GWC

I am reading “Traction” by Gino Wickman on helping small companies gain traction to meet their growth goals. The book has too many lists and formulas for my taste, but the one I still remembered this morning was GWC.

GWC is the three criteria the author suggests for identifying the “right person for the right seat”. I do not think this description is an end-all-be-all for hiring strategies, but your hiring-team would be well versed if time is taken to discuss and come to agreement on these three parameters. I’ve added a lot of my own interpretation to these categories.

G—Get it. The person for this position needs to “get it”. This category gives deference to the gut feeling that you have about the person’s understanding of the culture of your organization; the unwritten expectations in the position. This seems totally unfair, but we’re doing it anyway, so let’s talk about it—and let’s agree on it. I think most hiring teams/leadership teams will find out that among themselves, they don’t have an agreement on the culture; the expectations unwritten or unwritten. Do you know them well enough to articulate these to the candidate? If so, then why not share?

W—Want it. The person needs have the passion for this role. I work in a lot of companies where employees are loyal and will do what you ask. Other categories of candidates are those looking for any job; those looking for a promotion or those looking to run away from their current role. Do those people have the emotional capacity to push through the tough stuff of this new role? Will they revel in the challenges it offers? Will they bring creative energy? What does passion look like according to your hiring team? What questions can you create to pull this out?

C—Can do it. (I’ve changed the name.) Of course the person needs to have the skills to do the job. But is there even a job description? Is it accurate? Is it the old position description? Should it be updated? Will the role change over time? This component is the most tangible, but few hiring teams really scrutinize the role as much as they scrutinize the candidate. Its only fair to the person you’ve chosen to be the right person is given the right seat.