon as you see them. You won’t feel the need to wait and compare. No one owns the hiring process If your hiring process is “post and pray,” let us be the first to break it to you: you don’t have a hiring process. An interview is not a process. An assessment is not a process.  A hiring process is the sequence of steps that must be passed before a person gets hired. And someone needs to own and manage this process. Here’s an example of a hiring process: Define the role and build a job scorecard Post the job description and reach out to network for referrals Screen candidates to review resume and pre-qualify for hard skills Send assessment to top candidates Interview with key stakeholders Reference check Send an offer Many people underestimate the hiring process. They think they can post a job description, interview a candidate, and make a decision. And when no one owns it, you’ll spend a lot more time hiring a good candidate. And hiring a superstar takes longer than hiring a warm body. There’s so much more to clarify. If we know that no one is perfect, you’ll need to figure out where they’ll need support. And you’ll need to take a good look in the mirror and ask, “Can I give that support?” But don’t overdo it. Instead of gathering key stakeholders for one or two interviews, some hiring managers drag out this process one interview at a time, which could take weeks. And the candidate ends up repeating the same information multiple times. Pro Tip:  Record the initial candidate screen (with the candidate’s permission). Make sure each key stakeholder watches this before their interview. This way, the candidate won’t go through their resume 10x over, and the stakeholders can ask the questions that truly matter. Another way to keep things moving efficiently is to prepare candidates ahead of time for the reference stage. They can go ahead and begin rounding up colleagues and contact information, instead of waiting until right before you’re ready to make an offer. Hiring team is indecisive It’ll take a lot longer to hire a good candidate if your hiring team is indecisive. And again, this goes back to getting it right in the definition phase. When you’re clear in the beginning, it’ll be much easier to make a decision later. Sometimes we see hiring managers who are so indecisive that six months have passed, and now they’ve completely changed their minds about what they need.  Remember — no human is perfect. So don’t wait for it. Hire for what you need, train for the rest . Key takeaways on how long it takes to hire a good employee While the hiring process can ideally take just one to two months, many companies experience a lack of clarity and indecision. This significantly lengthens the hiring process, which not only wastes company time and resources,  but can also scare away good candidates. To fast-track your hiring process, focus first on clarifying the role in the definition stage. From there, make sure the hiring team is available, decisive, and ready when they see a superstar. At The Metiss Group, we guide businesses like yours to streamline the hiring process. You’ll bring on top talent in less time, saving you money and headaches. Now that you understand how long it takes to hire a good candidate, now you need to learn the cost of making a great hire.

Hiring a superstar seems like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want a high performer to elevate their business?  But many companies underestimate the sheer effort required to not only secure top talent but also keep them engaged.  Without a solid plan, you risk wasting time, money, and resources trying to onboard someone who might leave just as quickly as they arrived. The result? Disappointment, high turnover, and lost momentum. At The Metiss Group, our expertise in leadership development and talent selection helps us guide clients as they overcome the problems with hiring a superstar.  In this article, we’ll walk you through the realities of hiring and retaining top-tier talent, giving you the tools to make sure your investment in a superstar pays off. The first problem with hiring a superstar is everyone wants them The first problem with hiring a superstar is they’re in high demand. Everyone wants them. This makes them expensive. They’re more willing to negotiate for a higher salary, and they’re more likely to walk away if you don’t meet their counteroffer.  After all, they often have competing offers, so they have the power to be inflexible. You need to ask yourself if you can afford a superstar, or if it’d be a better investment to develop a future superstar . Superstar candidates make you want to skip the hiring process Because superstars are in high demand, you’ll feel the need to rush through the hiring process. You’ll probably tell yourself you need to make an offer as soon as possible before someone else does. And there is some truth to this. A 2024 study by Morgan McKinley  found that 24% of employers said a slower hiring process was one reason they lost out on hiring talent in 2023. Although you need to accelerate the hiring process for a superstar — potentially working nights and weekends to help push them through the process — it doesn’t mean you can cut corners. There are imposters out there. Some candidates are easy to fall in love with from the beginning, and in your rush to hire them as quickly as possible, you’ll turn a blind eye to their red flags .  So accelerate the process for the superstars, but don’t cut corners. Give them a real work-product assignment so you can see what it’d be like to work with them (for example, give an programmer an assignment to debug code, or ask a salesperson to prepare a presentation on their favorite topic). And make sure your key interviewers have flexible schedules so there aren’t any bottlenecks in the hiring process . You’ll have to put in more work keeping superstars engaged through the hiring process Once your superstar has accepted your offer, they’ll likely need to give a two-week notice to their current employer. This presents the next challenge with hiring a superstar: this is the most important two weeks of the process. You’ll need to put in the work to keep them engaged through their notice period. A survey from Robert Half  found more than a quarter of job candidates, 28%, renege on job offers after initially accepting them. Think about it: if your superstar really is a superstar, then their current employer isn’t going to want to let them go.  So when they give their notice, everyone from their manager to their coworkers is going to try to convince them to stay.  It starts after the superstar accepts the job offer. We advise our clients to ask their superstars, “Is there anything your current employer could do or say that would make you stay? What if they offer you more money? What if they offer you a promotion?” The goal here is to help the superstar build a script of how they’ll respond when this inevitably happens.  