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Imagine a sales force of the best salespeople in the country. The best players in the world are joining forces. There is an impression that a team full of all-stars would be unstoppable.
The 1990s saw the world’s best basketball players destroy their competition. The aptly named Dream Team was unstoppable.
Decades later, the Miami Heat brought the best players onto the same team. Three of the best players and several top-tier role players.
They should’ve been unstoppable.
The New York Yankees in baseball spend more than any other team. They have the best money can buy and haven’t won a World Series in over a decade.
Manchester United Football Club has spent more money on transfers than any other club. Not only do they not always win, but they’ve also suffered upset losses.
Having all of the best sounds excellent. A team full of all-stars. That team is full of egos. The best talent won’t adapt to you; you must adapt to each of them.
The best thing you can do is to find people who are the best fit. A team with defined roles and people who excel in those roles can do well.
Look up the story of Leicester City. Five thousand-to-one odds of winning the Premier League. They did it! Beating teams with rosters exceeding ten times their own in expense.
It was about everyone playing their parts well and finding good fits. You can always train for skill, but you cannot teach attitude.
Here are three ways to ensure you are finding the right fit.
Identify Desired Traits
Before you begin the interview process, you need to know what traits you want. Understand the type of personality and person you are looking to add.
Do you need someone with a big personality? Do you need someone who is a quiet workaholic? Do you need a potential leader?
What values are essential for this person to have?
Use your interview questions to uncover these traits and discover if this person is the right fit.
If you are in an interview, this is equally valuable. Ask questions about the team atmosphere. What the leadership and culture are at the work center?
Are they easy-going, or are they micromanagers?
Once you’ve identified the traits, narrowing down who to pick out is easy.
Hire Potential
Someone who doesn’t have experience can still potentially be valuable.
There are a few issues with people who have significant experience. The biggest one is they work their way. You cannot train them to work your style, or it will take longer to untrain them.
In business, it is best practice to have everyone working uniformly. It makes it easier to troubleshoot and fix issues. It is far easier to train others.
If you find someone with less experience but aptitude, they can be a more considerable benefit. These people are often overlooked because they lack experience.
Often you may be able to train them in your style. This person may become a top-level employee.
Find people you think have great potential and help them reach it.
Discover Their Toughness
As you obtain positions of power or prominence, criticism grows. More people will have more to say about your performance.
Receiving and applying feedback is an essential key to development.
If a person cannot take feedback, then they may not be able to grow in the ways you need. Understanding desired traits is first.
What we overlook is the ability to take criticism. Pressure grows as you ascend the company ladder.
What’s Next?
A team of all-stars isn’t guaranteed to win a championship. Similarly, good but not the most talented people could help take you further than you think.
Identify desired traits. What traits do you want candidates to possess already? Many skills are teachable, but personalities and attitudes are not teachable.
Find people with a substantial upside. Prior experience means people have done the job before but might need to be untaught bad habits.
People without experience could be helpful since they haven’t developed bad habits yet.
Can they take criticism and feedback? You must be able to listen to critical responses to your work. They may not be the best fit if they cannot take criticism.
We learn to judge books by their cover but often overlook their potential. Don’t be afraid to hire someone who may not fit traditional attributes.
They may have a world of potential to influence and improve your business.