Hire team players
The cover of a football team’s press
guide may be a picture of a quarterback or
a middle linebacker, but the daily blocking
and tackling of everybody on the field is
what makes it successful. Phillips looks at
his team on the inside the same way. And
that starts with scouting the right team
members.
“You have to hire well,” he says.
In order to hire smart people who can fit
in with your team, Phillips says there are
some characteristics you can look for.
“You want to find people who are flexible
in their thinking, not rigid,” he says.
“Everyone always talks about the right fit,
and you want people who can check their
ego at the door and be truly team players.
… That makes your team more cohesive
and better in the long run.”
The key to finding talented people who
can check their ego at the door is in letting
them tell their story. After you vet the
resumes and find people you think are
going to be sharp, bring them in and ask
them to talk about their accomplishments.
As they talk, hear what they are saying to
see if they’re interested in moving forward
the daily tasks of the team or if they are a
needy, me-first wide receiver.
“Some of it is how they answer questions
during interviews,” Phillips says. “As they
are talking, are they using the I language
about everything that they did or are they
talking about how they added to the efficiency or the overall good of the company
or the department that they were working
in previously.”
You can’t do all the hiring yourself, of
course, so make sure that this hearing test
is being administered by your direct reports as they hire.
“I try to instill that in my direct reports
when they’re hiring people,” Phillips says.
“You tell them to be alert for red flags that
go up in someone’s personality. Are they
being arrogant; are they talking too much
about themselves?”
The other part of getting that philosophy
down to your direct reports is ask them to
have other people test personalities. When
it comes to hiring, involve different people
and let them know they are looking for
someone who can put the team first and
warn them to look for a personality that
can’t do that.
“You talk to them about it as they’re interviewing to make sure there’s a fit personal-itywise with your other staff,” Phillips says.
“(That’s) not just the person interviewing,
but make sure they get some input from
other people in that department as to
whether the candidate is a good fit or not.
That helps.”
