Many big-name entrepreneurs have a nose for picking the right people. They can tell very quickly if they want someone to be a part of their team, and once they lock their talent in, they often have the same people surrounding them and following them through their various entrepreneurial undertakings.

Four well-known global entrepreneurs who seem to have a track record of quickly picking talented individuals to join their executive teams are below, with excerpts from this article.

  1. Elon Musk: Known for his ventures like Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, Musk has a knack for assembling high-performing teams rapidly. His ability to identify and recruit top talent has been crucial to the success of his companies.
  2. Jeff Bezos: The founder of Amazon, Bezos has built a massive empire by surrounding himself with capable executives. His strategic hiring decisions have played a significant role in Amazon’s growth and innovation.
  3. Mark Zuckerberg: As the co-founder and CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), Zuckerberg has consistently brought in top-tier talent to drive the company’s expansion and adaptation in the tech industry.
  4. Reed Hastings: The co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, Hastings is known for his strong leadership and ability to quickly build a talented executive team that has helped Netflix become a global streaming giant.

This is all very well, but for us mere mortals without this superpower, what do we use to select people? There are various methods, and to get you thinking about a process that may work for you, I’ve explored some options in this month’s blog.

Hungry, Humble, and Smart

I work with a number of people who believe in the “Hungry, Humble, and Smart” criteria. The term was popularised by Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Ideal Team Player. Lencioni described attributes that are commonly observed in people who are most effective in teams, and knowing what to look out for can help hiring managers make great candidate choices. Summed up in this article, Hungry refers to people who are self-motivated, diligent, and have a strong desire to go above and beyond. They do not have to be pushed by their managers to perform. Humble refers to a lack of excessive ego, or concerns about status. These people are quick to share credit, praise others freely and celebrate their team’s collective wins. Smart refers to emotional intelligence and interpersonal awareness, these people exercise great judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and are fully aware of the effect their words have on their team.

Curiosity and self-improvement

Other attributes to look out for may include curiosity and a desire to make a difference or someone who demonstrates a continual journey of self-improvement. These qualities have been highlighted by some of the previously-mentioned entrepreneurs from time to time. Possibly originating out of the Maslow hierarchy of needs and the concept of self-actualisation, these qualities are seen in someone who strives for personal growth, pushes boundaries and innovates – highly sought in the entrepreneurial space. The term ‘Readers are Leaders’ also refers to people who are curious and always learning. At Carroll Consulting we developed a test that specifically assesses a person for curiosity and their drive to making an impact and self-improvement, and it’s incredibly effective when looking for certain behaviours.

The AI checklist

 A quick ask of Copilot helped me compile a list of the most attractive attributes in a potential candidate. Culture Fit was ranked highly, no doubt due to our culture-fit focus at Carroll Consulting, but still a worthy number one.

  1. Cultural Fit: Ensuring a candidate’s values, beliefs, and behaviours align with the company’s culture is crucial for long-term success and job satisfaction1.
  2. Technical Skills: Depending on the role, specific technical skills or expertise may be necessary. This can include anything from coding abilities to proficiency in certain software2.
  3. Experience: Relevant work experience can indicate that a candidate has the practical knowledge and skills needed for the job.
  4. Soft Skills: Attributes like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability are essential for most roles.
  5. Work Ethic: A strong work ethic and a positive attitude can be just as important as technical skills.
  6. Learning Ability: The capacity to learn and grow within the role and the company is vital, especially in fast-paced or evolving industries1.
  7. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, as well as empathize with others, is key for effective teamwork and leadership2.

Designing a thorough hiring process

This article, How to Design a Better Hiring Process (hbr.org), describes a thorough – and sometimes time-consuming – process to follow when selecting a suitable candidate. It looks to define the attributes required and by putting the candidate through a series of fairly exhaustive exercises, including playing games with staff members, it would certainly give you good insight into how the person behaves, interacts with others, and what they bring to the table.

When recruiting, whatever method you chose, make sure you decide on the attributes and the criteria you require before you begin the process. Then make sure you have a way to identify if the person in front of you has those attributes.

As we often say, recruitment is simple, it just isn’t easy.

If there is anything you would like to discuss, please get in touch.

Otherwise, happy recruiting!
Ian Hamilton

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Image by: Vlada Karpovich