My #1 Tip for Hiring Someone For Your Team
There are a lot of things you should be looking at when hiring people for your team. But if I was to give one tip it would for sure be this one – find people that genuinely care about other people.
Teamwork is about relationships. And most of what you do within your company and/or organization is about relationships. Many, if not most of the problems within a company, organization or team can be mapped to the inability to get along with others.
I get that performance problems can be linked to a lack of competence, poor judgment, little motivation and a host of other problems – but people who don’t get along with others can dramatically make those problems worse.
Hiring people who genuinely care about others has the huge benefit of making the team better. Members are more focused on what they can do together rather than for themselves. You see fewer egos and unhealthy aspirations that interfere with teamwork.
Three big benefits of hiring people on your team who care about others include…
1. Fewer of the “petty things.” Teammates who truly care about others don’t get caught up in petty things like gossip, evil speaking of other team members, whining and complaining. They are confident in who they are, poised and positive. There is less drama and more productive focus.
2. More efficient dialog. Caring team members really want to hear what others have to say. They are more comfortable and committed in talking about the issues when it is felt that others are listening and not unfairly judging. As a result the focus on meetings will be on issues, not the “fat” you usually see in unproductive meetings where people are playing politics, withholding information and taking most things personally.
3. Service and helpful minded teammates. A team of people who care about each other are more likely to serve one another. They look for opportunities to help and pitch in. One team members weaknesses are going to be strengthened through the assistance of others who are stronger in a particular area. Because they know others care and are willing to help they are more likely to ask for help going forward. It is a positive correlation that keeps getting stronger as the team continues to work together.
So how do you hire these types of future members of your team? There may be more sophisticated methods to use in identifying these types of individuals, but I think it is fairly simple and straightforward. I ask two questions:
1. How do you feel about service?
2. What ways have you found to serve others?
After you have found potential team members that can answer these two questions in a meaningful way, then go ask those they have provided as referrals the same questions.
How these potential team members respond to these questions will give you a pretty strong indicator as to whether they value service and if they ever actually serve others. If they serve others I think you can say with 100% accuracy that they care about other people. From there you can hire for other things you need.
Is this something you consider when hiring? Would love to hear your thoughts.
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