Ask the superstar when they’re giving their notice. Then, send them an email that morning wishing them good luck, and send them another email at the end of the day asking them how they went. Not only will it bring you comfort to know that they’ve officially given their notice, but it’ll also show them how much you care. Next, order business cards with the supervisor’s new title, and mail them to their house. If they’re truly excited about the role, they’ll pass them out to their family and friends, further cementing their identity as an employee at your company. We also recommend scheduling a casual get-together with the superstar during the notice period. This could be after-work drinks or a lunch. Invite their new coworkers and manager as well. Finally, you should also send them onboarding materials during the notice period. This will help them hit the ground running on their first day. Putting in this much work before the superstar comes on board presents a challenge for many employers, but it greatly reduces the chance they’ll renege on their offer. Superstars can be tough to work with Another problem with hiring superstars is they can be tough to work with. Some are so used to the spotlight, they don’t want to work with others. We often see superstars have a difficult time accepting their imperfections. If their previous employers have treated them like they walk on water, they might believe they’re always right. An article in Harvard Business Review  said, “ Stars are unusually slow to adopt fresh approaches to work, primarily because of their past successes .” You’ll also need to look at who manages the superstar — “C” managers have a tough time with “A” players. The same Harvard Business Review article found managers, resentful of the superstar’s pay and status, could avoid the superstar and refuse to cooperate. So you’ll need to ask yourself, can your managers handle superstar talent, or do they need leadership development ?  Finally, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your superstars Remember, everyone wants your superstar. They’re the easiest to leave. Even past the notice period, they could have people from their past company begging them to come back. Or they could have headhunters messaging them on LinkedIn with new job offers. Keep them challenged, or they could get bored. You’ll need to give them a path for development  to ensure their engagement and success in your company. But on the other hand, don’t ask them to fill every gap. When a “C” player gives mediocre performance, managers will often ask the superstar to offset the workload because they know the superstar’s work will be perfect. Over time, the superstar will resent the disproportionately high workload. So yes, the challenge with hiring and keeping a superstar is that it takes more work. As a business owner or hiring manager, you’ll need to ask yourself if you’re able to give the superstar an environment where they can thrive. The bottom line about problems with hiring a superstar Hiring a superstar isn’t as straightforward as it seems.  Although it sounds appealing to bring high-performing talent on board, the process is filled with hidden challenges, ranging from competition in recruitment, to managing egos, to the risk of turnover. Many companies set out to hire a superstar hoping they’ll quickly boost performance, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the effort required to recruit, engage, and retain these high-demand individuals. Without the right strategy, organizations may waste valuable time, resources, and energy. At The Metiss Group, we help organizations identify, recruit, and nurture top talent. With the right approach, you can avoid the pitfalls of hiring superstars and create an environment where even the best performers can thrive.  Now that you understand the extra work required by hiring a superstar, next you need to learn how to unlock the success process with The Metiss Group’s coaching philosophy . This will help you ensure your next superstar is engaged and set up for success.

As a leader, you’re no stranger to the relentless pace of change. You’ve navigated economic uncertainties, embraced hybrid work models, and made strategic decisions to secure your organization’s success in the face of global disruptions. The past year was no exception. Now, as you look to 2025, it’s crucial to understand the landscape of leadership and be confident you’re not just maintaining momentum, but you’re positioned to lead your team to new heights. At The Metiss Group, we’ve been helping leaders like you develop the skills and strategies needed to thrive for nearly 30 years. Even when the world shifts beneath your feet, we have successfully guided organizations like yours through the sea of change and into prosperity. In this article, you will discover what lies ahead in 2025 by examining the leadership trends of 2024, including the shifting culture in the workplace and the technology that is changing the face of organizational life.  Consider us your trusted partner in identifying and implementing the trends for 2025 that matter most. Together, we can ensure your leadership not only adapts but excels in the coming year. What did  Leadership Look Like In 2024? Let’s start by revisiting where we’ve been. 2024 began with a cautious outlook, defined by rising interest rates, persistent inflation, and the looming fear of a recession. According to the   Q4 Vistage CEO Confidence Index  nearly half of CEOs were preparing for an economic downturn, prompting us to focus on productivity while keeping an eye on talent retention. After all, the job market remained competitive, and finding the right people was critical to maintaining operational momentum. But 2024 wasn’t just about economic survival—it was also about adapting to new realities. Leaders had to grapple with an evolving workforce, where the push to return to in-person work clashed with the expectations of a generation that had grown accustomed to flexibility. Leaders grappled with navigating through the transition while emphasizing a balance between productivity gains and preserving, or building a new company culture. While the year’s end still sees similar pressures, you’ve likely gained clarity on what matters most for your team: consistent leadership development, clear communication, and strategies to engage talent meaningfully. By understanding how these trends have shaped your leadership approach, you’re better prepared to tackle 2025. Embracing New Leadership Trends And Opportunities in 2025 The coming year brings excitement along with challenges. The energy in 2025 is one of rebuilding—both organizational structures and cultures that can weather the unpredictable. You’re eager to cultivate leaders who can drive growth, even when the economic forecast remains uncertain. The focus isn’t just on survival; it’s on thriving through resilience, innovation, and a renewed commitment to cultivating talent. You may find yourself asking, “How do I create a culture where my top performers can flourish?” At The Metiss Group, we know building “superstars”  requires more than skill development; it’s about instilling resilience. In 2025, resilience isn’t going to be a catchy buzzword—it’s the backbone of leadership. As the potential for economic downturns persists, resilient leaders will be the ones who inspire confidence, navigate challenges with composure, and motivate teams to perform under pressure. In addition to resilience, leaders are also looking to redefine office culture. The post-COVID era has left many organizations in a state of cultural flux. Why does this matter to you? Your team, like many others, may still be adjusting to new ways of working—whether it’s hybrid, remote, or a renewed push toward in-person collaboration. 