TZL 1567 (web)

TRENDLINES Formal compensation program January 6, 2025, Issue 1567 WWW.ZWEIGGROUP.COM

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Evaluating team dynamics is crucial for transforming organizational strategy into measurable results. The critical middle

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Zweig Group’s 2024 Recruitment & Retention Report reveals that 52 percent of AEC firms have a formal compensation program with set pay ranges based on grade and experience level, while 48 percent do not. A formal compensation program that shows set pay ranges based on grade and experience level can go a long way to standardizing employee pay rates firm-wide. Participate in a survey and save 50 percent on the final or pre- publication price of any Zweig Group research publication.

T he extremes get our attention. In business, it’s macro-level strategic planning exercises and micro-level individual performance reviews. I’m writing this in December of 2024, a time of year when firms immerse themselves in employee assessments, annual budgets, and marketing plans. While these activities are crucial, they overlook a vital component of organizational success: the middle layer where work gets done. This middle layer consists of the interconnected teams that form the backbone of your organization – project teams, departments, studios, management committees, and various other collaborative groups. When was the last time you systematically evaluated these teams’ effectiveness? Do you have a framework for such an assessment? A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TEAM ASSESSMENT. Step 1: Map your team ecosystem. Begin by creating a comprehensive inventory of your organizational teams. This includes:

Tom Godin

FIRM INDEX Balfour Beatty..........................................................2

■ Formal structures (board of directors, executive committee)

Balzer & Associates, Inc....................................4

Operational units (IT, marketing, finance)

■

■ Discipline teams/studios/market sector teams

Hanbury....................................................................... 8

■ Standing committees (technology, recruitment)

Michaud Cooley Erickson............................10

■ Informal but recurring collaborations Leverage your enterprise resource planning (ERP) data to identify patterns of collaboration and recurring team formations. This mapping exercise often reveals surprising insights about how work really flows through your organization. Step 2: Start at the top. Next, focus on your firm’s leadership team. A high-performing organization requires a high-performing leadership team. Organizational gravity will roll leadership dysfunction – a lack of chemistry, clarity, and control – downhill to every other team. Inspect and fix your own house first. Step 3: Apply the three Cs framework. Evaluate each team through three lenses: 1. Chemistry:

Westwood Professional Services, Inc....4

MORE ARTICLES n MERCEDEZ THOMPSON: Turning the page Page 3 n MARK ZWEIG: Time for some marketing maintenance! Page 5 n EMILY GAINES: Beyond numbers and spreadsheets Page 7 n LEISBEL LAM: Building teams with a growth mindset Page 9

See TOM GODIN, page 2

THE VOICE OF REASON FOR THE AEC INDUSTRY

ON THE MOVE BALFOUR BEATTY HIRES ANNETTE EBRIGHT AS VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPLIANCE Balfour Beatty announced the hiring of Annette Ebright as the company’s vice president of compliance based out of the company’s Charlotte office in North Carolina. In her new role, Ebright oversees the implementation of legal, regulatory, and

operational compliance and manages risk assessments for Balfour Beatty’s Buildings and Civils businesses. She also works in close coordination with senior leadership, including legal and internal audit functions, across Balfour Beatty’s global business, with specific emphasis on the company’s various U.S. geographies, to implement and improve the companywide ethics and compliance program.

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about the projects and ideas driving the AEC industry forward? Learn more with Civil+Structural Engineer Media.

TOM GODIN, from page 1

Does the team exhibit psychological safety? Can members openly share ideas and concerns? How effectively does the team navigate conflict?

Do team members understand and appreciate each other’s working styles? Research consistently shows that team performance correlates strongly with relationship quality. 2. Clarity:

Do team members understand their collective purpose? Are individual roles and responsibilities well-defined? Does the team have clear decision-making protocols? Are success metrics clearly established and understood?

How clearly are the teams aligned (around what they’re trying to accomplish), defined (in terms of the space in which they are allowed to operate), and assigned (who is doing what)? 3. Control: Is there a regular rhythm of performance monitoring and adjustment? Does the team have access to relevant performance data? Are members holding themselves – and each other – accountable? Does the team have the authority to act on their insights? Don’t ban the word “control” in your organization. An appropriate level of it is necessary to drive outcomes, maintain stability, and identify and adapt to changes. Remember, while individual excellence and strategic vision are important, it’s the performance of your teams that ultimately determines your firm’s success. Don’t miss the middle – it’s where strategy transforms into results. Starting can be hard, and the assessments can be emotional and personal. Let us help you. Contact us or click here to learn more about Zweig Group’s Performance Consulting practice. Tom Godin is a senior director at Zweig Group and the leader of the firm’s Performance Consulting practice. Contact him at tgodin@zweiggroup.com.

