Summary:

In this episode of the HR Impact show, Dr. Jim sits down with Scott Galanos, to dissect the complexities and triumphs involved in the role of a “player coach.” The discussion sheds light on the intricate balance of managing operational responsibilities while also focusing on productivity and growth within a staffing firm. With a recount of Scott's storied career at Addison Group, listeners gain insider knowledge on cultivating elite teams and market expansion.

The episode not only discusses organizational growth but also underscores personal development, with Scott revealing his strategies to foster leadership succession while balancing it with his active role in production. He advocates for hiring leaders with the drive and capacity to excel without being reliant on titles. This strategy empowers his teams to perform independently, contributing to a dynamic and result-oriented organizational culture.

Key Takeaways:

Leadership in a staffing environment is not reliant on titles but rather on the ability to lead by example and impact through action.

Succession planning involves identifying and nurturing self-starters who exhibit independence and the capability to innovate within a startup atmosphere.

Consistent one-on-ones are crucial for developing strategy and maintaining momentum, rather than solely focusing on metrics and activities.

Hiring for a startup requires searching for candidates with agility, accountability, and the drive for continual learning and adaptation.

Scott emphasizes the need for support from corporate leadership and the value of mentorship in shaping successful careers in player-coach roles.

Chapters:

0:02:59 Challenges and lessons learned from opening multiple markets in the staffing business

0:07:08 Debunking the myth that leadership requires a specific title

0:11:14 Hiring for leadership competencies in non-leadership roles to build depth

0:14:42 Interview questions to identify candidates who can figure things out

0:19:27 Importance of individualized approach to leadership

0:22:39 Focusing on strategy rather than activity metrics in one-on-ones

0:25:06 Scott Galanos discusses the importance of having support and mentors in building successful teams

Connect with Dr. Jim: linkedin.com/in/drjimk

Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung

Connect with Scott Galanos: linkedin.com/in/scottgalanos

Music Credit: winning elevation - Hot_Dope



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He's executed the player coach role and at the same time has been instrumental in launching multiple markets in the staffing business. Joining us today is Scott Galanos. He's an SVP at Addison group and SIA top 100 staffing firm.

Welcome to the show.

Scott Galanos: Thanks, Jim. Happy to be here. And I'm excited to, to share my long journey through the staffing world and through the rise of Addison group.

Dr. Jim: I'm looking forward to this conversation partly because I'm an ex staffing guy, so I have a little bit of context there. But I also have a lot of experience in doing what you did as being a player coach in staffing. That's a really tough job. To do, and it's a, and it's an even tougher job to do well, which you've proven out throughout your career.

So I know that we touched a little bit on your background in the bio that I gave, but I want you to get the listeners up to speed and share with them some of the things that you feel is important for them to know about your background.

What was unique about that experience was the company asked me where I wanted to go versus putting me in, in New York or Boston a place that wasn't high on my list, right? From there, I was able to flourish in the role in Denver, promote individuals out of that office to open up some offices.

And at one point I was over five markets and 25 FTEs.

Dr. Jim: It's really interesting that you talk about having a dream about opening the Cleveland market, but throughout your career, you've opened a number of different markets all across the U S what did you learn from going through that process of opening all these different markets with different customer bases, different geographies.

Full on support and then being able to hire the right players around me that wanted to basically be in a startup backed by a larger entity, which was Addison group without, those people around me with the same common goal, we wouldn't have been successful. And that's really what I've learned.

It's about the people that you surround yourself with, and then that's how you can, take, a startup office and make it successful.

You've been at Addison for quite a while. You've experienced a lot. When you look at your entire trajectory, what's the accomplishment that that you're most proud of? During your time there.

Scott Galanos: Coming up in June, I'm going to be hitting 12 years at Addison Group, and there's definitely a lot that I'm a proud of, but, a few major accomplishments stick out.