2025 can be your opportunity to reestablish cultural norms that reflect your organization’s core values, ensuring alignment across teams and departments. Navigating Challenges: What Keeps You Up at Night? According to   senior economists at Vanguard,  2025 offers plenty of potential, it also comes with new and persistent fears. As a leader, your primary concern remains retaining top talent in a highly competitive market. With unemployment projected to hold steady at around 4.1%, your superstars will continue to be highly sought-after by competitors. The question is, how do you keep them engaged? One of the biggest risks in 2025 is investing in the wrong talent. In a slower or healthy economy, it’s easy to focus development efforts broadly, hoping any progress is good progress. But in reality, developing the wrong team members can result in disengagement among your most valuable performers. Ensuring your employee development efforts are laser-focused, identifying high-potential individuals, and providing targeted support should be top-of-mind. Your fears also extend to the potential pitfalls of bringing employees back to the office. While many leaders feel in-person work fosters collaboration, engagement, and productivity, you’re aware pushing too hard for a return could lead to turnover. This balancing act—maintaining flexibility while reinforcing culture—may be one of the most pressing challenges you’ll face in 2025. If some team members are resistant, you might even find yourself considering whether to let them go and focus on those who align with the organization’s vision. Hybrid and Remote Leadership: The Evolution Continues Hybrid and remote work are still a reality. However, there is a notable shift with more and more employers mandating workers return to the office. trend. Having lived with this dynamic for several years, you’ve likely seen both the benefits and the drawbacks. Read this September CBS article  to see a sample of some organizations who implemented mandates in 2024. On the one hand, remote work has enabled flexibility and broadened talent pools. On the other, remote and hybrid work posed challenges to collaboration, reduced engagement, and introduced phenomena like “job stacking,” where employees take on multiple roles simultaneously. Your task as a leader in 2025 is to navigate this evolving terrain with a clear strategy. At The Metiss Group, we recommend fostering a culture of accountability and transparency, whether in the office or online. As organizations like yours increasingly encourage in-person work, you’ll need to show up—both physically and figuratively. Your presence as a leader will set the tone, signaling commitment and fostering trust. By modeling the behaviors you expect from your team, you can drive engagement and collaboration, regardless of where work takes place. Harnessing AI as a Leadership Tool If there’s one transformative force to watch in 2025, it’s artificial intelligence (AI). You’ve likely heard about its potential to revolutionize various aspects of business, from decision-making to talent management. But how can you, as a leader, harness AI in a way that complements rather than replaces your human touch? At The Metiss Group, we see AI as an invaluable tool used for analyzing vast amounts of data by simply asking the right questions. We have seen how AI can provide insights into employee performance, predict skills gaps, and offer personalized development recommendations. This allows you to focus on high-impact activities, like coaching and strategic planning, rather than getting bogged down in routine tasks. But as promising as AI is, you must approach it with caution. Over-reliance on AI can lead to problems, particularly if decisions become overly data-driven at the expense of human empathy. You also need to be mindful of ethical considerations, ensuring AI applications are transparent and do not reinforce biases. Remember, AI should enhance your leadership, not replace the human elements that make you effective. 5   Leadership Development Keys for 2025 As you look to develop yourself and your team, and now understand what are the external factors to watch for in 2025, consider the following five core areas to focus on internally that will shape your effective leadership in the coming year: 1. Refine your hiring process  to ensure you’re selecting the right individuals for the right roles. This isn’t just about finding candidates—it’s about aligning potential leaders with your vision. 2. Identify emotional intelligence (EQ) opportunities . With more team members returning to the office, leaders with developed EQ will have the edge. EQ allows you to manage complex team dynamics, resolve conflicts, and foster a collaborative culture with sound decision-making.  It’s not just a nice-to-have; it’s an essential component of leadership in 2025. 3. Focus on your success process —ensuring new hires are setup to thrive in their roles. This means making sure their roles are clearly defined, expectations are fully aligned, learning curves are shortened and ultimately performance is accelerated. 4. Make leadership acceleration  a priority. Your ability to rapidly develop your direct reports will determine how quickly you can pivot to new challenges and opportunities. By focusing on individual growth and team performance, you can create a more agile leadership culture that drives results. 5. Establish strategic leadership  as your compass. The shifting workforce cultures of 2025 demand you align your goals, leadership, and culture with a clear strategy. This isn’t just about responding to changes—it’s about setting a course that sustains growth over the next five years. The Road Ahead As you step into 2025, remember you’re not just navigating change—you’re shaping it. The challenges ahead are real, but so are the opportunities to lead with impact and purpose.   Armed with the learnings from this past year and insight into the coming months, you’re equipped to inspire growth, adapt to shifts, and create lasting success.   Remember, you have the vision and we have the expertise to help make it a reality. Ready to redefine what’s possible? Head to The Leadership Academy™ page and find the ideal place to begin your journey.

