Welcome to the second in our new series of the Helm Report, in which we talk about specific issues and characteristics that you may encounter from time to time in applicants. It’s my intention to show how you can use the Performance Profile report to learn more about candidates, in order to make good hiring, placement, and coaching decisions.
Each month, I focus on a specific problem so that we can talk about what red flags to look for in the Performance Profile Report, how to use information from it to deal with the person as an applicant and as a new hire.
This month, we are going to talk about Mr. (or Ms.) Impulsive: the person about whom we tend to shake our heads and say things to one another like, “Did he just say that?” or ”She did what? Didn’t she realize what would happen?”
Who Is Mr. Impulsive?
Mr. Impulsive’s method of operation could be described as, “Fire! Ready, Aim.” He readily offers his opinion before he has all the facts. He willingly asserts a course of action at the first sign of trouble, well before the situation has been fully described. He seems driven to take action, and to live by the motto, “Doing something right this minute, even if it is wrong, is better than doing nothing.”
You Know You Have Met Mr. Impulsive When…
The Performance Profile will alert you to the possibility that you may looking at a Mr. Impulsive if the Energy Level rating is “6” or higher and the Impulse Control rating is “4” or below. This is because the higher energy level acts as an engine that drives behavior, behavior that lower impulse control can’t always hold in check. The greater the difference between the two ratings, the more often you will see impulsive comments and/or behavior.
As a behavioral tendency, impulsiveness (that is, a lack of the ability to control one’s impulses) tends to cause other bad habits or negative tendencies to show more often. Just as yeast interacts with flour and water to produce an unexpected result - bread, so too does poor impulse control interact with other personality characteristics to produce different, and often unwanted, behaviors. Let’s look at some of these unfortunate recipes.
Impulsive + Not Too Smart = Bad Decisions
Whenever you see a two point spread between a higher Energy level rating and a lower Impulse Control rating, look also at the Intelligence rating. It is reassuring if it is “5” or higher. Smart people who tend to make impulsive decisions still tend to make good decisions because they can think fast and process information quickly. On the other hand, if Intelligence is “4” or below, beware. The combination of “not too smart” and impulsiveness can result in a poorly thought through decision that was made too quickly to take all relevant factors into consideration.
Impulsive + Very Assertive = Rude
When you see the suggestion of impulsiveness in a Performance Profile Report, look next at the Assertiveness rating. Remember that the Assertiveness characteristic measures a person’s preference to be (at the high end of the scale) very straightforward and direct, to the point of being blunt and attacking. If the Assertive rating is high (“6” or greater) and the Performance Profile suggests impulsiveness, then the person’s behavior will sometimes come across as rude or thoughtless. His impulsiveness means that he won’t always think about how his comments are going to sound to others. For instance, if Mr. Impulsive disagrees with a co-worker’s suggestion of a possible solution to a problem the group is facing, he might immediately say something like, “That’s a stupid idea. It will never work.” His assertiveness makes him very willing to raise opposing viewpoints and his impulsiveness keeps him from taking the time to find a tactful way to express those viewpoints.
Impulsive + Intolerant = Unpleasant
Worse still, from the perspective of this person’s ability to work smoothly with others, is the combination of impulsiveness and a low Friendliness rating. Ratings for Friendliness that are “4” or lower indicate a person with some degree of a negative attitude toward people in general. Add to this a tendency to be impulsive and the result can be nastiness. “People are idiots!” these individuals like to say, and they tend to interpret instances of a mistake being made by someone else as proof positive of this attitude. Their comments to others are often laced with sarcasm and put-downs, sometimes subtle and sometimes direct. Their feedback to others can come across as a personal attack, even when they are trying to be constructive. Once again, the more impulsive this person is, the more often you will see this unpleasant behavior.
Dealing With Mr. Impulsive The Applicant
Your task, in the interview, is to find out how self-aware Mr. Impulsive is about the downside of this tendency, and what he has learned to do about it. Here are some steps to take in the interview when you see impulsiveness indicated in the Performance Profile Report.
In the Interview
The first thing to do is to keep in mind the old adage that we tend to clone ourselves when we hire. We naturally tend to like people who are wired up like we are (as long as they aren’t too much like us.) Check your own Performance Profile Report to see if you are similarly inclined to be a bit impulsive. If you are, then be aware that you will be drawn to the Mr. Impulsives of the world. This may give Mr. Impulsive a positive “halo” in your eyes and blind you to questionable issues you otherwise would readily see.
Mr. Impulsive usually interviews well. For one thing, he will be on his best behavior for the interview and, as a result, will be actively trying to control the more negative aspects of his impulsiveness. You may see a person who is “fast on his feet” in conversation, alert and quick to follow your lead.
Ask questions like, “Tell me about a serious situation with tight time deadlines you have handled on your last job.” What you want to hear is that he took the time to understand the situation as well as possible given the time constraints before moving to action. What you don’t want to hear is that he simply dove right in and started doing things (that later had to be un-done.)
Another good question is, “Tell me about a time when a subordinate was very upset and got in your face.” What you want to hear is that he remained calm and dealt with the subordinate by first calming him or her down and then addressing the issue. What you don’t want to hear was that he responded by meeting the subordinate’s anger with an angry response of his own.
Calling References
Try to reach a previous supervisor or co-worker and ask how he handled making decisions under pressure. You want to hear that he thought things through well enough to understand the circumstances and to respond appropriately. In addition, ask how he handled difficult discussions with co-workers and subordinates. Listen for indications that he first defused any negative emotions and focused calmly on the issue.
Considering Placement Decisions
As always, a big question is how well the new hire will mesh with his new supervisor. If the new boss is strong willed, Mr. Impulsive’s willingness to “speak his mind” may be appealing to the supervisor, depending on how pronounced this tendency is in the new hire.
Chemistry with the supervisor aside, Mr. Impulsive is a somewhat questionable candidate (depending on just how strong his impulsive tendencies are) for positions where there is a strong need for good decision-making and for an on-going team building effort.
Dealing With Mr. Impulsive, The New Hire
The key to handling impulsiveness is containment, especially when impulsiveness is strong (that is, where there is more than a two-point spread between a higher Energy Level rating and a lower Impulse Control rating.) This Mr. Impulsive is going to need to hear about it whenever his impulsiveness hurts relationships or productivity. And, he will need to be coached on the importance of responding calmly to such feedback and of the necessity for verifying its credibility by asking others who know him well how accurate such feedback is.
1. Go over his Performance Profile report and Professional Development Guide with the person to whom Mr. Impulsive will report. Make it a point to also share with his new supervisor the information that you have from interview impressions and reference checks. Forewarned is forearmed. A prepared supervisor can help Mr. Impulsive take that critical “deep breath” – that extra pause – to consider consequences before taking action, rather than to simply respond negatively to his impulsiveness.
2. Use the Professional Development Guide. The Professional Development Guide is an ideal starting point for showing Mr. Impulsive how his very natural personal preferences can nonetheless negatively affect his working relationships with others. The Guide is written so that it can be self-administered, but don’t take that chance with Mr. Impulsive. Make sure that Mr. Impulsive acknowledges the need for some coaching, and that his supervisor and he use the Professional Development Guide to develop an Action Plan that implements that assistance.
The Final Word
Impulsiveness is not all bad. Impulsive people can energize others and they can create a spark that fuels creativity in a work team. In the long run, what is important is that Mr. Impulsive himself is aware that his snap judgments and too-quick responses can sometimes produce effects that are detrimental to what he is trying to do. And that he needs to be receptive to the feedback his co-workers are willing to give him when his impulsiveness works against what he is trying to accomplish.
