Reggie Leach said, “Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” We can relate to finding the passion for ourselves to be successful. But what about finding that passion within others, especially those we hire to help us make our team or organization success?
When interviewing, I’d rather find someone who’s passionate—on fire—than someone with a lot of experience in numerous industries with all of the right initials behind their name. Give me individuals who are on fire, not because I lit their fires via incentives or praise but because they came that way.
How do you know you’re talking to a candidate who’s on fire—or will set themselves on fire—once they’re on board? Watch for:
- Lots of energy. Wide-open enthusiasm when talking about the potential they see in the position. You can almost see sparks of excitement around them. It’s a beautiful thing.
- Non-verbals and body language that says, “I’m intrigued and excited about this position. Tell me more.” Leaning forward in their seat, looking you in the eye, taking notes.
- Showing up ready. They’ve done their research about you, your organization and the open position. They’ve come with lots of questions—but not just any questions. Questions that get to the heart of what it’d be like to join you in your passion. And you can tell they can hardly wait to hear your answers.
It’s like they want to know:
- Is this something that I’ll look forward to doing, come Monday mornings, and not tire of the rest of the week?
- Is this a role that will sometimes make me lose all sense of time?
- Is this a position that’s so intriguing that i just have to take the chance and do it?
- Will this job make my heart sing?
Remember the passion of Christopher Reeve? He said, “So many of our dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable.” I want to hire big dreamers. But not just any big dreamers. Big dreamers who set big fires!
