By Diana Chapman
Last month, we talked about conscious offboarding. Now we’ll explore conscious onboarding.
We’ve identified three key steps to follow with new hires:
Step 1: Screen
Onboarding a new hire into a 15 Commitments practice starts before their first day. Use the interview process to begin orienting them to how you use the CLG tools, and to screen out candidates who won’t be co-committed to practicing with you.
One way to do this is to make reviewing CLG material a required part of the interview process.
- Once a candidate gets past the initial round of screening, send them our Conscious Leadership page. You could say something like, “We practice the CLG model of conscious leadership here. We want you to understand what that is, and to see if it’s something you’re interested in.”
- Ask them to watch tow videos, review the handouts, and be prepared to discuss them in the next interview.
- In that interview, ask questions such as the following:
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- What was your initial reaction after watching the videos?
- We think of this as a game. Similarly to playing any sport, we’d have agreements about the rules of the game. Is this a game that’s interesting to you? Is this something you want to play?
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- Why would this be important for you?
You could also include some of these questions to assess self-awareness in your hiring process.
Step 2: Orient
Once you’ve found the right candidate, the next step is to orient them to the Conscious Leadership practices during their first weeks on the job.
Many companies we work with give a Conscious Leadership packet to new hires. It might include the 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership book, a Shift Deck, and Drama Triangle cards. A good first step is asking them to read or listen to the book in full.
We also run half-day Taste of Conscious Leadership classes most months, and 4-week Introduction to Conscious Leadership courses several times a year. These provide an affordable way to train new employees directly with our coaches. Employees can even choose to bring a spouse or significant other with them to an Intro course so they have someone to practice with at home.
Step 3: Support
Many of our clients designate a conscious leadership champion to steward the 15 Commitments practice in the culture. In some companies, the champion offers new hires guidance and support. Other companies have given new employees a 15 Commitments buddy who can answer questions and give support as needed.
Practicing the 15 Commitments is a radical way of living. By screening candidates for co-commitment before you hire them, using existing resources to orient them to the practice, then supporting conscious leadership throughout your culture, you can reap its benefits even with a growing or changing team.
