Hire Humility and Hustle
The most important hiring traits are easy to understand, but hard to spot.
Hire humility and hustle. People with these traits make the best teammates. But they might be the hardest ones to spot; here's how.
"I'd rather hold back a tiger than drag a mule," was how my old manager described why he hired for hustle. He asked these questions to smoke out a bias for grit and determination:
Why did you leave (each job) and why? ⇒ Ambitious people go for great opportunities, not because they soured their current position.
What project are you most proud of and why? ⇒ Listen for candidates who are passionate about their mission, not selfish interests.
Talk about a professional book you read and what you learned ⇒ A thoughtful answer reveals intellectual hustle.
Arrogance is harder to spot because it can seem like confidence. Gapingvoid (above) provides a good set of anti-arrogance signposts: a sense of humor, a reflective nature, curiosity.
A "Pronoun Geiger counter" is like a humility X-ray machine. That is, count how often candidates use the pronoun "I." Seek people who think about what "we" accomplished and what their work meant to other people on the team. Humble people have low "I" counts.
Also, look for people who aren't so damn sure of everything. A humble person will pause and say, "Hmmm, that's a good question. Let me think about it." Naturally, they shouldn't be unsure about everything but look for I-don't-know-it-alls.
Technical skills, education, and titles are hiring table stakes. But keep this motto in mind: "if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." Hire humility and hustle—your teams will go a long way.