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Chad Clinehens | Publisher cclinehens@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Senior Editor & Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Tel: 800.466.6275 Email: info@zweiggroup.com Online: zweiggroup.com/blogs/news LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/22522 Instagram: instagram.com/zweiggroup Twitter: twitter.com/ZweigGroup Facebook: facebook.com/p/Zweig- Group-100064113750086 Published continuously since 1992 by Zweig Group, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. ISSN 1068-1310. Issued weekly (48 issues/year). © Copyright 2025, Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

THE PRINCIPALS ACADEMY Elevate your ability to lead and grow your firm with this program designed to inspire and inform existing and emerging AEC firm leaders in key areas of firm management leadership, financial management, recruiting, marketing, business development, and project management. Join us February 12-13 in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Click here to learn more!

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

OPINION

Turning the page

I t was 2:11 on a Tuesday afternoon when my colleague pinged me on Teams: “Sorry, but I think we are canceling book club this month. Only four of us accepted and now Courtney has a client conflict.” How a book club sparked connection and a genuine sense of belonging in a hybrid workplace.

I replied moments later: “Are you kidding me?! Noooo. I was really looking forward to it.” If my reply conveys disappointment, it didn’t scratch the surface. Book club was set to begin at 2:30. Not only had I read that month’s 300-plus-page book, I’d blocked off an hour of my day expectantly, wrapping up most of my work responsibilities by 1:30. I even took a walk around the block to clear my head of the big pursuit we were trying to win and refocus on my notes, the questions I wanted to raise to the group. October’s pick was a mystery, a perfect fit for spooky season. I was itching to find out if Kate had predicted the twist, or if Ben found the narrator unreliable. The disappointing ping came just as I was making coffee and slicing up an apple, antsy to sit down with my snack and my New Yorker -worthy analysis. Now, it was canceled. My notes, pointless. The stimulating

conversation with the smart people I spent 40 hours or more a week with, not happening. It’s hard to describe just how much this club had come to mean to us over the last 10 months. To understand, you’d need to know what that year of book club had done for our company culture. More than a year ago, the firm’s leadership – representatives from every department – had met to address our declining workplace culture. COVID had taken its toll on us all, and we weren’t sure where to go from here. Though the hybrid work model felt essential, it also left employees feeling disconnected and disengaged. We didn’t want to lose our flexibility, but we also needed to bring our people back together.

Mercedez Thompson

See MERCEDEZ THOMPSON , page 4

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

TRANSACTIONS WESTWOOD ACQUIRES VIRGINIA- BASED BALZER & ASSOCIATES Westwood Professional Services, Inc., a nationally renowned design and consulting firm, announced its acquisition of Virginia-based Balzer & Associates, Inc. The acquisition of Balzer & Associates aligns with Westwood’s vision to expand into new geographic regions while further enhancing our ability to support clients across the nation. This acquisition adds Westwood’s four new offices in Virginia, strengthening strategic growth initiatives.

“Balzer’s values align well with Westwood’s culture and their exceptional team will add tremendous value to our company. Our focus on expanding our geographic presence and broadening the range of professional services we deliver further elevate our organization. We are excited about the positive impact of this acquisition for our people and clients,” says Chief Executive Officer, Bryan P. Powell, PE. Balzer complements Westwood’s market-leading presence in Land Development and strengthens Westwood’s deep reach of service offerings.

