March 2007 Newsletter

See What You're Looking At

A merchant stumbled into an oasis and asked an old man, "Have you seen a stray camel?"

The old man responded, "Was he blind in his left eye and lame?"

"Yes!" replied the merchant.

"Did he carry grain on one side and honey on the other?" asked the old man.

"Yes, yes! Tell me where my camel is!"

The old man shook his head, "I have never seen him, and I don’t know where he is."

The merchant became irritated. "Never seen him?! But you described him completely!"

"Son," said the old man, "when a person has eyes and knows how to use them, everything begins to have meaning. I knew a camel passed this way because I saw camel tracks. I noticed the irregular pattern of steps and suspected he was lame. The camel only grazed on one side of the path, so I concluded he was blind in one eye. The ants told me grain had spilled on one side, and the flies hovered over the drips of honey on the other side. I have never seen your camel."


Hiring for Character

Some business prognosticators estimate that by the year 2010 there will be 10 million more jobs in the United States than there will be workers to fill those jobs. These conditions highlight the need for businesses to make good hiring decisions.

Often you will receive information on a resume or job application that looks impressive. However, a wise hiring manager develops the discernment to ask appropriate questions.

For instance, if a candidate says he or she increased sales at another firm by 123%, ask for specific steps and techniques the candidate used. At times, members of a sales force benefit from changes outside their control. Listen for what the candidate did personally that resulted in the increase.

Most jobs are filled based on skill, but most terminations are related to character issues. Determine what skills a job requires, and determine what character qualities are important for the job. When hiring a manager, for example, you can investigate the candidate's skill level and ask questions in order to determine whether the person has the responsibility, decisiveness, flexibility, and determination to lead others.

Ask behavior-based questions that a candidate can only answer by relating past experiences, instead of giving the answer he or she thinks you want to hear. Most behavior-based questions can follow this pattern: "Tell me about a time when you were working and you had to deal with a rude customer. How did you handle that situation, and what was the final result? Please be specific in your answer."

Responsibility:

  • Tell about a time when you had to balance several projects. How did you stay focused on the job at hand and meet deadlines?
  • Was there a time when you could not fulfill others' expectations? How did you work through the situation?

Decisiveness:

  • What decision-making responsibility did you have at your previous job? What factors did you measure in order to make your decisions?
  • Tell how those around you reacted to your decisions. Did you ever refine a decision?

Flexibility:

  • Tell about a time when you had to redirect a project or move to something else. How did you make the adjustment?
  • Has your employer ever changed your job description? How did you respond?

Determination:

  • Have you ever felt a task was impossible? What did you do?
  • What are two or three projects you did not enjoy? How did you remain motivated to complete these tasks?

Ask follow-up questions in order to gain a clearer understanding of each answer. Learn more about hiring the best people by participating in the Hiring for Character session in the Character First! Implementation Seminar.

Tim Hester, Character First! Consultant
Paula York Inc. (Louisville, Kentucky)


TeachCharacterEd.com

Unified School District 501 in Topeka, Kansas, developed the Character Education Learning Center to assist teachers with character implementation. The center provides training courses, an interactive forum, and other resources.

When SD501 started emphasizing character, teachers hesitated to take on "another thing to do," but they quickly saw that character education gave them tools to deal with behavior problems and spend more time teaching.

What are you doing to promote character in schools or at home? Utilize resources such as www.teachcharactered.com or visit the Character First! online classroom.


Character: Crosses International Boundaries

El Paso, Texas, and Jaurez, Mexico, want to work together to begin a character initiative in their region. February 28-March 2, leaders from these cities met to discuss how they can combine efforts to emphasize and teach character in their communities.

They discussed ways to emphasize character among citizens and the many tourists who visit their cities. The two cities would like to use the same type of banners and signs—only in different languages.

After learning of the Character Training Institute in 1996, Sergeant Powers led an effort generating community support, requesting Character First! curriculum for elementary education, and recruiting mentors.

Eight Oklahoma City elementary schools piloted the new Character First! curriculum. Students, teachers, and parents responded positively to the character lessons.

Watch for great things in El Paso, Texas, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Jaurez, Mexico.

Steven Menzel, Director
International Association of Character Cities