I could see Byron looking for a lame excuse to push back from the idea that, as the manager-once-removed, his job is to create the talent pool from which the hiring manager makes the selection.

“Let me get this straight,” he started. “The open position is for a high level supervisor, Stratum II role, time-span – nine months. Ron is the hiring manager, one stratum above. I am the manager-once-removed, two strata above the open position. And I am supposed to create the talent pool that Ron picks from?”

“You have it. That is your role,” I replied.

Byron was shaking his head. “But, I don’t have time for all this. I have some very important projects that I have to work on. This is just a supervisor position.”

It was my turn to nod. “Yes, it is a supervisor position. And if Ron makes the wrong hire, how much of your time will you have to spend coaching Ron on how to deal with this bad hire? You can spend the time now to help make a proper hire, or you can spend the time later dealing with the mistake.

“Which course of action contributes to productivity?” I continued. “Which course of action builds a better infrastructure? What more important project do you have to work on, than building this infrastructure in your department?”