Balzer’s President, Sean Horne, LA, comments, “We are pleased to join forces with the Westwood team to enhance our capabilities and reach further. This partnership enables us to provide a broader range of services to our clients and creates new opportunities for our team. We look forward to being part of Westwood and our future efforts to drive growth as a unified team.” Balzer will operate as Balzer & Associates, a Westwood company, for a period of time and continue to serve clients from their current locations.

it wasn’t just small talk; it was more meaningful, thanks to the unique way books invite us to share perspectives and connect over human experiences. Through these discussions, I learned Sruti also had a 3-year-old son. I found out Jeff often went off camera during video calls because his three cats loved to make surprise appearances. And I was surprised to discover that my boss was a board member of an art gallery. ■ Lastly, the book club brought people together from across the firm, ultimately helping us excel at our jobs. Interacting in this setting encouraged not only connection and friendship but also trust, which made cross-departmental collaboration and innovation easier and more natural. As employees got to know one another outside typical work discussions, they became more willing to reach out, brainstorm, and problem-solve together. What started as non-work-related conversations ultimately seeped into our work lives, strengthening bonds and making us a more productive, cohesive team. It’s not exactly surprising that we needed to rebuild community. After all, we’ve known all along that it’s essential for fostering employee satisfaction, engagement, and long-term retention. When people feel a genuine sense of belonging at work, they’re more likely to be invested in their roles, collaborate effectively, and feel motivated to contribute to the company’s success. It took the disappointment of a canceled meeting for me to realize just how much these monthly gatherings had come to mean. What started as a fun way to chat about books had become an unexpected source of connection and energy for our team. In a hybrid world, it turned out that a little time spent discussing mysteries, memoirs, and personal development books was exactly what we needed to bring us closer together and keep us excited about the work we do. Mercedez Thompson has 11 years’ experience in professional marketing services. As a pursuit manager at PwC, Mercedez collaborates with thought leaders, marketing and sales staff, and client services personnel to develop the firm’s most strategic proposals. She was a 2022 APMP 40 Under 40 Winner. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

MERCEDEZ THOMPSON , from page 3

While we didn’t miss the 7 a.m. commute or scrambling for after-school care for our children, we knew something intangible was missing – the organic moments that happened at the printer or in the break room. We needed to reconnect, to bring back the human element of work: the small talk, the shared stories, the little insights into each other’s lives beyond the office. We experimented with various ways to rebuild that sense of community. We launched a mentor-mentee program (which fizzled after two months), scheduled monthly team-building events (which required ever-larger incentives to boost attendance), and started a “lunch and learn” series where colleagues could present on projects or share insights from new industry trends (this one, thankfully, was going strong). But the book club was different. It wasn’t just surviving; it was thriving. Why? For a few key reasons: ■ First, the book club meetings took place during work hours. For many of us, juggling family, hobbies, and work meant that time outside office hours felt precious. Though we read the books in our own time, the flexibility helped – some read before bed, others on the treadmill, others at their kid’s soccer games. So unlike other initiatives, the book club didn’t feel like an additional work obligation bleeding into our free time. ■ Our book selections were as varied as our participants. We quickly realized that focusing on narrow genres or themes, like summer beach reads or only biographies of famous entrepreneurs, limited the club’s appeal. So, we made sure to mix it up. Each month brought a new theme, alternating between fiction and nonfiction, with everyone contributing to a list of suggested titles and then voting anonymously. With this diversity, attendance soared – so much so that we were sometimes forced to split into smaller discussion groups. ■ The conversations were low-stakes yet engaging – refreshingly different from work talk. Somehow, it gave us back the freedom to connect on a personal level, a freedom we’d lost since remote became the norm. But

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

FROM THE FOUNDER

Start 2025 strong by reviewing your AEC firm’s marketing tools, including your website, email lists, signage, and more. Time for some marketing maintenance!

T he new year is always a good time to do your necessary maintenance. Our Tiffin Allegro diesel pusher motorhome just turned over 50,000 miles. It is going into the truck shop later this week to get an oil change and to check out the front end, air brake and suspension systems, and Allison transmission. It’s a complex machine and we need to get it ready for the year ahead!

Mark Zweig

Your AEC firm isn’t altogether different. It could probably use the same kinds of maintenance for its marketing. Here are a few of the things I would be looking at right now. You may have others to add to this list: 1. Website. How does it look? Does it need graphic overhaul? How is it organized? Does it function as it should? Are there any dead ends? Is the list of offices and addresses and phone numbers correct? Do you know where information requests filled out by site visitors are going and how they are being responded to? 2. Email list. How large is it? Are you making efforts to grow it? Do you use it often enough? Does

everyone have access to it? Have you eliminated duplicates? The email list can be very valuable! 3. Email signature lines. Do they need revising? Is everyone’s title correct? Do they all have all contact info in them including cell numbers? Are they all formatted identically? They should be! 4. Online reviews. Are there any negative ones? Have they all be responded to? Do you need to ask for some newer reviews? Have you checked out what the Better Business Bureau has on your firm? Google reviews? Glassdoor reviews? These things need to be managed – not ignored.