And the one that is probably top of my list is opening our Cleveland market. As I mentioned, I I had suggested that was a goal of mine in my interview and sometimes it's met with a few laughs, right? Cleveland is deemed a mistake on the lake, but I was lucky enough to have a leader and a company that, trusted me to open up a market.

And so far. Cleveland has been one of our fastest starting offices at Addison group. And that's something that I'm proud of.

Scott Galanos: Each office baked in with its own set of challenges. And if I'm being completely honest with myself and with you Cleveland has been the most challenging at all of them, even with all the experience that I've had. And having a solid team around me, Cleveland has been the most challenging and, a few different variables, the market,

the market was hot in 21, 22, it flatlined a little bit in 23. But we don't have a very big presence in the Midwest aside from Chicago Addison group. Our major metropolitan cities in the area we have Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati There's no Addison group presence in those.

So we're really starting from the ground up in Cleveland. And over the next couple of years, we, hopefully we add on some of our other verticals, but definitely Cleveland has its own challenges and but we're working through it as a team.

Dr. Jim: When you look at all the things that you've accomplished in your 12 years at Addison, and now you have the startup branch in Cleveland that's open what's the moonshot goal that you have in front of you that you want to knock out in 2024 or 2025?

Dr. Jim: The other thing that I'm curious about, and you might have an interesting perspective on this, having been in staffing for as long as you have. So you deal with the agency side of the business, and then you also deal with the [00:07:00] client side of the business. When you think about all the different leadership and HR myths that you run across, what's the one myth that you wish would just go away?

Scott Galanos: Yeah, that's a question I've been thinking about for a couple days and I think I keep landing on the same one it's you don't have to be in a leadership role to be a leader I think that individuals I believe they can only be a leader if they have a certain title. And I think that's a myth that should be debunked because there's a lot of leadership qualities that individuals have that can show leadership.

Without having a title and they don't even have to have the tenure to show those leadership qualities. It's little things going above and beyond, showing up with a good attitude, energy, putting forth the effort. This new generation that's coming in. Has those qualities and, those are the leaders that, that we need at our company without the title.

And the other thing that I'm wondering is what role does that thought process play in how you develop. Or identify and develop future leaders within your organization.

Scott Galanos: It comes from, being at, my company for, 11, 12 years and being able to see be in non leadership roles and being able to have some of those individuals as my mentors and allowing me to, take bits and pieces from their background and kind of shape it into, my position I'm in now.

Dr. Jim: I opened the show by asking the question, how do you create a leadership succession flywheel? And we've danced around the edges of that process in what we've covered so far, but the broader conversation is not just about creating that succession flywheel, but it's doing it while you're responsible production as well.

So how does that tie in with your experience and what have you figured out in your time as a leader that's helped you do both of those things really well?

Scott Galanos: Yeah. I don't know if I have it figured out, but it's, is an, it is an ever evolving process, right? I think something that worked maybe last week or last month or last year isn't working maybe today or tomorrow, or two weeks from now. So a couple things. When I was first a leader within Addison Group I really didn't understand how or why I was interviewing a certain individual.

I want to hire leaders that can lead by example. A lot of it's trial and error. A lot of it's learning from your mistakes. A lot of it is self admittingly being aware that you did make a mistake and you need to learn from it. And those are all things that I've had to do and learn throughout my career to to put me in the position I am in today.

But also it's not foolproof. It's not perfect. I'm forever learning. I'm forever. Changing and evolving as well. And I think that's what's great about being being a leader or being in a leadership position is that you can always learn, you can always grow.

Scott Galanos: as you are building a team around you, and I look at it from maybe a sports perspective. Perspective. You need bench players, you need be bench strength. You need people that are maybe utility players that can do a little bit of everything you need, your all stars.

And so as I'm building out, let's say for example the topic is Cleveland. I'm looking at, people that. Can lead by example, can can take on some extra work, can be held accountable, wants to grow, wants to learn, wants to make mistakes to learn, because as we're growing this market, we're growing this team it allows me to help them along and learn.

From some of the different markets that I've opened and being able to, pass that information down.

