For anyone who has kids or is a kid at heart, you have probably seen the movie Toy Story. It is a great movie and introduced Pixar’s technology which became the gold-standard by which all other computer animation would be judged.
For the Toy Story uninitiated, Woody is a pull-string talking cowboy and the favorite toy of Andy, the child who owns him and the main human character in the movie. They are inseparable.
Andy has a birthday where he is given a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Buzz has a flip down helmet visor, pop-out wings and a laser on his arm. Compared to the rather mundane Woody, Buzz is wildly exciting. Immediately, Buzz takes Woody’s place as the favorite and as Buzz gets all the benefits of being the “favorite,” Woody goes from denial to depression and then, ultimately, tries to off Buzz. That’s right, Pixar goes a little dark at that point in the movie.
Spoiler alert- the movie has a happy ending.
Most successful and growing organizations, at some point, start to get their pick of the job-seeking candidate pool. Your business has done well and has built a great reputation; enough to attract the best talent and that is very exciting. With the ability to add expertise and fill organizational gaps, access to increased expertise through these new hires can really accelerate growth and success.
It is also very easy to treat a new “high performer” like a trophy for which lavish on-boarding programs are deployed and public recognition of their past success is broadcast throughout the organization. Detailed and thoughtful on-boarding is crucial to a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent. There are reams of white papers dedicated to the short and long-term benefits these programs provide. I strongly agree with them.
So, like Andy in Toy Story, you now have a Buzz. You still have a Woody too.
Chances are, your Buzz partially or completely displaced your Woody.
Your Woody likely has been with the organization for a long time and is loyal and eager. He was, at one point, your Buzz. He has tremendous institutional knowledge and has been consistently successful in the roles for which he has been responsible.
While the arrival of your “Buzz” has been heralded with much fanfare, your “Woody” is not so sure about what this new hire means for him or her. Unrecognized, Woody may start to act in ways that are counter-productive or even engage in outright sabotage.
When hiring new talent, make sure you look at the onboarding process from both sides. Don’t solely focus on how you want the new hire to experience your organization but also that person’s impact to all of your “Woodys.” Do people understand why this person is being hired and how that will affect them directly? Are they being included in the hiring process and if their role is changing because of this new hire, do they understand what that means for their own future in the organization?
If you take a dual-perspective view to bringing on new talent, you can have a happy ending as well.
Have you ever been a “Buzz” or “Woody?” If so, drop me an email. I’d love to hear how you worked through it (or didn’t).