As a business owner or hiring manager looking to hire, you’re probably considering two methods for sourcing candidates: hiring a headhunter or leaning on your professional network. Although headhunters are fast and efficient, they probably don’t know anything about your company or its culture. And you don’t know anything about the candidates they source for you. For the record, at The Metiss Group, The Hiring Process Coach™ service empowers clients to find their own candidates without the work of a headhunter. So we admit we have a bias. However, we promise to be as objective as possible.  In this article, you’ll learn the difference between hiring outcomes when using a headhunter vs networking. You’ll understand the importance of proactive relationship-building and how that affects the hiring process. Headhunters vs Networking Defined Building a network, also called a center of influence, means actively joining groups of like-minded individuals. We’re fans of groups like Entrepreneur’s Organization  and Vistage . There are also other peer-to-peer CEO groups, groups by industry, etc. Plus you can attend networking events at your local Chamber of Commerce . You can also join online groups; however, it can be much more difficult to form deep relationships. When looking to hire, many business owners can lean on this carefully curated network to seek out candidate referrals. Maybe your network doesn’t know a perfect fit, but someone within their network might know someone. On the other hand, headhunters are known for finding candidates for their clients, i.e. companies looking to hire new employees. Sometimes they’re also called search firms or recruitment agencies. Headhunters have historically leaned on their own networks to actively seek out the right candidates for their clients. But now, as many as 95% of headhunters use LinkedIn  to source candidates. Comparing Headhunters vs. Building a Network The difference between hiring a headhunter vs. building your own network comes down to five categories: price, work, time, guarantees, and end result. Price Headhunters are typically paid up to 30%  of the candidate’s first year expected total compensation. This includes bonuses and commissions.  So if you’re hiring an executive at a total compensation of $200,000, you’ll pay around $60,000 in headhunter fees. Building a network can be as cheap as a cup of coffee. Depending on which groups you join, though, you’ll easily rack up thousands of dollars a year in membership fees. For example, annual dues for Entrepreneur’s Organization  cost $2,630 in 2024. The ROI of building a network is more than just finding people to hire — you’ll also meet like-minded people who help you learn new ideas and challenge your way of thinking. You’ll bond with the people you meet and will have support in the unique challenges you face as a business owner. Winner: Building a network Upfront work Building a network requires much more work upfront. You can’t just start building your network once you’re ready to make a hire. Imagine going to a new group for the first time, and telling everyone you meet that day, “I’m looking to make a hire! Know anybody?” If these people don’t know anything about you, how could they recommend candidates? And if you don’t know anything about them, how could you trust their recommendation? Plus, they’re not going to work very hard to help out someone they just met. They aren’t going to reach out to people within their own networks to help you look for that candidate. When it comes to building a network, you have to earn the right to ask for a referral.  Which means most of the work happens long before you’re looking to make a hire. We’re talking months or years of attending and actively participating in groups and networking events. And it’s not as easy as shaking hands and introducing yourself. You’ll need to make sure you tell stories about your business, its core values, and times your employees have gone above and beyond for the company.  The goal here is to make sure your connections are deeply familiar with the types of people who thrive in your company’s culture. So by the time you’re ready to ask for a recommendation, they’ll provide you with a perfect fit. On the other hand, a headhunter has already built their own network. So by the time you go to them looking to fill a role, they can hit the ground running immediately.  Winner: Headhunters Sourcing time Sourcing time is the amount of time it takes to come up with a short list of qualified candidates. These are candidates who seem like a good fit on paper. (The next step would be a phone screen.) This category is tricky to nail down for each side. Sourcing time varies greatly, whether you lean on your own network or use a headhunter. It takes an average of 10 days for a headhunter to source candidates for a job role, according to Joveo . However, headhunters searching for executive-level candidates may need several weeks to source quality candidates.  This can also vary by industry: according to a report by Corporate Navigators , it takes much longer for recruiters to fill roles in industries such as energy, defense, and engineering, so the sourcing time in these industries could also be much longer. Roles in the automotive and hospitality industries, on the other hand, are typically filled more quickly. When using your network to find candidates, the sourcing time is heavily dependent on how much work you put in.  How much time did you spend actively building your center of influence? And now that you’re hiring, how much work are you putting into calling, emailing, and grabbing coffee with your network to ask for recommendations? Have you clearly defined the role so they understand what you’re looking for in a candidate? You could hear back from someone within your network within a day. Or you could spend weeks reaching out without anyone sending you quality referrals. And similar to headhunters, sourcing time within your network will depend on the seniority of the position and the industry. Winner: Mixed bag Guarantees A headhunter will always deliver on their promise to find you a candidate, although it’s not always a perfect match . And many headhunters have a 90-day guarantee or something along that timeline. This means if your new hire quits or is fired within 90 days, the headhunter will find you a new candidate at no extra charge. On the other hand, hiring from your center of influence doesn’t guarantee anything.  If you’ve put in the work to build a quality network, then they should have a list of people who would love to work with you. But sometimes the timing isn’t right. Or maybe the position you’re hiring for is too specialized.  Winner: Headhunters End result In the end, the people who know you and the culture of your organization may not send tons of candidates your way. But the quality of these candidates will be right on the money. A headhunter can still have successful end results. We often work with great headhunters to help our clients source candidates.  But when you’re looking at the end results side-by-side, there’s a clear winner. The people who know you will always send better candidates. Winner: Building a network The Bottom Line on Hiring a Headhunter vs. Networking When it comes to hiring, the decision between using a headhunter and leaning on a well-established network ultimately boils down to priorities.  While headhunters offer speed and guaranteed results, building a network will give you candidates who fit seamlessly within your company culture and values. At The Metiss Group, we help clients master the hiring process without the need for a headhunter. Now that you understand the difference between hiring a headhunter and hiring from your own network, next you should learn the difference between recruiting and The Hiring Process Coach™.

