Once, I received 50 staffing emails for one project in Australia
Staffing can be extremely competitive, especially in tough economic times. Learn a neat trick that helped one consultant stand out from the crowd.
Seven years ago, as a manager, I had to staff my new team.
There was a shortage of people in the Sydney office, so I was looking for international staffing.
Sydney is a fantastic place for work and leisure. Many people wanted to work there.
But I was shocked at how many people applied.
50 consultants? Unbelievable!
Suddenly, I had a new problem - too many options.
A champagne problem, you might say. But it didn't feel like that at the moment.
How do I choose the right people out of many prospects?
As a consultant, of course, I created an elaborate funnel and defined selection criteria such as role, experience, and tenure.
But one consultant hacked the system.
He managed to stand out from the crowd.
He made his partners call me and advocate for him.
How it happened?
So I did my usual staffing routine. I sent emails to partners asking for feedback on shortlisted consultants.
One partner immediately called me back and told me I must take his protege. For 10 minutes, he was telling me how amazing he was.
He was so passionate and enthusiastic.
Wow!
How was it possible?
This was the first time I witnessed a partner advocating for a consultant so hard.
That was unimaginable.
How can you make partners do that?
This pattern repeated with other partners calling and sending glowing emails.
That was not a fluke.
He didn’t leave me any chances to staff anyone but him.
Clearly, he stood out from the crowd.
No wonder I staffed him. He was one of the best I have ever worked with.
Then he told me his secret.
It was simple, really.
He worked to impress. In everything he did, he tried to exceed expectations and consider what would be helpful to his leaders.
That’s it.
Easier said than done.
But he managed to make it work for him.
That experience expanded my ambition of what's possible.
I asked myself,
How can we build such enthusiasm, sponsorship, and support?
The best way to do it is to radically upgrade your performance.
If you can deliver more impact than your peers, you will be in a favorable position to build stronger relationships.
Eventually, that became an important part of my playbook that I teach my mentees.
On top of that, you can also use this as an effective tactical trick in staffing.
For example, you badly want to get staffed on your dream project.
You can ask your true sponsors to proactively vouch for you to project leaders.
The keyword is ‘proactively,’ not when they get asked.
It will instantly increase your chances of success because others don't do it.
The more senior sponsors vouch for you, the more effective it will be.
But, use it wisely, only for selected projects.
And if you don't have sponsors, you can ask for such a favor; that is something to think about, and make it your primary priority to find them.
That’s what 20 MBB consultants learn to do in the Hero's Journey coaching program.
They upgrade their toolkit and learn to perform well. Only by doing great work, scoring big wins, and impressing leaders can they build stronger sponsorship.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to achieve high performance, please Book a 1-1 Discovery Session to learn more.
Learn more about the Hero's Journey coaching program.