When it comes to hiring new team members, finding the right fit is not as simple as it sounds. In fact, many managers make the mistake of oversimplifying their quest to hire the best. The problem is that the best candidate depends on several factors that are constantly in flux, including the company’s status and long- and short-term goals, the candidate’s motivations and aspirations, and the strength of the job market.
Consider, for example, if a racing team wanted to hire the best driver in the country. They could use metrics such as awards and other public accolades, driving history and number of endorsements to deduce that a particular person was a phenomenal driver. However, on that driver’s first day with his new team, they might discover a fundamental miscommunication: The driver is used to driving a Formula One car and the racing team only provides a NASCAR setup.
Start with Skills and Motivation
Just because someone is great at what they do does not mean that they are a great candidate for an open position. Of course, any new hire needs to be able to perform the job they’re being hired to do. However, a resume only describes someone’s technical capabilities.
Let’s look at alignment. What are the candidate’s long-term career aspirations and current motivations? If a spectacular driver has just finished fixing up his or her favorite car and is searching for a team to drive it with, that person will not be a good fit with a racing team where every driver must use the same company vehicle; the alignment is off.
The same is true of someone with a passion for collaboration in a create and orchestrate corporate environment. If a company operates in a command and control fashion, no amount of technical skill will help a super-collaborator to excel and feel fulfilled in the command and control-style company.
Be Honest About the Company’s Needs
This piece of the puzzle requires some self-reflection and a healthy dose of honesty: What kind of company are you? Are you a Formula One company or a NASCAR company? From there, business owners must decide whether they’re looking for the kind of person who will perpetuate the company’s current dominant culture, or someone who will transform it. The type of person who will succeed in a company depends heavily on the type of culture they’re being asked to succeed in.
Even if the company is in need of transformational change (whether it’s a dysfunctional Formula One team or a terrible NASCAR crew), that does not preclude it from acquiring top talent. Plenty of high-powered candidates are looking for a challenge and can help grow and shape a company into a Formula One juggernaut or a NASCAR champion. However, it is important that they know about that challenge and are signing on with enthusiasm; otherwise, the company risks loss of trust or even quick turnover when they get behind the wheel and discover what they’re driving.
Timing is Everything
A candidate with a strong background in transformational leadership and a passion for “rebuilding racing teams” sounds like a great choice for a company in need of change. However, if that person is seeking a relocation in two years to be based closer to family, any momentum he or she builds in the company could be derailed when they leave.
Similarly, if a great candidate is coming on the market at the conclusion of a big project in six months, but the need is immediate, the timing is off and the fit is unlikely to work out. Candidates’ skill sets may be equal, but their alignment with the company’s current needs may not be.
Rather than simply boiling down to finding the best candidate, true alignment is about task and culture, and requires finding the right person for the right company at the right time.
It’s easy to find an impressive resume, but no matter how skilled a person appears on paper, if the timing or cultural fit are not a match, the hire cannot be successful in the long term. Not even the best driver in the world can win a race when his or her car’s alignment is off. And that car is your company. Know it well before taking on any new talent. The best drivers and the best teams win championships.