If you’re considering adding candidate assessments to your hiring process, you might think assessments are an easy way to get an unbiased view of candidates.  But when used incorrectly, candidate assessments can put candidates into narrowly defined profiles and can even open the door for inadvertent discrimination issues.  At The Metiss Group, we have taught clients how to use candidate assessments in the hiring process for multiple decades. We understand the critical balance required to use these tools effectively without undermining a candidate’s potential. In this article, we’ll help you understand the common problems people have when using candidate assessments and teach you potential solutions. Problem 1: You can’t rely too heavily on candidate assessments in the hiring process The first problem with behavioral assessments is they cannot make up 100% of your hiring process. This is not only for government compliance, but it also makes logical sense. Imagine you post a job, and for every qualified candidate, you email a link to take the assessment. If you like their assessment results, they move on to the next round. Every other candidate receives a rejection email. When you use assessments this way, you could put your company at risk for discrimination charges .  This is because rejected candidates could claim the assessment was the reason they were excluded from the process, instead of their qualifications, which goes against the law . Candidate assessments should only make up at most 30% of your hiring process. Before sending out an assessment, you should give the candidate a phone screen, followed by an interview with key stakeholders. Other steps in the hiring process can include real work product assignments and reference checks. This doesn’t just make legal sense, but it’s also logical. Assessments don’t tell you the whole story. Instead, they should help you drive the conversation.  They help you understand which questions to ask a candidate.  For example, if an assessment reveals a weakness in systems judgment, you don’t just throw out that candidate’s application. After all, no one is perfect, and everyone has weaknesses. Instead, you can use those results to ask more informed questions during the interview process. Here’s an example: “Please give me an example of a time you were surprised by the outcome of a project. How might you have anticipated that sooner?  How could you apply those learnings to your next project?” You'd want to listen for answers such as, “I now start with a more comprehensive project plan, review it with others on my team, and ask where things could go wrong.” So in conclusion, remember not to rely too heavily on candidate assessments in the hiring process. If your only interaction with a candidate is an assessment link, then you’re not only exposing your organization to unnecessary risk, but you’re also missing out on great candidates. Problem 2: Candidate assessments are never 100% accurate Most assessments are based on an inductive science and those have no more than an 85% face validity , which is the degree to which one perceives an assessment to measure something accurately. Even though 85% is highly accurate, it’s still imperfect. That’s why it’s important to use multiple sciences. The   TTI Success Insights  TriMetrix candidate assessment looks at three sciences. Hartman: What a candidate does Motivators: Why they do things DISC: How they do things When used alone, no single science could accurately tell you what a candidate will do. But when all three sciences are combined, you can see a better picture of what they will do. Problem 3: Many candidate assessments don’t show a candidate’s ability to adapt Let’s say you give a candidate a behavioral assessment, which reveals they have a highly dominant behavioral style. Everything else about the candidate seems great, but you’re worried about them clashing with others in this particular role. Don’t dismiss the candidate just yet. If that candidate is smart, they probably know how to tone things down in the workplace. When you only look at a candidate’s natural style, you might draw unfair conclusions.  For example, we had one client who worked in engineering who had been told his entire life he shouldn’t work with people. Then his emotional intelligence 360 assessment  revealed he was great with people. He had just been pigeonholed into the stereotypical engineering behavioral style. Some assessments, like TTI Success Insights  TriMetrix, will show you a candidate’s natural style vs. their adapted style. This will give you a better idea of how candidates will behave in the workplace. You can also test a candidate’s cognitive ability. We have found that those who perform well on cognitive tests have a much greater ability to adapt. Problem 4: Candidate assessments only evaluate the normal person, not those who intentionally skew results When giving an assessment to a candidate in the hiring process, you have to assume the candidate is telling the truth. Assessments can only assess a normal person in a normal work setting. It won’t identify someone’s tendency to lie or steal. There are a few red flags to look for, though. One is the amount of time it takes to complete the assessment. If a candidate takes 45 minutes to complete a 10-minute assessment, chances are they turned to Google to determine the “right” answers. Another red flag is a flat or “compressed” DISC profile . This means a candidate’s behavior shows equal weight in Dominance, Influencing, Steadiness, and Compliance.  Typically, candidates will show distinctly high or low results between the four traits. Only 3% of the population would have a flat DISC profile. So if their profile is flat, they may have been trying to game the system and show that they’re skilled in everything. Problem 5: Understanding candidate assessment results can be complicated Understanding candidate assessments can feel overwhelming, so many companies looking to use assessments in their hiring process may consider hiring someone to guide them through the process. Take a look at a sample “TriGraph” from TTI Success Insights . Without a guide, it’s difficult to understand what each result means and how they affect each other. Let’s be clear — we at The Metiss Group offer this service through our program The Hiring Process Coach ™ , so we know we’re biased. But we feel strongly that every company should do what’s best for its hiring process, so we’ll try to be as transparent as possible. Many companies who do not wish to work with a hiring process coach might consider using a simple, single-science assessment, such as Predictive Index . It’s easy for both employers and employees to understand, and it only looks at behaviors.  On the other hand, The Hhiring Process Coach™ will help you understand a multi science approach. Humans are complex, so only looking at behaviors will show just part of the broader picture.  Using a multi science approach (like the assessments from TTI Success Insights TriMetrix) will give you insights into behavior, motivators, and capacities. You can pair this with a Watson-Glaser cognitive test to understand how well that candidate can adapt. Our expert coaches at The Metiss Group not only will help you understand the assessment results, but they will also teach you which follow-up questions to ask a candidate based on their assessment results. Again, nobody’s perfect, and everyone has weaknesses. So having these conversations will help you understand  If the candidate has overcome their weaknesses in the past If they have self-awareness If the have committed to a personal development plan Or if this will be a deal-breaking issue The bottom line about using candidate assessments in the hiring process Using candidate assessments can add immense value to your hiring process, but only once you understand their limitations. Once you understand that candidate assessments are never completely accurate and shouldn’t make up the entirety of your hiring process, then you can strategically use the results to drive intentional conversations with your candidates. At The Metiss Group, we help clients build stronger, more informed hiring processes by making assessments a tool, not the rule, in finding the best talent for their teams. Now that you understand the problems with using candidate assessments when hiring, next you should learn about how The Hiring Process Coach™ will help you utilize these assessments.

