Veronica Gnaman, M.S.

Engineering leaders know how challenging it is to find top talent. They should have lists of folks that they are regularly connecting with that should be some of the first people they reach out to when they open new roles. Keep in mind, that this list should not just be close friends or contacts, but a diverse group of folks who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and would be able to bring great ideas to the team. Building relationships when there is less pressure is a way to show commitment, which can payoff nicely when it's time to hire.

Make sure to gather both quantitative and qualitative data - from a wide variety of backgrounds. You need to ensure that you have a complete picture of the leadership candidate. For example, understanding a leader's performance scores can be helpful, but having conversations with folks who have been on their teams can also give some insight. Great leaders can amplify great talent. Bad leaders can cause great damage.

One of the skills you want to learn is how to learn about a new area of the business. Great recruiters partner closely with the businesses they support and understand which roles are needed for them to accomplish their goals. But as business needs change and priorities change recruiters might be pulled into supporting other areas of the organization. Being able to know the business, know the talent strategy, build relationships with the leaders, learn the market, and continue to build trust with candidates to help them find the right roles will make you invaluable to your team.

The best advice I've received about feedback is to focus feedback on improving the working relationship between the two individuals involved in the conversation. Feedback givers often feel compelled to cover all areas of improvement, which can be overwhelming and may not be accurate due to their limited visibility. Instead, by concentrating on strengthening your own working relationship and allowing others to do the same, the recipient gains a broad spectrum of insights about themselves. It is then up to the recipient to distinguish what is unique to individual interactions and what is a common thread throughout their professional relationships, and act accordingly.

I would recommend starting with your team's business strategy, understanding where they are now, and where they are looking to be in the future. After that is clear, you can start having the talent strategy discussion to align with the team's business strategy. I see many HR strategies struggling with this - not having a good idea of the business strategy they are supporting, and not building their talent strategies to be aligned with those business strategies. Alignment is key.