Podcast
Recruiting Conversations
Hosted by Richard Milligan, Recruiting Coach · EN
Welcome to the Recruiting Conversations Podcast, a conversation designed to help Recruiting Leaders who manage a team as well as recruit. Richard Milligan is a speaker, author, strategist, and recruiting coach who built 21 teams as a Recruiting Leader.
13episodes
Episodes
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Stop Betting on Potential Alone: 7 Standards That Turn Potential Into Results
May 2600:06:55Tap to summarizeYou see something in this recruit. The character, the work ethic, the attitude, the way they think. You believe that in the right environment they become a top performer. But the numbers are not there yet. This is one of the most common and most consequential decisions a recruiting leader makes. Get it right and you gain a future star. Get it wrong and you spend a year managing it. This episode gives you the framework to decide with clarity. Episode Breakdown [00:01:25] The First Question: Potential or Projection? There is a critical difference between seeing real indicators of future growth and simply hoping someone will improve. Potential is based on evidence. Projection is based on hope. Do they follow through? Are they coachable? Do they take ownership? Are they consistent even without results yet? The question is not whether you like this recruit. The question is whether they demonstrate the habits of someone who will grow. [00:02:05] Standard 1: Know Your Current Season Are you in a building phase or a scaling phase? If you are building, you may have room to develop high-potential recruits. If you are scaling, you need proven performance and less development risk. A lot of leaders get into trouble by mixing these two phases. Before you say yes, ask yourself: does this decision match the season I am in? [00:02:40] Standard 2: Do Not Lower the Standard. Adjust the Path. Strong leaders do not ignore the production gap. They ask: if I bring this person on, what needs to be true for them to succeed here? That might mean a clear 90-day plan, weekly accountability, specific activity expectations, and more hands-on coaching early on. You are not lowering the bar. You are building a bridge to the bar. [00:03:10] Standard 3: Be Honest With the Recruit Do not bring someone in under vague expectations and hope it works out. Say it clearly: I believe in where you can go, but we need to be aligned on what it takes to get there. Walk them through what success looks like, what is expected, and what will happen if those expectations are not met. Clarity protects both of you. [00:03:45] Standard 4: Protect Your Culture Every recruit you bring on sends a message to your team. If your top performers see you consistently bringing in people who are not producing and not improving, it creates frustration. But if they see someone with clear potential and a clear plan who is growing, it builds belief. Ask yourself: will this hire raise confidence in the direction you are going, or create doubt? [00:04:15] Standard 5: Watch Behavior Before You Watch Results When someone is in a growth phase, results can lag. But behavior shows up immediately. Are they doing what you asked? Are they showing discipline? Are they engaging in coaching? Are they adjusting quickly? If the behavior is right, results usually follow. If the behavior is off, it rarely fixes itself. [00:04:40] Standard 6: Be Willing to Make a Decision Quickly One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is holding on too long because they believed in someone's potential. Belief is important, but it cannot replace accountability. If the recruit is not executing, not growing, and not meeting agreed expectations, address it early. That is not failure. That is leadership. [00:05:14] The Formula That Turns Belief Into Results Bringing someone on for who they can become is not wrong. Some of the best hires you will ever make will be people who were not fully developed yet. But you do not bet on potential alone. You bet on potential plus behavior plus structure plus accountability. That combination is what turns belief into results. [00:05:40] Your Challenge This Week Think of one recruit you are considering right now. Ask yourself: Do they show the behaviors of someone who will grow? Does this fit the season I am in? Do I have a clear development plan? Am I prepared to hold the standard if it does not work? If yes, move forward with intention. If unclear, slow down. Disciplined recruiting is what protects long-term growth. Key Takeaways Potential is based on evidence. Projection is based on hope. Look for behaviors, not just belief. Your season matters. Building phases allow for more development risk. Scaling phases require more proven performance. Do not lower the bar. Build a bridge to it. A 90-day plan with clear accountability is how you develop without compromising your standard. Clarity protects both the leader and the recruit. Vague expectations set everyone up to fail. Every hire sends a message to your team. Ask whether this decision builds confidence or creates doubt. Behavior shows up before results do. If early behavior is off, do not wait for results to confirm it. Belief cannot replace accountability. Make decisions quickly if expectations are not being met. If you want help building a development plan for a high-potential recruit or thinking through where to draw the line on a decision you are weighing right now, let's talk. Visit bookrichardnow.com and grab time on my calendar. We will work through the framework together so you can move forward with clarity and confidence.
