Go Above and Beyond: Interview with Charlie Wonderlic, Executive Chairman of Wonderlic
Several years ago, I interviewed Charlie Wonderlic in an interview originally published in Thrive Global. Charlie Wonderlic was the CEO of Wonderlic at the time of the interview and is currently Executive Chairman. Here is an excerpt from our interview:
Adam: How did you get here?
Charlie: Wonderlic is now into its fourth generation with our roots going back to my grandfather, Al Wonderlic, who started our business in 1937. It was impossible as a Wonderlic family member not to be involved in the business even at a very early age. It was a topic of conversation, particularly around how to assess different characteristics people have and how they relate to success on the job, as well as different ways to measure those characteristics. Wonderlic now takes this to the next step by providing these services to employers, particularly small and midsize employers who don’t have the staff and resources required to make consistently good hiring decisions.
I see things in terms of digits, and I always excelled at math. I had a real interest in business, and that led me to get my bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University in Ohio. From there, I thought I would take the typical path of a person with a finance degree and work for a larger organization, helping them make wise financial decisions. I had been working for Barclays International in South Africa and then Barclays in London and then Household Finance in Illinois, and I realized that while I enjoyed working with numbers, it wasn’t rewarding without human interpersonal contact outside the four walls of the company. I decided that the family business was the better choice for me as it combined my two passions, numbers and people.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Charlie: I’m a strong believer that the most effective leaders are truly capable of engaging the hearts and minds of the people who follow them. You can identify great leaders because they’re surrounded by
people who aren’t looking to be led, but looking to be given the opportunity to grow. They can take their skills to the next level by displaying their willingness to go above and beyond what is asked of them, showing their ability to shine and move their team forward.
Adam: How has your relationship with the NFL and the publicity received through the NFL Draft impacted your business?
Charlie: Professional football fans recognize the relationship between player selection and team performance and most are aware that the NFL has a long history of using the Wonderlic Personnel Test for this purpose. While we receive a tremendous amount of publicity during the NFL Combine each Spring, many fans may not realize that Wonderlic Tests are helping thousands of businesses of all sizes and industries make better, faster, and stronger teams and that we are here for them as well.
Adam: How can companies use testing to improve their hiring process?
Charlie: Companies can reduce the time and cost of pre-qualifying online job candidates by including professionally developed personality, ability, skills, and/or knowledge tests as part of their online application process. As a result, many are now using these types of tests to systematically pinpoint and connect with top talent, before their competitors have finished reviewing and parsing resumes.
Companies that are considering incorporating tests into their hiring process should seek expert advice from one of the many well-established test publishers. This advice should include recommendations about the types of tests that are most appropriate for their job(s), how to interpret test results, and how to integrate tests into their current selection process.
Adam: What do you believe testing measures most and least effectively?
Charlie: Professionally developed employment tests are very effective at helping employers quickly and objectively differentiate qualified from unqualified job candidates. They should be used to validate, versus replace information gathered from interviews and reference checks prior to making a final hiring decision.
Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.
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