Every single person should have the experience of leading some job interviews at some point in their life. The goal is obviously to find high performers who will make a significant positive impact for the hiring entity. But despite screening efforts, you never know exactly who will walk through the door. Herein lies the adventure!

A few weeks ago, I led an interview that ended up being quite an interesting one. When asked to share a few personal strengths, the applicant responded with “spaced out and hard-headed”. He then went on to say that he can “blow up on people” due to his temper. You can imagine the shock, as an interviewer, that came from hearing these responses!

In thinking about this interview afterwards, I was reminded of an image that I wrote about a while back. In my experience, this concept is incredibly foundational and is pivotal to success in all aspects of life. Because of this, I wanted to reshare it here!

The Pendulum

Over the years I have often used the concept of a pendulum to describe a healthy, or at times unhealthy, state of being. As you probably know, a pendulum consists of a weight hanging suspended at the bottom of an arm, and this weight can swing back and forth.

Most things in life exist on a sort of pendulum. A person must be aware of this phenomenon, and the wise person strategically thinks through exactly where to land their pendulum in any given area of life. 

As a case study, take the terrible interview example that I experienced recently. The applicant started out with the right idea of being authentic and truthful. It is always a big red flag when someone tries to come off as flawless, or when you can tell that they are intentionally trying to deceive you. But instead of missing in this direction, this applicant swung the pendulum WAY too far back to the opposite side. In a classic case of oversharing, he buried himself with negative descriptors and eliminated himself from consideration for hire. 

Identifying the correct spot for important areas of life and work often means the difference between success and failure. It takes planning and work to get the pendulum at the correct spot and then keep it there. And just when you think you have it right, the ideal spot changes as things evolve across time. When the pendulum lands in the healthy spot in key areas of a person’s life, this will be a key driver in producing success. When it does not, the opposite will be true.

In Closing

Have you recently experienced friction in an area of your life or work? Chances are that your pendulum is out of whack and needs some adjusting! Looking at an area of your life that you consider important, where is your pendulum currently at? Was this a calculated decision or was it random? What adjustments should you make to maximize your current effectiveness in this area?