Meditations in a Pandemic: Day 15

“The easiest way to ensure that your employees smile when they greet a customer is to only hire employees who smile all the time.” - H. Schultz

We’ve discussed quite a bit throughout these articles, all tangential (at best) to recruitment. Today, we’ll delve into something more on ‘topic’: hiring. And specifically, executive hiring or hiring for leadership roles. 

So, let’s begin at the beginning. We externally hire leadership for two things (when we’re not weathering a calamity and have matured enough as an enterprise):

1. Expertise.
2. Values.

We are persistent in trying to complicate this, but that’s it, kiddos. Occam and I agree, do try to overcomplicate what you’re looking for in a hire. Expertise and values are complex principles and must be tailored to your operation, but that list is perfectly succinct for what you’ll be focusing on when searching for your executive team. Let’s delve deeper into each principle.

Firstly, Expertise, domain expertise that is. Your hire must have the aptitude and skill base that is higher and beyond your own. You cannot be a master of all; which is the reason you are searching for a team to support the company. This seems overly simplistic, but domain expertise is often overlooked when you’re focused on superfluous qualities.

Next, and last, Values. Values that are like-minded with yours and your company culture. Ultimately, if your values are aligned with your leadership team, you can feel confident your vision will be constantly upheld and pursued. If issues or turmoil arises between you and your leadership, sharing values allows for swift resolutions. 

Expertise and values must be viewed through the lens of maintaining your company’s culture. Outside expertise in an executive capacity can be a beneficial and necessary addition to your organization, but understand that you are essentially and inevitably changing the organism that is the company. You are inviting and absorbing their experience. Fully consider this when recruiting a big hire with a significant background and breadth of outside experience.1 Furthermore, there should no surprises internally when hiring. Like an organism accepting or rejected a medical procedure; a surprise can be a surefire (emphasis of the antonym) way to ensure the new leadership is neither respected nor accepted into the company culture. The company should be prepared for the new hire, which means creating the right immersion for the new hire. Give them enough time to be immersed in the business and culture before they make big decisions (apart from which food truck they should hit up for lunch. Careful, though, even that can be divisive.)

Now for the fun stuff:

• Tune of the Day: Ophelia, The Band, 1975
• Text of the Day: O Me! O Life!, Walt Whitman, 1892
• Misc. Item: Occam’s Razor Explained (by cartoon ghosts)