The Apprentice – Series 6

It’s back! Series 6 of The Apprentice returns to BBC1 on Wednesday night at 9pm. 

As work psychologists and expert people watchers, A&DC becomes a little obsessed when the Apprentice is on. Which is why we are so excited that for the next 12 weeks we will be sharing our observations of the candidates with you, here on HR Zone.

As well as providing commentary on each episode, we will be using expert behavioural analysis to evaluate the candidates against a set of key criteria, which we believe will be important to achieve success as The Apprentice.

Learning Agility:  Do the candidates learn from their mistakes?
Intellect:  Do they have the brain power to identify appropriate solutions and strategies and then demonstrate this in commercial nous?
Values:  Do they show integrity and behave in a way that generates trust and respect?
Emotional Intelligence:  Can they assess and deal with others’ emotions, and manage their own appropriately? 
Drive:  Are they self-motivated, able to inspire others, resilient and tenacious?
Cultural Fit:  Do they have the right cultural fit for Lord Sugar’s empire?
Motivation:  What’s motivated them to be on the show and why do they really want the opportunity?  

Each week we’ll be identifying the ones to watch and the ones who are in a more precarious predicament.

As a starter for ten, and whilst they don’t give a huge amount to go on, an initial review of the audition tapes highlights some interesting characters to look out for … our predictions of the ones to watch out for in week 1 (good and bad!) are:

Paloma Vivanco – seems driven and likable, and, unlike many of the others, actually has some experience to back up her claims (apart from her claim that she always succeeds, despite her first business failing).  We think she could do well.
 
Christopher Farrell – already the topic of much tabloid discussion, an ex Royal Marine and therefore, unlike Ben from Series 5, was actually in the Armed Forces.  We think he’ll be a good team member, but may struggle on the commercial side.

Joanna Riley – didn’t go to university and owns her own cleaning company – we think Lord Sugar will like Joanna’s drive and entrepreneurship.

Stella English – describes herself as a “completely unpredictable, crazy risk taker”.  Assuming this is true, we can’t imagine this approach working particularly well with Lord Sugar, so she’ll definitely be one to watch in the boardroom.

Stuart Baggs – wants to use his money to “help others, where appropriate” and his main motivation is that he’s alive, and lots of other people aren’t.  Well you can’t argue with that.  As the Apprentice’s youngest ever contestant, will he be mature enough to cope with the pressure?

Raleigh Addington – a great name and must-watch audition… Raleigh is apparently “unlike anyone you have ever known” but also “like Boris Johnson”.  Despite being an unemployed graduate and showing no evidence of any business experience, Raleigh is not afraid to big up his sales skills and business acumen.  Will he be the mayor, or just a fall guy?

It remains to be seen whether their espoused strengths and capability are reflected in the reality of weekly performance; so come back here every Thursday lunchtime for more in-depth assessment and insight from the professional, experienced and ever so slightly over excited team at A&DC.

A&DC are an HR Consultancy specialising in behavioural assessment, development and engagement.