I think I’ve finally found a “foolproof” way to size up a potential employee.  Matter of fact, I think this is a sure-fire way to size up just about anyone.  Several leading business thinkers have written on this topic, including the great Jim Collins - so I’m in no way claiming ownership of this process - but I’m telling you that this litmus test has never failed me.  I’m literally 100% successful when using this approach. 

It’s called the Locus of Control test. 

Locus of control is a term in psychology which refers to a person’s belief about what causes the good or bad results in his or her life, either in general or in a specific area, such as their career. It can either be internal, meaning the person believes that they control themselves and their life, or external, meaning they believe that their environment, some external power, or other people control their decisions and their life.

When applied to business situations, the locus of control concept will tell you the kind of person with whom you’re dealing.  Employees who subscribe to an internal locus of control will take responsibility for whatever results are achieved - good or bad.  Employees who subscribe to an external locus of control, by contrast, will look you dead in the eye and attempt to explain to you the 101 reasons why a bad result was achieved (aka “It’s not my fault!”).

I firmly believe that the locus of control concept can be directly applied to the hiring process to determine whether or not a candidate would be a good fit for your organization.  Here are a few examples of the concept:

Example 1:  An employee is leading a software development project, and has responsibility for translating the client’s business requirements into technical specifications, which are then turned into software by a team of developers.  When the beta version is released to the customer, they have a fit because it’s missing key functionality.  They feel that they had accurately communicated requirements to the employee. 

A person with an internal locus of control would say, “Well, I guess I failed to understand what they were looking for.   I accept responsibility for the situation we’re in, and will make it right.”  A person with an external locus of control would say, “I did everything they told me to do.  They even signed off on the specs!  This isn’t our fault!”

Example 2:  Your salesperson has a final presentation with the executive team at a company that he’s been chasing for over a year.  The deal is a seven-figure deal, and it’s a must-win for your firm.  The day before the meeting, the salesperson comes into your office and tells you that the client just called to say that they were going with another firm, and would be canceling the meeting.  You’re stunned, because this turn of events is totally out of the blue. 

A person with an internal locus of control would say to you, “Well, boss, this one took me by surprise.  I guess I didn’t ask the right questions to understand what we were really up against.  I own this 100%.”  A person with an external locus of control would say, “That S.O.B. totally screwed me!  He told me that we’d have a fair shot at winning this thing.  They were just using us to lower the price for their existing vendor!”

These are real-life examples, and I was the manager in both cases.  In both cases, I had employees who subscribed to an external locus of control.  The “it’s not my fault!” syndrome had burned me yet again.  Had I done a better job selecting talent for my team, I wouldn’t have had employees who couldn’t own up to mistakes.

So, how to use the Locus of Control Test when interviewing candidates?  It’s easy.  Simply listen closely to the candidates answers for your questions.  If they’re telling you the things that they could have done to impact the end result, then they’re coming at the situation with an internal locus of control (good).  If they’re telling you that their manager was bad, or that the company was under-resourced, or that the economy was bad, or that the price of tea in China was a factor, then they’re coming at the issue with an external locus of control (bad).

In my over 10 years of interviewing candidates for jobs, I have never once hired someone with an internal locus of control that let me down.  Not once.  Why?  Because even if they couldn’t meet expectations, they would acknowledge that the responsibility was theirs.  If the situation called for termination or reassignment, it never ended with ill will because the individual owned the end result. 

In contrast, every “ugly” management issue that I’ve dealt with has been with an employee whose locus of control was external.  Nothing was their fault!  I was a bad manager!  They didn’t know what I wanted!  How was this their fault?

Focusing on this one concept will exponentially increase your hiring results.  Try it! 

If it doesn’t work for you, then it’s your fault, not mine.  :)

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