See MARK ZWEIG , page 6

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

8. Tradeshow schedules. Do you have a plan for the year to be at every show you think you should be at? Do you know who will go and have it on their calendars? Have you signed up for a booth yet? Does your booth need an overhaul? What are you doing to make your booth memorable and unique? Doing tradeshows properly needs some planning or you will be wasting your valuable time and money. 9. PR list. Do you have a good press list with at least 100 names – or better yet, 500-plus names – on it? Are you using it? Do you have a plan to send out press releases at least once a week? If not, why not? 10. Podcast. Do you have a podcast? Are you regularly recording it? Is it available wherever people go for their podcasts? Are you bringing on clients and potential clients that you want to do business with as your guests? Having people on your podcast is a great way to stroke their egos and make them like you. Look into what some of your aspirational peer firms are doing. This list could most likely be doubled or tripled. The important thing is to take some action and tune up your marketing as we head into 2025! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

MARK ZWEIG , from page 5

5. Office building signage and condition. Are all the lights working? Is the company name expressed properly? Do you have signs everywhere they are allowed by local codes and office landlords? If not, fix the problem! “Your AEC firm isn’t altogether different from our motorhome. It could probably use the same kinds of maintenance for its marketing. Here are a few of the things I would be looking at right now.” 6. Company vehicles. Are they distinctive? Are they all some color other than white? Are they all matching in color and brand? Do they need to be wrapped? Being low key and inconspicuous is not the way to go when it comes to company vehicles! 7. Project signage. Are you using project signs consistently? Do you need new ones? Are they on every project? Are they large enough? Are they distinctive and attention- grabbing or white with black lettering? Project signage is free advertising. Use it.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

OPINION

The words and numbers used to describe design concept, building component, and client goal form a dataset that guides decisions and improves project success. Beyond numbers and spreadsheets

B uilding on our previous discussion in “Embracing Data Democratization,” where we explored increasing access to data and cultivating data literacy, we now turn our attention to understanding the data sources we work with on a regular basis.

In today’s digital landscape, information is everywhere. When most people think of data, they likely imagine a deluge of numbers in a spreadsheet. However, data encompasses more than just numbers; qualitative insights are equally valuable. Spatial information, such as GIS data representing coordinates or polygons defining areas, is also beneficial. The true value emerges when we integrate all this data, quantifying qualitative aspects and qualifying quantitative ones. Examples include color-coded plans or maps with quantitative overlays displaying values like utilization rates, or qualitative overlays with information regarding space types. Both data types can be benchmarked to discover trends across past projects that inform future work. With such an abundance of data, it can almost seem like an abstract concept. It’s helpful to remember data is synonymous with information. Therefore, it includes

any details that describe characteristics associated with a building or its design intent, whether numbers or words. A WALL FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES. Let’s consider a wall from multiple perspectives: ■ Architect’s perspective. An architect sees a wall as a 3D element that appears as two lines in plan view or a rectangle in elevation, with a tag containing information about the wall type, indicating its composition, fire rating, and reference to construction details. ■ Data perspective. From a data standpoint, that same wall has numeric values for length, height, and thickness. It has spatial coordinates for the start and end points relative to the origin and their