If you’re considering implementing The Leadership Alignment™ with The Metiss Group at your organization, you might be asking yourself who doesn’t make a good fit.  We get it: As business owners ourselves, we’ve experienced firsthand the frustration of wasting money on other leadership development programs that didn’t work the way we wanted them to. And although we believe Strategic Leadership is a great choice for many organizations, we also know it isn’t for everyone. In this article, we’ll explore why some leaders clash with structured leadership development programs such as Strategic Leadership. This will help you understand if your organization would (or wouldn’t) make a good fit for Strategic Leadership. Who is a bad fit for The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ Program? The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ is a great choice for organizations that want their leaders to grow in the same direction as the company’s strategic goals. There are 22 total Leadership Practices , and The Metiss Group helps each company select 5-10 to prioritize in their development plan within The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ framework. This structured development isn’t for everyone. The number one bad fit for The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ is an organization that is led by what we call a “serial shifter.”  This is a CEO or visionary who prefers to frequently jump from one idea to the next. Traits of a serial shifter Serial shifters are easily excited about the next big thing. They might come to their second in command each week with a new idea.  “We’ve got to try this!” they might say, waving their new business book of the week.  And the second in command might be thinking, “We still haven’t fleshed out the idea we had to try last week, have we already moved on from that?” There is often no theme to their interests. They could own many business ventures with no overlap or shared resources.  For example, we met someone who was an executive coach, a motivational speaker, a prepaid attorney, a Predictive Index partner, and more — all at the same time. Serial shifters have a difficult time staying on one clear path.  One month, they might make multiple mergers and acquisition deals to expand the business. Then a few months later, they might sell off pieces of the business. They feel suffocated by defined processes.  They feel like they need to create chaos to breathe. You can almost see the panic in their eyes when you try to put processes in place. Why serial shifters are a bad fit for The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ requires businesses to plan their strategic vision for the next 5-10 years.  For a serial shifter, locking down a long-term plan is terrifying.   They might be thinking to themselves, “What if I think of the next best thing next quarter?” Following a strategic vision can make them feel restricted.  They might also feel a loss of identity: “If I’m not chasing down new ideas, then what will I do?” Our program isn't a good fit for people who are uncomfortable formulating precise, long-term plans. Much of our work hinges on setting 1, 3, 5 and 10-year goals, and your organization must stay laser-focused on those goals for that length of time. The bottom line about bad fits for The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ isn’t for everyone. If your organization is led by a chaos creator — or if the chaos creator is you — then committing to a rigid leadership development path will feel restrictive. At The Metiss Group, we understand that each organization’s needs are unique. We’re here to help you choose the right leadership development approach that aligns with your goals and leadership style, even if our program isn’t the one that is going to get you there. Now that you understand who doesn’t make a good fit for The Strategic Leadership Alignment™, you can schedule a call with a behavior expert  and learn more about how to implement The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ in your organization. Or if you’re still not sure how to get started with your leadership development, download the Where to Start? eBook.

Are you tired of feeling like your leadership decisions are just reactions to an ever-changing world? Imagine a future where you guide your organization with clarity and purpose, turning challenges into opportunities.   At The Metiss Group, we empower leaders like you to embrace strategic leadership, ensuring your team and organization thrive.   By reading this article, you’ll learn how strategic leadership is defined, how to identify signs of both effective and ineffective strategic leadership in your organization, and actionable steps to implement a strategic vision driving lasting success. So, what exactly is strategic leadership, and how can you harness it to propel your company forward? What Is the Definition of Strategic Leadership? According to Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education , Strategic Leadership  i nvolves using creative problem-solving skills and a strategic vision to achieve long-term goals .   It’s not just about making operational decisions  (tactical)  but focusing on the big picture (strategy)  of where the organization is headed and how best to leverage talent and resources to get there.    Strategic leadership goes beyond managing day-to-day operations; it’s about crafting a vision and implementing strategies to achieve sustainable success. Imagine steering your organization with clarity and confidence, making informed decisions that align with your vision, and inspiring your team to rally behind you. At its core, strategic leadership is about using resources wisely, adapting proactively to change, and creating a culture where innovation and performance thrive. What Are The Consequences of Leadership Without Strategy? You might think your organization is running smoothly, but even high-performing teams can suffer without strategic leadership.  In the absence of a clear, cohesive strategy, several telltale signs may emerge that indicate your organization is struggling more than you realize.  They include: Frequent Shifts in Priorities: Organizations that lack strategic leadership often experience frequent shifts in direction. Leaders may jump from one initiative to the next, hoping that something will stick.  While these efforts may start enthusiastically, they are often abandoned partway through, leading to confusion and frustration among employees.  Instead of making meaningful progress, the team ends up wasting time and resources, stuck in a cycle of unfinished projects and lost opportunities. Ineffective Resource Allocation: In a strategically misaligned organization, resources such as time, budget, and talent are often wasted. Projects may receive funding and attention only to be abruptly halted when leadership decides to change course. This inefficiency makes it challenging to deliver value and reduces your organization’s overall effectiveness. Reactive Decision-Making: When there is evident strategy in leadership, short and long-term tasks are executed thoughtfully. These include the Urgent-Important and the Urgent-Non-Important (see graph).  I n the absence of a strategic vision, the reactive leader stays mainly focused on the Urgent-Important tasks because there is no way to prioritize items that are still important, but not urgent.  What tends to happen next is that those tasks get forgotten about and become urgent without notice. This cycle can become a vicious recurring norm where the leader and the team are constantly firefighting and making decisions based on immediate needs rather than long-term goals.  This can create a stressful work environment and prevent teams from proactively addressing challenges. The result is a culture of urgency rather than one of deliberate, thoughtful planning. Misalignment Across Teams: Another common problem is misalignment among departments. When there’s no shared strategic vision, teams may end up working in silos, each with its own set of priorities. Instead of collaborating, these departments may unintentionally work against each other, creating inefficiencies and missed opportunities for synergy. High Employee Turnover and Low Engagement: Employees need to feel a sense of purpose and direction. In organizations that lack strategic leadership, uncertainty about the future can lead to low morale and disengagement. Talented individuals may choose to leave, seeking stability and purpose elsewhere. High turnover disrupts team cohesion and adds to the organization’s challenges. But here’s the good news: even if you recognize some of these problems in your organization, there is a way to transform your leadership approach and create a positive, lasting impact. What Are The Signs Of A Strategically Led Organization? What does it look like when an organization embraces strategic leadership? Imagine a company where every team member is inspired and motivated by a clear and compelling vision.  Leaders and employees alike are aligned, proactive, and ready to adapt to any challenge that comes their way.  Here are a few indicators that an organization’s leadership transcends beyond the tactical: Clear and Inspiring Vision In a strategically led organization, the vision is not just a set of lofty words on a mission statement. It is a driving force that influences every decision and action. Everyone understands where the company is headed and why their work matters. This clarity gives employees a sense of purpose and motivation, making them more invested in their roles. Alignment Across Teams: Departments don’t work in isolation; they collaborate seamlessly, all contributing to the overarching strategy. Every project is carefully aligned with the organization’s goals, and resources are used efficiently. This alignment not only enhances productivity but also fosters a sense of unity, making the organization stronger. A Proactive, Adaptive Culture: Rather than waiting for change to force their hand, leaders anticipate market shifts and prepare accordingly. They foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, ensuring the organization stays ahead of the competition. This adaptability is crucial in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. Investment in Talent Development: Strategic leaders understand the value of investing in their people. They offer training, coaching, and development opportunities to ensure employees are equipped to excel. This investment not only boosts performance but also strengthens employee loyalty and engagement. Data-Driven Decision-Making: In a strategically led organization, decisions are based on data and insights rather than assumptions. Leaders analyze key metrics to guide their planning and make informed choices. This data-driven approach allows for more precise resource allocation and effective risk management. Culture of Accountability and Empowerment: Employees are empowered to take initiative, but they are also held accountable for their results. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, fostering a culture where individuals are motivated to perform at their best. When everyone knows what is expected of them and feels trusted to deliver, performance flourishes. Ultimately, it boils down to this. Leaders who invest in their people–through training, coaching and development–lay the foundation for lasting success. Take the First Step You have the power to transform your organization through strategic leadership. Whether you think your team has no issues or you know there are challenges to address, The Metiss Group is here to guide you. We help you unlock the potential of your leaders, align your teams, and ensure you’re ready for whatever the future holds. Ready to elevate your leadership and drive lasting impact through the power of true strategy? Your first step is to study up on our program The Strategic Leadership Alignment™ . This program at The Metiss Group is designed to transform your reactive decision-making into true functionality for the long term to empower your entire organization.

