Mastering the Art of Hiring: Great Leaders Know Whom To Hire

Mastering the art of hiring is essential for any great leader to ensure long-term success. Indeed, mastering the process can make all the difference.

Everyone is looking for the right team members, but few actually hire them and fewer still retain them, yet the most important decision Great Leaders make is hiring the right person. But how to do it? Mastering the art of hiring requires dedication and strategy. 

Hire for mission alignment and natural ability then teach skills.  Remember, mastering the art of hiring involves focusing on the right attributes.

Focus Interviews on understanding the candidate’s personal mission- why the candidate did what they did matters even more than what they did, but most interviews focus on what. Understanding the why helps determine mission alignment between the candidate and the organization. Employers want to hire people who have the same mission as their organization.  Employees want to work for organizations that align with their personal mission. Great Leaders Know Whom To Hire, and aligning missions is the initial step. 

Great Leaders Know there is no substitute for talent.  

Hiring is the most important opportunity any leader has. Retention is the second.   Yet, many sourcing, hiring, onboarding, and development processes do not receive sufficient focus or resources. Great Leaders Know Whom To Hire and how crucial it is to retain those hires. By mastering the art of hiring, they secure their organization’s future. 

Personality traits like imagination, organization, and math skills are with us since birth, although they can be developed or stunted based on our life experiences.    Many skills, like following a set instructions or processes, can be taught.

Great Leaders highly value experience because it demonstrates a continued pattern of success and the ability to learn.  It demonstrates what someone has done and what they might be able to do. However, experience is not a substitute for ability, and great leaders know they must balance both when hiring. 

Every organization is a tapestry of the aligned and mis-aligned, an array of natural abilities, a wealth of experience, and fresh eyes, and a spectrum of learning styles. Great Leaders orchestrate the performance of individuals and the team, knowing whom to hire to maintain a harmonious balance.  Mastering the art of hiring ensures this balance is optimal.

Great Leaders Know

Hire for mission alignment and natural ability then teach skills

There is no substitution for talent 

Hiring is the most important opportunity any leader has

Links

https://www.yardstick.team/interview-questions/mission-orientation

https://whatgreatleadersknow.com/