Know Thyself: Why It’s Important to Understand Yourself and Your Team (Before You Hire)
As hiring managers, we face the daunting task of selecting the ideal candidate to join our team. However, the process entails much more than simply evaluating an individual’s skill set. To ensure long-term success, it is essential to assess if the working environment of your team and company is a good fit for the candidate you select.
While it will be important to get to know candidates – let us first pause to take stock of the environment they’d be entering. Here are things you can reflect upon:
Know Thyself: Understanding Your Management Style
Effective leadership stems from a deep understanding of one’s management style. Reflecting on your own tendencies, strengths, and areas for improvement helps align expectations and seamlessly integrate new team members. Consider whether you take a hands-on or hands-off approach, whether you prioritize autonomy or close guidance, and how you provide feedback-based support to your employees. Gaining clarity on these aspects enables you to evaluate whether a candidate will not just survive, but truly thrive under your leadership.
Evaluate Team Dynamics and Company Culture
Every team operates within a specific working environment characterized by its own set of values, norms, and practices. Before interviewing a prospective member, it is vital to examine and appreciate the existing dynamics and culture within the team and your company as a whole. (We’re not talking about the polished language on your recruiting website, but your actual lived experiences – good and challenging.) This knowledge sheds light on the qualities, skills, and personalities that would seamlessly integrate into the existing fabric or contribute positively to its evolution.
For instance, if your team is known for its collaborative work environment, seeking candidates with excellent interpersonal skills, openness to feedback, and strong teamwork capabilities would be crucial. Similarly, if your company values innovation and risk-taking, candidates who demonstrate creativity, adaptability, and a growth mindset would likely fit in.
The Power of Compatibility
By acknowledging and understanding your leadership style and the team environment, you can develop a more effective candidate interview process that aligns with your overall goals. By tailoring evidence-based questions to gauge not only technical skills but also compatibility with your management style and work environment, you can better assess a candidate’s potential to integrate, contribute, and excel in their role.
The success and strength of a team hinges not only on individual talent but also on the unity and compatibility of its members. As hiring managers, it is our responsibility to find candidates who not only possess the desired skills but also align with our management style and work environment.
Understanding our own leadership style, team dynamics, and company culture allows us to tailor our interview process effectively. By doing so, we increase the chances of hiring individuals who not only thrive in their roles but also contribute to the long-term growth and success of our teams and organizations.
Bonus Tip!
Academic research studies on expectations (and how they impact our behavior in workplace settings) paint a clear picture: people tend to do what is expected of them, as long as they understand what is expected of them. Let’s apply this to a hiring scenario: if we candidly share what we’re like as managers, what it’s really like to work at our companies – candidates begin to form accurate expectations. For example – if you are a written communicator, share that with your candidates. If you have a highly structured environment, share that.
People are more malleable and adaptable than we typically think they are. If they know what to expect, they will adjust. And if they love written communications and structured environments, that’s great, but not required for you and your new hire to build a successful working relationship.
