Ryan Poterack - Interview Part 4

An interesting question I have been asked before is: “ Ryan Poterack, in terms of leadership, how do you believe you are viewed as a leader by your employees?”

My first thought is you should ask them.  My opinion could be completely irrelevant because it’s not the truth, it is a perspective.  I would think my consistent behavior, like it or not, would be respected for its consistency.  I believe my employees view me as a principled leader.  

My style may appear at times to be distant, aloof, or be intimidating to new employees who have not seen me in enough scenarios to appreciate my behavioral consistency.  Employees probably struggle with my directness and candor.  I do not curse or raise my voice when making a point. 

I rarely express a viewpoint without having thought about it thoroughly.  If challenged, I will have robust answers to support my viewpoint.  This can be intimidating to an employee who is concerned their opinion may not be supported by an equal amount of thought.  I cannot think differently.  I would hope my approach leads employees to slow down a bit and think clearly about their communication.     

It isn’t possible for me to work with others and not do everything I can to improve the employee as a person.  I would hope I’m viewed as seeking excellence, fair, compassionate and generous.

Ryan Poterack is a businessman located in North Carolina.  He enjoys speaking and writing about a variety of topics.

Ryan Poterack - Interview Part 3

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was recently interviewed by a business coach. It was an enjoyable process, and I wanted to share another excerpt of the interview. I thought you may find this stimulating:

Charrise McCrorey:  How do you instill your vision – particularly with new people as they come in?  In what way do you provide them with guidance so that their actions align with your vision?

Ryan Poterack:  It all boils down to truth and consistency. My behavior is extremely consistent with our core values and this consistency demonstrates what is acceptable in the firm and our culture.  In terms of my actions towards a new employee, it is important to be extremely direct.  This is an efficient use of time and questions provide an opportunity to see how forthright an employee’s answer is. 

If I don’t get a direct answer to a question, I will make it very clear, in a respectful way, what my question was by repeating the question.  This doesn’t need to happen more than a two or three times, before there is an understanding of this expectation; When I ask a question,  I expect to receive an answer to the question.  If a new employee is uncomfortable with this straightforward way of communicating then we do not have a good cultural fit.

If the new employee has personal confidence and is aware of the behavior in our firm being consistent with our Vision, Mission Statement, and Core Values then they will quickly assimilate successfully.  I intend to interact with a new employee in the same way I interact with an employee that’s been with us for years.  I discuss in the interviewing process; the day I hire you, I want 100% of you and by 100% I mean when you observe something you don’t understand or think is being done improperly it’s your responsibility to communicate it.  If the new employee has a creative idea, then I expect them to share it even on day one.  It is not correct to think; I’m the new person so I probably shouldn’t speak up.

A new employee has what I will never possess again; a first impression of my business and my team.  I promote the value of their naïve opinion about my business and actively solicit feedback.  If I don’t get feedback, I’m going to start poking around.  What do you think of that; What do you think of this?  It’s not easy for someone to provide me with an inauthentic answer.  I either get an authentic answer or I get a reasonable response, such as “That’s an interesting question Ryan, can I think about it and get back to you with an answer?”  If I get fluff, vague or they complement me – in an authentic or inauthentic way, I’m going to ask more specific questions.

Consistency of behavior in every day interactions breeds trust as expectations are consistently met.  New employees learn what is acceptable in a firm by what they see and experience more than what they hear. 

Ryan Poterack was interviewed by business coach Charrise McCrorey as part of a discovery process for a book.

9 Questions by Ryan Poterack

Recently a friend of mine sent me an email asking these 9 questions.  I enjoyed answering them, so I figured I would add them to this blog.  

1.       What is your favorite book & why?  I find the Bible to be a reassuring guide on how to live productively.  For business, the E-Myth was a book that had an impact on the way I viewed entrepreneurial endeavors.

2.      What inspires Ryan Poterack?  People who are passionate, professional and generous in what they do.

3.      What is your earliest childhood memory? The crib.  Playing with mobiles and pretending I was asleep.

4.      How do you handle stress?  Workout and mentally slow down by taking stock of what is good in my life.

5.      When are you the most relaxed? When I’m helping people and spending time with family and friends.

6.      What are your pet peeves?  Inauthentic communication. Poor service.  People who belittle others.

7.      What draws you to someone?  Sincerity. 

8.     What is the thing you, Ryan Poterack, get complimented on the most?  Ability to explain complex topics simply.

9.      What do you get criticized about the most?  I ask a lot of questions.

Ryan Poterack Interview - Part 2

I was recently interviewed by a business coach.  It was an enjoyable process, and I wanted to share an excerpt of the interview.  I thought you may find interesting:

Charrise McCrorey:  Let’s talk about fear and its relationship with the culture you have built in your companies.  In what ways do you combat fear?  Work associates may come to the table afraid a lot of times.  How do you help them with the fear of being wrong, of not knowing the answers to the questions you ask?

Ryan Poterack:  Fear usually manifests itself when the associate is coasting in neutral…in other words, not participating.  The person in a meeting not asking questions; not throwing out ideas; not challenging old ideas is simply coasting in neutral.  To put it quite simply, I just don’t allow this type of behavior. 

This doesn’t have to happen too many times to recognize a problem.  It’s not an ambush, but if you’re sitting there quietly while the group is engaged in discussion; I will turn and ask “Charrise, what do you think?”  If the person is clearly not engaged, I’m going to get in their proverbial face about it.  I have to assume they are paying attention even if they are fearful and not wanting to engage in the discussion.  I must believe they are paying attention otherwise I’m wasting money and they shouldn’t be in the room. 

I know this can come off as tough but in practice, I’m only considered tough by people who don’t have the business’s best interest in mind.  Associates should recognize pretty quickly there is a whole lot more to fear with non-participation. It also takes a lot more energy trying to avoid getting engaged than it does to interact, take a risk, and just lay it all out there.

Ryan Poterack was interviewed by business coach Charrise McCrorey as part of a discovery process for a book.

Ryan Poterack Interview

Recently, I was interviewed by business coach Charrise McCrorey.  Below is an excerpt of the interview, I thought you may enjoy:

Charrise McCrorey:  What is the process for finding and hiring people that are a cultural fit when you have a new position available?

Ryan Poterack:  My first thought is I’ve got to have a good feeling in my gut.  Some may think that’s not transferrable, I think it is absolutely transferrable.  Every single person on the planet gets a gut visceral reaction when they come into contact with another individual in some fashion – phone, in-person, whatever –and if that gut reaction really has any negativity to it, I believe you should probably just turn the page and say next. 

In most cases though, gut reaction is a neutral or a positive.  Personally, I have a vision, mission, and core values that guide me…they are the basis for all of my hiring decisions.  Being very straightforward with people in a first interview about those core values - particularly in the area of candor and personal responsibility - and challenging them on those values, is very important.   I also ask many question that don’t  turn up on typical interviews.  It’s not the answer that I’m focused on; it’s how quickly and how sincerely they answer the question.  Their reaction more than their actual answer means a lot to me.

If a person answers my question with a question of their own….well, that gains a little more of my respect!  Not only is answering a question with a question a way to validate the understanding, but, if done properly, it complements the person asking the question.  It can also buy the person time to formulate their decision –and that can be done in an instant, in 5 to 7 seconds and tells me that this person knows how to communicate and interact in a way that I would define as thinking correctly.  I pay attention to confidence and eye contact and all that stuff but in the end, it comes down to – really – can they handle surprise and chaos?  If so, we may have a winner. 

Ryan Poterack is a business owner located in Charlotte, NC.