Hiring employees is a high-stakes operation. When you don’t take it seriously, you not only waste time and money on the failed new hire, but everyone in your organization can feel fatigued by the constant turnover. At The Metiss Group, we’ve spent the past 28 years perfecting the hiring process so we could teach it to business owners like you. But our process doesn’t come without challenges. From managing the temptation to go with gut feelings over hard criteria to understanding the time investment required, we’ll walk you through five common hurdles hiring teams face with The Hiring Process Coach™—and share actionable insights to keep your hiring journey on track. Problem 1: Hiring managers fall in love with a candidate who’s a bad match The Hiring Process Coac h™ requires hiring managers to trust the process . This can be difficult when a candidate has a magnetic personality. “I could so hang with this guy!” the hiring manager says. “He’s the kind of guy you could grab a beer with.” But this may not be the ideal personality for the role you’re hiring. You need someone who can execute the job functions you’ve outlined. Having fun at happy hour won’t be enough. On the other hand, some hiring managers fall in love with their hard skills and experience. Maybe the candidate has industry-specific experience or went to a prestigious university.  Maybe they have experience using skills that are way more complicated than what your job requires — they won’t use those skills in your open role, but it’d be great to have in case you need those skills someday, right? Wrong. When you’re drooling over a candidate’s background, you need to ask yourself: How is this background going to specifically apply to the job you need them to do? If they’re not going to get to use those skills, they could become bored in their role. Solution: Have someone else on your team do the candidate screening If you’re the type of hiring manager or business owner who falls in love with magnetic personalities and impressive resumes, a good solution would be to have someone else on your team do the initial candidate screening. We can teach The Hiring Process Coach™ to any person on your team.  You don’t have to have one hiring manager covering the entire process.  So when you have an unbiased, professional team member conducting the phone screens, you’ll be less likely to fall in love with candidates who won’t make a good fit. Problem 2: The Hiring Process Coach™ won’t source candidates The Hiring Process Coach™ isn’t a headhunting service . Although your coach will help you screen, assess, and select the ideal candidate, you’ll have to be the one to post on job boards and ask for referrals. Solution: We’ll help you attract the right candidates Although we won’t tap into our network to send candidates your way, we’ll help you learn ways to find quality candidates. It begins in the definition phase. You’ll get crystal clear on the job description and ideal candidate, which will increase your chances of the ideal candidate filling out a job application. We’ll also teach you how to ask for referrals from your center of influence , who can give you the highest quality leads. You won’t just find candidates who fit the hard skills, you’ll also find people who match your culture. Problem 3: You don’t have time for The Hiring Process Coach™ The Hiring Process Coach™ takes time. It typically takes one to two months to hire a good employee . The first phase, the Definition phase, takes six hours over three sessions. During this phase, you build out a job scorecard and define the perfect person for the role, and all stakeholders need to be present. And for some people, six hours feels like an eternity. Especially when you multiply that by 5-10 stakeholders. Solution: Understand how upfront work speeds up the process We get it. You need someone hired yesterday! But when you slow down and define the role, the rest of the process will go much more smoothly. You won’t waste time interviewing the duds, because they’ll become far more apparent. You’ll be able to spot a superstar much more quickly , too. You’ll have defined exactly what you want from the beginning, so you won’t need to wait and compare the superstar to other candidates. You’ll also save time for your executive team. Since they were involved in the definition phase, they won’t need to be involved in the rest of the process until it comes time to hire. If you truly don’t believe you have time, we recommend hiring a fractional role. Then you can slow down and take the time you need to hire a superstar. Problem 4: Small businesses don’t have an HR department Some of our small business clients think they can’t use The Hiring Process Coach™ because they don’t have a human resources department. Since our process is to teach you how to fish instead of giving you the fish, they think it’s a problem they don’t have a clear person to teach. Solution: Teach The Hiring Process Coach™ to your culture champion You probably have someone at your company who lives and breathes your culture. It doesn’t have to be a senior executive. If you have someone on the frontline who is passionate about your culture, who better to be the gatekeeper for your organization?  They’ll have a sixth sense for good-fit candidates. They can learn The Hiring Process Coach™ program in its entirety; then, when they’re ready to give a candidate an offer, they can hand the reigns to an executive.  Problem 5: Hiring managers don’t prioritize onboarding So you’ve made it through the hiring process and hired a great worker. You show them their desk and say, “OK, time to get to work! Go hit the ground running!” Surprise: you might have hired a worker, but a human being showed up . And humans need to be onboarded. Solution: Invest in the onboarding process The final stage of The Hiring Process Coach™, the Onboarding stage, cannot be overlooked.  Your behavior expert will help the new hire and their supervisor understand each other’s communication styles and leadership styles. They can then leverage each other’s strengths and avoid landmines when communicating. Your expert will also help the new hire understand they aren’t perfect. They’ll learn how to accept support from others and prioritize their development. This phase will shorten the learning curve and build a foundation for trust on both sides. But it doesn’t work unless the onboarding process is taken seriously.  In The Hiring Process Coach™, the onboarding process lasts through the first 90 days after a new hire has been made. Your next steps with The Hiring Process Coach™ Remember, your goal isn’t just to find a fun teammate or someone with an extraordinary background. It’s about identifying the candidate who best fits the job and your company culture. Falling in love with the wrong attributes can lead to costly mis-hires, dissatisfaction, and turnover. When you go through The Hiring Process Coach™ program and avoid these common challenges, you’ll know each candidate is evaluated for the qualities that matter most for success in your organization. At The Metiss Group, we have spent the last 28 years perfecting the hiring process and keeping our clients from making terrible hiring decisions.  Now that you understand the problems clients typically face with The Hiring Process Coach™, the next step is to schedule a call  with one of our behavior experts. Not ready to jump on the phone? Download a free Job Scorecard  to better understand the definition phase of The Hiring Process Coach™.

