A couple of weeks ago I got a text from my mom. Which is unusual - not because she doesn’t text. But because she doesn’t normally text me. I’m not the favourite. That’s my brother. He’s that one that gets all of the texts / phone calls / extra slice of pie.
But messed up family hierarchy aside, she had a question:
I’m interviewing a potential colleague. What questions should I ask to find out if she’s the type of person who would fit in here?
By that stage of the hiring process, they’ve been through rounds and rounds. They knew the candidate was qualified. She could do the job. And do it well. They were trying to figure out the cultural fit of the potential hire.
In order to know if someone is a good fit, the first questions you ask need to be directed at yourself. You need to understand the culture you are trying to create on your team. And you need to create clear expectations for the role that the new player will be responsible for.
Rich Clune is a veteran on the Toronto Marlies - the development team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over his 12 year professional career, he’s played 139 NHL games and 400+ games in the AHL. And he’s been through some shit. He’s publicly battled addiction and mental health issues. He will likely never crack an NHL roster ever again in his career. But he is a veteran brought in to the team with a very specific purpose - to show the rookies and the young guys trying to make the NHL what hard work looks like. To lead by example in the locker room, in the gym and off the ice. To protect the young guys on the ice.
The Marlies are building a hard working, process oriented culture. And they bring in personnel (players, coaches, trainers) to act as pillars - holding everyone up and accountable to that common mindset.
To find out if a player is the right fit for your team, you need to know the role you’re asking them to play within the broader context. Ask yourself:
What is the team’s mission? (Ie. Treating cancer patients, developing NHL players, winning championships, making money)
What is the culture that you will need to create to get there?
What role are you looking for your hire to fill with respect to your culture?
Once you understand the full context of the culture you are building, the reason behind it and the role you want a new team member to play in it, then you can dive into properly evaluating a candidate's fit.
There is no magic list of questions to ask. So we have to switch our mindset. It’s not about asking the “right" questions, but about a general curiosity. Worrying about the questions can lead you to focus intently on the answers. A genuine curiosity allows you to dig beyond the answers and probe a couple levels deeper. Why they chose to answer it in that way. What they are trying to signal to you. How that represents their true communication style.
It’s easier and more natural to have general conversations steered towards specific topics than to plow through a list of questions. And what we are looking for is alignment.
Is there alignment between their values and those of your team?
Is there alignment between their communication style and the members of your team?
Is there alignment between their goals and the goals of your team?
Often hiring the right person takes lot more work than originally expected. It’s not just picking the top off of a stack of resumes. It’s about taking the time to look inward on what your needs are and what you are trying to change. If the candidate is the best contributor for the role, both on the ice (their day-to-day job performance) and in the locker room (their cultural contribution) then you have a winner.
At the end of the day, the most important questions you ask are directed at yourself and your team. The last one being - would hiring this person bring us closer to our goals? Or would it take us away?
- Christian