Point to a higher chance of success in a startup environment.

Scott Galanos: Personally, when I'm going through my interview process in a startup environment, I'm looking for individuals that, are self starters. We're in a startup environment already. We may not have any business and we have to have individuals that are self starters that can come in, highly motivated.

Dr. Jim: I like that you called out individuals who are self starters. What that means to me when I recruit for that profile is that you want people that are able to figure stuff out and figure stuff out fast, how does that help?

You as a player coach, as a producing leader, when it comes to your job,

So that does free up a lot of my time. When I do make a hire that possesses those characteristics, I know that they're going to hold themselves accountable to get the task done.

Dr. Jim: What you're describing is a candidate or an individual that doesn't need a whole lot of handholding. And I want to wind that back to how do you recruit for that or how do you interview for that? What are the things that you're asking during the interview process that gives you a signal that this person is somebody that can figure stuff out on their own?

Dr. Jim: I'm going to actually dig in a little bit deeper and you're going to, you're going to give away some of your secrets. I'm a startup guy and I interview for people that can figure that out. One of the things that I usually ask in an interview setting, it's not job related, but I'm vetting.

For intellectual curiosity, which is the figure out capability that I'm looking for. So one of the things that I'll always ask in an interview is tell me about the last thing that you learned

Scott Galanos: Mhm.

Dr. Jim: I'll just stay quiet after that and see where that candidate takes me. Because what it tells me is that if you're not constantly like tinkering with things, you don't really have the right mentality.

One of the things that's important about that figure it out question from a behavioral question perspective is you've got to be able to evaluate whether the person has the intellectual curiosity in them that they're constantly learning and you're.

Your top tier candidate, they're going to have a list of things that they're talking about that they've figured out on the fly. And you really get a sense for the way their mind works and how it can be applied in your environment.

Scott Galanos: There's something about having an interview with someone and they're able to give you multiple examples in multiple different areas. Off the top of their head, . A lot of what we do in sales is thinking on your feet and If I'm able to have an interview, that's more like a conversation Where someone can give me examples that you know are aligned with the characteristics I'm looking for.

I think that tells me a lot about what I need to know about making a hire.

Need to be really tuned in on the prioritization component and how you can prioritize your day between your clients, your people and your operational requirements. So that stuff is really good. So when you think about all the things that. Go into that. What are some of the big mistakes or roadblocks that you encountered that you want to get on the radar of somebody that's listening to this conversation and is in that player coach role, that's going to help them be more effective in being that high functioning player coach.

And, through trial and error, I found that out that, my, my style with employee a may need to be vastly different to employee be one of the other things that, one of the other things that you know I've always tried to Instill is inspect what you expect without micromanaging your team, right? You want to give your team the leeway to complete tasks and to get their work done, which in turn allows me to do the other part of my job, which is, sell and client business development.

I'm very neurotic with my schedule and I think it says something about my organization. And one thing I try not to do is move around my team's meetings. I, I feel as if, my team has something on their calendar with me that, I try to keep it in that time slot because I'm trying to respect their schedule as well.

Dr. Jim: So there's a lot there that I think is worth highlighting. But one of the things that you mentioned is the your point about inspect what you expect. The way that resonates to me is that you're leading to outcomes versus leading to activities. So there's a desired outcome that you're looking to get.

There's no blanket approach to any of these different markets. So if you're measuring the wrong things or paying attention to the wrong things, you end up actually being too involved in areas that you don't need to be involved. So I think that's an important highlight to pull out. The other thing that I like about what you mentioned your point about doing consistent one on ones.

And I want you to expand on that a little bit. Why is that a critical piece of building this high performance organization where you're the player coach?

Scott Galanos: My one on ones or my meetings with my team have always evolved. But what I've learned is keep the meeting consistent and make sure you keep what you're going over consistent. Have a cadence where your team is bringing you X, Y, Z to the meeting and then you're bringing X, Y, Z to the meeting and you can continuously build off of those topics.

