I had a good conversation today about a business owner whom we assessed as a salesperson and found some varied results. The owner was strong in some areas but weak in some important aptitudes. This led to the discussion that the owner was one of the best people at actually selling this service so how could they have lower scores in these areas.
Some important points about this scenario:
- Hiring is a complex process with an almost limitless amount of variables. A successful process needs to incorporate objective data and then use it interactively with the candidate. Our approach is to pursue specific topics, in an indirect manner, once we have the assessment of the candidate. Some times companies overvalue positive assessment results.
- This business owner is strong at selling this service. Does that mean there is not a stronger salesperson out there? If the owner is strong with some lower aptitudes, how successful a “strong aptitudes” salesperson be? The trap here is that people assume (by their metrics) there isn’t a stronger salesperson in the marketplace.
- Management is often assumed as exemplary. Often, it is not. The best candidate will quickly fail in a new role if their manager is not aligned with them in the role. What I mean by that is we often see managers who have no idea how to effectively lead this new person who has joined their team. Typically, the manager manages to their own style. Any team members who do not align with this approach are removed. The manager then leads to the hiring process and fills the opening with a clone of themselves. Soon they have filled the team with employees who share the same strengths and similar weaknesses.