Emily Gaines

See EMILY GAINES, page 8

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

These are just a few examples of data sources and analyses. You can quantify almost anything and glean valuable insights from it. Often, the most successful work results from reverse engineering the problem you are trying to solve, which helps identify the best data sources to use. This method maximizes the likelihood of achieving the desired outcome by pinpointing the specific data needed to guide design decisions. It is often beneficial to involve multiple parties in the data collection process, gathering data from the client, architect, contractor, and third parties to generate a comprehensive dataset. DATA INTEGRATION AT HANBURY. At Hanbury, this approach manifests in several ways: ■ Planning. Asking the right questions and collecting applicable data from the client and users to inform decisions that better support the future goals of a campus. ■ Higher education. Collecting data from current and past projects to answer client questions about the amount and types of common spaces and how they support wellness on campus. ■ Science. Optimizing efficiency in lab design by using modular systems informed by fine-tuned metrics. ■ Civic and community. Utilizing the client’s market analysis and considering the project ROI. ■ Research. Working with academia and non-profits while collaborating with various professionals, including anthropologists, scientists, economic developers, environmental economists, social workers, and sociologists. Designers often gather data through pre- and post-occupancy evaluations. Looking ahead, additional applications will continue to increase the integration of data in architecture, especially with the Internet of Things and digital twins. More data is becoming available via an increase in Software as a Service solutions for specific metrics within buildings, such as occupancy data. We can leverage technology to manage this increase in data at scale. THE CHALLENGE OF DATA. While data is ubiquitous, good data can be hard to come by. Poor data quality is one of the biggest hurdles we face today and can be detrimental in a society that seeks data-driven decisions. The first step in mitigating this is being aware of the data sources being used and ensuring accurate data entry through standard practices, such as consistent Revit modeling procedures and naming conventions. Data is a collaborative endeavor, where the words and numbers used to describe every design concept, building component, and client goal collectively form a dataset that guides decisions and ultimately improves project success. Emily Gaines is a business analyst and strategist at Hanbury. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

EMILY GAINES, from page 7

position on the site. Boolean fields indicate the fire rating and whether it has an opening. String data specifies the stud type, and numeric data provides the stud size. Finish tags connect to the finish schedule, which holds a wealth of additional information. Metadata noting when and who edited the element is also available. By aggregating this information, we can determine the total number of walls, total linear feet, and surface area relative to material costs and construction schedule. We can also quantify the number of RFIs or the percentage of submittals received associated with that wall. ■ Client or end user perspective. For the client or end user, the wall is a tangible object they interact with long after the architect’s file is closed. Their requirements inform the wall’s characteristics, such as STC (sound transmission class) ratings based on the function of the space, finishes associated with company standards, or program data that determines the wall’s length and which rooms are on either side of it. EXPANDING APPLICATIONS. The wall example demonstrates how many different data points can be associated with a single element. Additionally, one piece of information can be analyzed from numerous perspectives based on the problems we are trying to solve. Given the breadth of data points from the wall example, consider how many other details could be associated with the following applications: “You can quantify almost anything and glean valuable insights from it. Often, the most successful work results from reverse engineering the problem you are trying to solve, which helps identify the best data sources to use.”

■ Project requirements. Space types and sizes.

■ Revit modeling. Embedded information in the model, enabling Revit to be used as a data source. ■ Sustainability metrics. Reporting sustainable project outcomes and referencing resiliency data from other sources to inform projects. ■ Products and materials. Databases of sustainable materials, equipment schedules, and specifications. ■ Benchmarking metrics. Typical square footages, linear feet of bench in a lab, and cost per bed in student housing. ■ User input. Collected via questionnaires or outreach events to understand top priorities for the users and the surrounding community. ■ Economic and cultural context. Current landscape in the city and cultural references for where people gravitate toward and why.

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

OPINION

Harnessing the power of a growth mindset and the S-curve of learning to transform human capital in the AEC industry. Building teams with a growth mindset

R ecently I had the honor to participate in a round table discussion where executives from the AEC industry gathered to discuss challenges our industry is facing and some of the things we are doing to overcome them. More than 70 percent of the conversations converged at the intersection of human capital and mindset specific to employee development and empowerment.

Leisbel Lam, PE, LC, MBA

As I was listening, I made the connection of two key drivers I have been using to help build dynamic teams while improving talent recruitment and development. Those two drivers are a growth mindset and the S-curve of learning model. WHAT IS THE GROWTH MINDSET? The growth mindset is a concept pioneered by Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck. It is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and continuous learning. While studying the impact of mindsets during my business graduate school course work, I came to the realization that mindset is the backbone to success because it is directly tied to the spiritual basic human needs of growth and contribution which are essential for personal and professional fulfilment.