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Your Next Bad Hire Will Cost You a Year: A 7-Part Framework for How to Recruit for Quality Over Quantity
May 1900:05:39Tap to summarizeYou've been in a growth phase and felt the pressure to add people. So you did. And then you spent the next year cleaning it up. More headcount is not more growth. Sometimes it is more complexity, more culture dilution, and more of your time fixing what should not have broken. This episode gives you a 7-part framework for growing the right way. Episode Breakdown [00:00:32] The Tension Every Intentional Leader Feels Most leaders know that adding the wrong people slows everything down. But the pressure to scale is real. This episode is built for the leader who wants to grow without sacrificing what they have already built. [00:01:15] The Core Shift: Growth Is About Output and Alignment, Not Headcount If you measure success by how many people you have added, you will make short-term decisions that hurt you long-term. Stop asking how many people you need. Start asking what kind of people you need. That question changes your entire recruiting posture. [00:01:40] Standard 1: Define Your Standard Before You Scale A lot of leaders try to figure out their culture while they are growing. That is backwards. Before you recruit, get clear on what a successful person on your team looks like, what behaviors you expect, what performance actually means, and what you will not tolerate. If that is not clear before you scale, you will fill your team with people who interpret your culture differently. [00:02:09] Standard 2: Build a Clear Recruit Avatar If you do not know exactly who you are looking for, you will convince yourself that almost anyone could work. That is where teams get bloated. Define your ideal recruit by what they produce, how they think, how they show up, and where they are in their career. The clearer the avatar, the easier it is to say no. And saying no is how you protect growth. [00:02:39] Standard 3: Focus on Productivity Per Person Most leaders add more people to increase output instead of maximizing the people they already have. Ask yourself: Are they operating at their potential? Do they have the systems, coaching, and clarity to produce at a higher level? Sometimes the fastest way to grow is not adding more people. It is getting more from the right people. [00:03:06] Standard 4: Recruit Fewer, Better Instead of adding five average people, what would it look like to add one high performer who aligns with your vision? Average hires create maintenance. Great hires create momentum. That one person can raise your standards and attract others like them. [00:03:26] Standard 5: Protect Your Culture at All Costs Every person you add either strengthens your culture or weakens it. There is no neutral. Before you bring someone on, ask: Will this person raise the standard? Will they make the team better, not just bigger? If the answer is unclear, that is your answer. [00:03:49] Standard 6: Align Growth With Vision Without a clear vision, growth becomes reactive. You hire when you feel pressure, when you feel behind, when you get excited. When you have a vision, you hire with intention. You know where you are going, you know who you need to get there, and you are willing to wait for the right fit. That is disciplined growth. [00:04:10] The Hard Truth About Fast Growth Not growing fast enough is frustrating. Growing the wrong way is expensive. It costs you time, energy, culture, and sometimes your best people. Do not confuse activity with progress. Real growth is measured by alignment, output, and sustainability. [00:04:35] Your Challenge This Week Look at your current top performers. What do they have in common? How can you find more people like them? Then look at your recruiting pipeline. Are you filling it with the right people or just available people? That clarity alone will change how you grow. Key Takeaways Growth is about output and alignment, not headcount. Measuring success by people added leads to short-term decisions with long-term costs. Define your culture standard before you recruit, not while you recruit. Ambiguity at the standard level creates chaos at the team level. A clear recruit avatar makes it easier to say no. Saying no is how you protect growth. Maximize your current team before adding to it. Sometimes the fastest path to more output is developing who you already have. Average hires create maintenance. Great hires create momentum. Recruit fewer, better. Every new hire either strengthens or weakens your culture. There is no neutral addition. Vision-driven leaders hire with intention. Reactive leaders hire with pressure. Know where you are going before you add someone to the journey. If you want help defining your ideal recruit profile and building a growth strategy focused on quality over quantity, let's talk. Visit bookrichardnow.com and grab time on my calendar. We will walk through how to identify who belongs on your team, how to build the avatar that filters out the wrong fits, and how to grow in a way that makes your team stronger, not just bigger.
