TIP 1: What’s your "sweet spot"- what makes your work days “great days“?
How do you know if a job is right for a person? Ask them this question. When do you most love what you do? For me, my best days are when I’m in my “sweet spot“. When I’m doing what I love most and it comes easily and flows from me. A great way to get to know this about others is to ask these two questions. First, “what’s the best day you’ve had at work in the last three months and why?” Followed by “what’s the worst day that you’ve had at work in the last three months and why?”
When is it important to ask these questions? It’s best to ask during the hiring process. As the hiring manager, reflect on the answers they share and think about how the job aligns with their responses. Is the role they’re interviewing for likely to have lots of the type of work they said they like, or lots of what they said they don’t like? Take time to reflect on whether they will be happy in the role given what they have shared with you.
As an example, when I was hiring a bond trader, I wanted someone who shared that their best day was when “they made great trades that lead to strong investment results“, not someone who shared that their best day was when “there was not much trading and they were able to read research, etc”. I wanted passionate traders who loved to win at trading. Then they would be energized, in their “sweet spot”, and enhancing the outcomes for our investors with great trades.
If you have an existing team, it’s good to ask each member the two questions during your one-on-one meetings with them. This will help you to understand their “sweet spot“ and what they’re passionate about. If there’s not great alignment, consider the possibility of shifting around responsibilities to help your team members to be more aligned to their “sweet spots” or passions.
Listen deeply for their responses and try to get at what really makes them tick and what is really their “sweet spot“. When you build a team of people operating in their passions, you’re more likely to have a great, highly productive and highly engaged team.