I would never forget the power of the growth mindset when I hired Jeff who had an agricultural engineering degree and was working as a plan engineer in the food procession manufacturing industry. As a plan engineer on all sorts of projects, he realized his passion for electrical systems design and decided to pivot his career to electrical building systems design. While interviewing him, he was honest about his lack of experience designing electrical systems, besides the work he had done on his own home remodeling project. To back up his experience, he reached to a stack of documents he brough with him and surprised me with a set of electrical plans he had designed and installed himself. Jeff’s passion and overall building systems understanding was undeniable, so he joined us as an electrical designer. Within weeks in this new

See LEISBEL LAM, page 10

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

■ Training programs. Implement comprehensive training programs that cater to different stages of the learning curve, from foundational skills to advanced expertise. ■ Mentorship and coaching. Pair employees with mentors who can provide guidance and support, helping them navigate the acceleration phase and overcome challenges. ■ Continuous learning. Encourage a culture of continuous learning by offering access to resources, workshops, and courses that keep employees engaged and growing. Going back to my Jeff example, from his first day he supported two senior engineers approaching retirement and in their plateau phase of the S-curve. This move allowed us to kill to birds with one stone: Jeff was getting mentorship by exceptional professionals with decades of experience while a succession plan was taking place. BUILDING AN A-TEAM. By effectively managing the S-curve of learning, organizations can build high-performing teams that are agile, innovative, and resilient. Managing your teams as a portfolio of learning curves would give your organization a competitive edge and as a result attracts top talent. Here are items to pay attention to: ■ Team dynamics. Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members to accelerate collective growth. ■ Recognition and rewards. Acknowledge and reward employees’ progress and achievements, motivating them to continue their development journey. ■ New challenges. Introduce new projects and responsibilities to employees who have reached the plateau phase, ensuring they remain engaged and continue to grow. In summary, the roundtable discussion underscored the vital need of integrating human capital and mindset to drive success in the AEC industry. By embracing a growth mindset and utilizing the S-curve of learning model, organizations can effectively recruit, develop, and empower their talent. These strategies not only enhance individual performance but also foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. At MCE, we intentionally weave talent management strategy with our organization’s mission and culture. I believe that by recognizing and addressing the different phases of the S-curve, companies can ensure their employees remain engaged and motivated. This approach leads to the creation of high-performing teams that are agile, resilient, and capable of driving long-term success. Ultimately, investing in employee development and empowerment is not just beneficial but essential for staying competitive in today’s dynamic business environment. Leisbel Lam, PE, LC, MBA is a principal at Michaud Cooley Erickson. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

LEISBEL LAM, from page 9

role, Jeff was advancing faster than the average team member, which was not an accident; it was a result of his commitment to growth, his attitude toward learning, his willingness to put in the work, and his relentless commitment to excellence. WHAT IS THE S-CURVE OF LEARNING? The S-curve of learning is a powerful career management tool. This concept was introduced by Charles Handy in the mid-1990s. The S-curve of learning is a model that describes the progression of learning and growth in three phases: 1. Initial phase. The bottom left side of the S-curve where employees are in the early stages of learning, where progress is slow but foundational skills are being built. 2. Acceleration phase. The middle of the of the S-curve (the rise) where employees experience rapid growth and development as they gain confidence and expertise. 3. Plateau phase. The top right side of the S-curve where growth slows down as employees reach a level of mastery, requiring new challenges to continue their development. I love the simplicity of this model to orchestrate the development of human capital. It is fundamental that we master the art of identifying where every member of our team stands in the curve. As the leader of teams with different capabilities and at various positions on the S-curve, this model is instrumental to design strategies that will enable team members to own their success and be part of their own growth. APPLYING THE S-CURVE TO TALENT RECRUITMENT. Recruiting talent with the right mindset is the first step in leveraging the S-curve. By identifying candidates who are not only skilled but also possess a growth mindset, organizations can ensure that new hires are prepared to navigate the learning curve journey effectively. I tackle this by focusing on the following: ■ Assessment tools. Utilize behavioral and cognitive assessments to gauge a candidate’s potential for growth and adaptability. I use a simple Work Regulatory Focus (WRF) Scale Assessment developed by Michael J. Neubert. Such tool helps me understand how different regulatory focuses influence employee behavior and performance, allowing me to design effective management strategies. ■ Cultural fit. Focus on hiring individuals who align with the company’s values and culture, fostering a supportive environment for learning and development. One other thing I do as part of my recruitment strategy is to create a role profile with the basic attributes, knowledge, and skills of the ideal fit for the role. This profile helps to bring clarity to the non-negotiables of the role. DEVELOPING AND NURTURING TALENT USING THE S-CURVE. Once talent is onboarded, the S-curve model can guide their development journey. Providing the right support and opportunities at each phase of the curve is essential for maximizing potential. This can be accomplished with:

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 6, 2025, ISSUE 1567

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