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Your Top Recruit Is Not in Pain. That's Exactly Why You're Losing Them.
May 1200:05:32Tap to summarizeYou have a producer in your network who is doing well. Making money. Stable. From the outside, everything looks fine. But you know something is off. They are comfortable, but they are not fulfilled. And if you approach them the same way you would approach someone who is struggling, you will lose them every time. This episode breaks down exactly how to reach them. Episode Breakdown [00:00:32] Why This Recruit Type Is Different Comfortable but unfulfilled producers are not motivated by urgency. They are not looking to be rescued. They are thinking about growth, legacy, and whether this is all there is. The recruiting approach that works for a struggling producer will push this person away. [00:01:06] Principle 1: Understand Their Psychology These recruits feel the gap between where they are and what is possible, even if they never say it out loud. You cannot recruit them by attacking their current situation. You recruit them by expanding their future. [00:01:40] Principle 2: Stop Leading With Improvement Better comp, better support, better structure only resonates with someone in pain. A comfortable producer hears that and thinks: I am already doing well. Shift from "here is how we improve your situation" to "let's talk about what is possible beyond what you have already built." [00:02:05] Principle 3: Ask Better Questions Surface questions get surface answers. "Are you happy?" ends the conversation. Better questions open it: What does the next chapter look like? What would challenge you again? Where have you plateaued even when things are going well? Thinking is what creates movement. [00:02:41] Principle 4: Create Tension Without Pressure You are not trying to make them dissatisfied. You are helping them become aware. Try this: "You have clearly built something strong. Most people never get to where you are. The question I always ask is: is this the ceiling or just the current chapter?" You did not push them. You invited them. [00:03:00] Principle 5: Show a Path They Cannot Build Alone High producers believe in themselves. If what you offer looks like something they could recreate on their own, it will not stand out. Show them something bigger: a platform, a vision, a leadership opportunity, a level of scale that requires alignment, not just effort. [00:03:28] Principle 6: Give Them Space This is where most leaders lose comfortable producers. They feel interest and push too fast. These recruits move slower, think longer, and evaluate more deeply. Pressure creates distance. Consistency creates trust. [00:03:51] Principle 7: Play the Long Game Their trigger is not urgency. It is realization. You may have a great conversation today and not see movement for six months. When that realization comes, they will remember who helped them think differently. Make sure that person is you. [00:04:09] The Role Shift Stop thinking of yourself as a closer or a persuader. You are a guide. Help them see what is next, think bigger, and recognize the gap between comfort and fulfillment. When that gap becomes clear enough, movement happens naturally. Key Takeaways Comfort does not mean fulfillment. High producers can be performing and still feel the gap between where they are and what is possible. Expansion beats improvement. Do not talk about what is better. Talk about what is next. Better questions drive movement. Surface questions end conversations. Deeper questions open them. Tension without pressure is a leadership skill. Invite awareness. Do not create dissatisfaction. Show a path they cannot walk alone. Vision, platform, and scale are what capture a confident producer's attention. Space is a strategy. These recruits move slower. Consistency over time wins more than urgency ever will. Their trigger is realization, not urgency. Play the long game and stay present. Call to Action If you want help building conversations that actually reach high-level producers without creating pressure, let's talk. Visit bookrichardnow.com and grab a time on my calendar. We will walk through how to structure recruiting conversations for the most valuable people in your market.
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