But it's difficult if that meeting is always changing or that target is always moving.

Dr. Jim: That's a good point. One other thing that I'd like you to highlight when it comes to. One on ones and I'll call it maintaining momentum. How are you threading all the different deliverables from week to week?

Scott Galanos: I use Microsoft OneNote and for, for the longest time I always use a notepad for all my notes with my team. But I found that once I turn a page on the notepad, I rarely go back to read those notes.

One of the other things in my meetings, I. I rarely discuss activity with my team. I know that's in a sales organization that is maybe taboo to hear, but my team knows what their activity should be, . And if we're spending our half hour or 45 minutes just discussing numbers, we're wasting precious time on strategy and how we get to those numbers.

So yes, maybe a few minutes. We're discussing what numbers were the week prior or the two weeks prior. But most of my meetings are going to be around strategy and how I can help them succeed.

It should be a completely different conversation. One on ones when you're thinking about leadership, best practices and building high performance teams, one on ones are the time where you're developing that strategy. You're identifying roadblocks. You're really digging deep into one or two key deliverables that need to be met. Over the course of the next week or month or whatever, but if you're sucking up a lot of that time to talk about numbers, you should have some sort of infrastructure in place. Be it a CRM or something else that gives you those granular metrics. And if you're taking your one on one time to talk about stuff that you can.

And instead of talking about the things that are impactful, . There's a lot of ground that we've covered up until this point. I think what I'd like you to do is. There are listeners in the audience that probably fall into that player coach role, and they might be in a situation where they're not doing it well.

So if they want to get started on the process of being an effective player coach, building that, that succession planning flywheel, building their bench strength and doing this player coach role really well. What are the handful of things that they need to be focused on? That's going to set them off on the right path?

Scott Galanos: It goes back to something I mentioned earlier is I'm still learning and I'm still self aware that I'm not perfect and that I can improve personally and professionally. This position is it's tough. Getting here is challenging and it's not just a nine to five. It's just not a 40 hour a week.

And I've been lucky enough to have the support of a leader Addison group and a company that backed my road map. And that's what's allowed me to build successful teams and ultimately open one of my most most accomplishments that I'm proud of. And that's the Ohio office.

Dr. Jim: If people want to continue the conversation, what's the best way for them to get in touch with you and and get ahold of you.

Scott Galanos: Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn. You can connect with me on LinkedIn and, shoot me a message. My, my email also is scott. golanos at addisongroup. com. I'm always open to networking and to having conversations and to, to giving back,. I've been lucky enough to have mentors take me under their wing.

Dr. Jim: Really good stuff, Scott. I appreciate you hanging out with us and sharing your insights and and what you've learned over the last 12 years or so in building multiple markets in Addison group as a player coach. When I think about this stuff that you talked about.

There's a handful of things that I want to call out that's going to be critically important for those listeners to pay attention to. So if you're looking at doing what Scott did, and you want to replicate that, one of the most important things that you need to focus on is how you hire. There are a couple of big themes that you need to focus on.

You need to be extremely outcomes focused. You can't get mired in the tactical granular detail. You need to be able to point out the big picture and a rough framework of how to get there and then rely on your people to go ahead and execute that. That's going to be critically important. The third thing that stands out about the conversation is that it's critical for you to be in the custom solution mindset.

You can't cookie cutter your way. To success in a startup environment, each market's going to be different. Each group of people that you hire is going to be different. So if you're trying to systematize this and cookie cutter this, you're going to fail. So you need to be aware of that as well. And then the last thing that I think is an underrated element is keeping your one on ones.

So really great stuff, Scott. I appreciate you sharing all of that stuff. For those of you who have been listening to the conversation. Let us know what you thought of it. Leave us a review. And if you want more conversations like this, make sure you are joining the HR impact community. You can find that at engage rocket.

co slash HR impact. Tune in next time where we'll have another great leader sharing with us the game changing realizations that they had that helped them build a high performing team.