Emotional Intelligence in the workplace has historically been cast as a warm and fuzzy, nice-to-have — but definitely not needed — soft skill. Say you’re hiring a programmer. They’re just going to be shut in their office crunching code all day, so their personality and EQ doesn’t matter, right? But every programmer today who is creating something that is going to be used by other people needs to interact with other people to understand how their code will be used.  So emotional intelligence development isn’t just critical for highly emotional positions, such as psychologists, teachers, nurses, etc. We can’t think of a single profession that doesn’t need emotionally intelligent employees . However, not everyone is a good fit for targeted instruction in emotional intelligence development. For some people, the timing isn’t right. Others need to overcome personal obstacles before they’re ready to take on the work required of EQ development. As behavior experts, we teach emotional development to small- to mid-sized businesses like yours. Through our experience, we’ve identified five types of people who are a bad fit for emotional intelligence development. In this article, we’ll explore those five types of people to help you decide if emotional intelligence development is right for you. Emotional Intelligence development isn’t for someone going through major life changes When you go through a major life change — such as divorce/breakup, marriage, death of a loved one, or birth of a new child — emotions can be very raw. Note that this is true both in emotional negatives AND in positives. There are a couple of reasons why this would make you a bad candidate for EQ development. For one, you’ll want to take time for yourself to grieve, celebrate, or process your emotions. But another, more pertinent reason is that these raw emotions will skew your self-discovery. Our EQ development programs always start with this phase, which involves assessing your current grasp of the 15 emotional intelligence traits . When emotions are high, you won’t get a clear assessment. For example, if you recently lost a job, your self-regard could be abnormally low. If you just got married, your optimism could be skewed exceptionally high. For these types of people, it’s best to wait until the major life event passes. Then, they could be a good candidate for EQ development. Emotional Intelligence development won’t work for someone who believes they are perfect Most people believe they are unfinished and have room to grow. This sounds bad, but it’s totally normal: it just means that we’re typically more critical of ourselves than we are of other people. But some people feel they are complete.. These are people who typically think they’re always right. When people with this overconfidence receive their self-discovery assessment results, they might not agree with the data. Even if it includes feedback from their peers , their distorted view can cause them to think, “Well yeah, but those guys are just idiots.” For people who already believe they’re doing everything right, emotional intelligence development may feel unnecessary, leaving them closed off to the valuable insights it can offer. Someone who just started a new role isn’t ready for emotional intelligence development If you’re brand new to a role — whether at a new company or recently promoted to a new team — it’s better to wait and settle in before developing your EQ. This again goes back to self-discovery. Using the EQ 360, you’ll need to ask your supervisor, direct reports, and coworkers to assess your habits (not just your most recent performance). If you’ve just started a new role, then your peers might score you low on emotional intelligence since they haven’t yet observed your behaviors and habits. And without an accurate foundation of self-discovery, you won’t be able to get the most out of your EQ development. The good news is that you could be ready for EQ development after 6-8 months in your new role.  EQ development won’t work for people who don’t have enough time Are you the kind of person who just changed a job, moved houses, and found out you’re having a baby all at once? If so, then EQ development might not be a good fit for you. At least not right now.  When you’re going through so much change at once, the last thing you want to do is add more to your plate. And for emotional intelligence to work, you need to spend time learning, applying those learnings, and asking for feedback.  As with learning any skill, your EQ development isn’t going to work if you don’t have time to make it a priority. Those resistant to self-development will struggle with EQ development Self-development takes courage and vulnerability. You have to explore the imperfections that make up who you are. For most people, it’s more difficult to improve their soft skills.  Let’s say you want to become better at defensive driving. You sign up for a class and learn the safe following distance, you learn to leave 15 minutes early, etc. Then you get feedback that you need to work on your road rage. Ouch. Things just got harder. If you’re not able to look in the mirror, assess your imperfections, and commit to changing them — EQ development may not ever be right for you. Next steps for EQ development Developing emotional intelligence is a powerful way to increase job performance and create a better work environment.  But it’s not a universal fit for everyone at all times.  As we explored in this article, certain life circumstances or personal attributes might make the journey to emotional intelligence development less effective for some individuals. If you read this and felt that one or more felt too close to home, that’s OK. Start by taking a peek at a sample EQ 360 report , which we use in the self-discovery phase of our program, The Emotional Intelligence Journey™. This will help you gain a greater understanding of what the process looks like and help you decide if you’d be a good fit. However, if you read this and feel ready to take your leadership development to the next level with emotional intelligence, schedule a call  with a behavior expert from The Metiss Group.