The Key to Hiring the Right Leadership Team

The Key to Hiring the Right Leadership Team

By Markus Bohi

 The people you surround yourself with will have a profound impact on your ability to weather the storms of life. They will also play a monumental role in your capability and belief level when it comes to your goals and dreams. When you set out to achieve great things, it's important to remember that you can't do it alone. A strong team is the foundation of any successful organization and choosing wisely when assembling that team is essential. But how can you identify the people who will truly be an asset to the team?

During my time as a Boy Scout, I learned about the value of leadership and the importance of having the right people in those leadership positions. We were a small troop of around twenty-five scouts, and we had just one primary leader and two sub-level leaders. I had the honor of obtaining a sub-level leadership role when I was a teenager. This experience taught me many things about leadership at a young age.

There are two types of leaders, no matter the country, industry, organization, or mission at hand:

1. The ones who take the charge and have initiative.

2. The ones who are innately followers but want the leadership title.

Anyone can be a leader, but it takes a special kind of person to be a great leader. Great leaders are the ones who take charge and go above and beyond, not just for themselves, but for the good of their team or organization. They inspire others to be their best and work together towards a common goal. They are also the ones who are willing to accept responsibility when things go wrong and learn from their mistakes. Now those who want the title but not the responsibilities are probably just looking for a way to pad their resume; they're uninterested in doing the hard work required to lead a team to success.

I’m a perfectionist at heart. I want to see things get done well and on time. I have always tried my best to lead with initiative, drive, and motivation. This has allowed me to attract like-minded people who share my same values and who are willing to work together with me on common goals. The keyword here is attract. When you are vocal and strong in your stance and show unwavering commitment to your own values, people with similar values will be drawn to you. Mirror your company values and your personal values as best you can as an owner, and if you’re in a leadership role, then only serve the organizations who have similar values to your own. Only then will there be true synergy.

This is especially important in business, Having the wrong people on your team can turn troubling very quickly. Negative attitudes and behaviors in a team can spread like wildfire, damaging morale, and causing everyone to question their commitment to the organization. It starts to show in the team's productivity, effort, and quality of work. Over time, this will inevitably seep into the general performance of your business and the satisfaction of your clients. It’s one piece of the domino, and it can cause the rest of the pieces to fall when not attended to.

But how can you tell if someone is going to be a good fit for your business? Of course, there's no foolproof method, but there are certain characteristics that tend to indicate success. Here are the key attributes you should look for during the hiring process.

Key attributes to look for when hiring:

●      People who are proactive

●      Good communicators

●      Independent workers

●      People with good attitudes

●      People with applicable or transferable skills

●      People with experience

Notice the common theme in the list above—the list leans more heavily toward soft skills. If you have the most brilliant person in the world sitting in front of you at the hiring table, it will seem like a no-brainer that you should hire them. But what if they are rude? What if they’re not a team player? What if their values aren’t genuinely aligned with your company values? Consider a different candidate.

That’s right. Look elsewhere. Assuming the candidate has the foundational knowledge to do the job, hire a candidate based on whether they are the right culture fit. That is the key to creating a synergistic team. Technical skills can be taught to anyone who is willing to learn them. However, the willingness to learn is not so easily taught. Hire for soft skills. Now, no matter the role, there needs to be an understanding of the processes and tactics at play. But so long as that basic knowledge is there, your hiring decision needs to lean toward a candidate's soft skills rather than the more technical skills.

There’s an old saying that rings true—a team is only as strong as its weakest link. The right people will have the right behavior, and this can be contagious, inspiring others to uphold the company's values and culture. The opposite is true as well. The wrong people will have the wrong behavior, and this can be contagious, discouraging others to uphold the company’s values and culture. Don’t underestimate the power of your company culture and how your hiring decisions can mold and shape that culture, for better or for worse.

In addition to finding the right culture fit, it’s important to understand holes in the current team’s skillset. When building your team, you must also remember that you’re not the best at everything. This may seem like a simple concept, but it’s one that can be easy to forget in the heat of competition. Hiring people with different skill sets and people more skilled than me has only made me better. Why? Because they challenge me and push me to be better.

I’m constantly learning and growing as a person. I’ve been in both small teams and large organizations with a team spread across several countries, all with different cultures, languages, and values. Taking the time to shape that diverse team by learning to communicate carefully and effectively, respecting each other’s differences, and understanding how to best complement each other helped me make our businesses more well-rounded and successful in the long run. The key is to embrace both your unique skill set and your limitations and use it to build a strong team of talented individuals who can complement you. To do that, you need to humble yourself. If you’re unsure about it, make a list of things that drain your energy when you must do it. Outline the tasks that you often drop the ball on or simply don’t like doing and find someone who enjoys doing those things.

Whether you’re starting a new team or have one already in place, step back and think of this: your team is the foundation of your organization. The stronger and more cohesive that team is, the better you’ll be able to weather any storm. Even if you're the smartest person in the room, you won't be able to accomplish much if you're surrounded by the wrong people. Look for people who are smart, positive, and driven. Look for people who inspire you to be your best self and help you achieve the visions you’ve set forth for your company. Invest in those people, and they will invest in you. That's the power of a strong team.