Two Good Options: a Difficult Place to Be

“They're both really good options,” our client said earnestly, referring to the two VP of Sales finalists as she leaned over the conference room table. “Both bring something unique to the team. Can we just combine them?” 

 Unfortunately, we can't manufacture people just yet (I'll let you know if I figure that out). What this means is that as leaders, we are routinely faced with difficult decisions related to choosing a person for our team. And we live in a world where choice fatigue is real. For example, if you want fried chicken for dinner, you have multiple options: Chic-Fil-A, Raising Kane, KFC, Zaxby's, and THIS IS JUST CHICKEN! Forget the burger! 

 Choice fatigue is real and impacts our hiring decisions. And the reality is we're dealing with people, and no human is perfect. So every choice comes with a shadow side. So how do you make a decision between two good options? 

What do you do when this comes to hiring? When is it compromising and when is it settling? 

Here are some thoughts around hiring and candidate selection that I have found to be particularly useful.

1. Define what matters most.

   If we don’t have a yardstick to measure against, we will always be left wondering what the next right decision is. The more we can identify the skills, talents, and personalities that work well within your organization (and every organization is different), the more successful our recruiting efforts will be. If possible, separate out the “MUST-HAVES” and the “NICE-TO-HAVE.” (A side note is that this same process can be applied on the candidate side when you’re considering a new role!)
   
   Once you’ve defined what matters most within your company, create questions around those core key areas. If you’re stuck, let us know and we’re happy to help you think through questions that would help uncover these attributes.
   
   It’s important to note that you should probably not lead the conversation with disclosing what you need in a candidate. Let them self-identify their motivating factors, skillsets, etc. You don’t want to give away the farm!
   

2. Realize that no candidate will be perfect.

   At the risk of stating the obvious, each potential employee is human. Which means . . . imperfect. (I am preaching to the choir here) And we know this, deep in our bones. If your parents were anything like mine, you routinely heard:

   ”You can’t have it all.”
   ”Give and take.”
   ”Meet in the middle.”

   And perhaps it was because my siblings and I fought more than normal, but the reality is that every strength comes with a shadow side. The over-achiever might struggle with pride. The adaptable, congenial candidate may struggle with having enough confidence.

   Decide which strengths you must have in the role, and then commit to develop and train the other strengths. I recently met Andrew Barry, the Founder & CEO of Curious Lion, an adaptive learning and development company, and we talked about how we are willing to spend so much time and money HIRING people but not TRAINING them.

   “Companies spend the equivalent of only 1-8% of their hiring budgets on training managers,” Berry said. “But managers with no training have 260% higher turnover on their teams. Why are companies underinvesting in manager training? I think it’s because current manager training doesn’t work. Emerging leaders need something different. They need to develop adaptive intelligence.”

   Put another way, realize no candidate is perfect, but invest the time and resources to train your employees.

3. Trust your intuition, but do your research.

I ask almost every hiring manager this if they are struggling to make a decision. What does your gut say? Almost every time I have made a hiring decision I regretted, there was a “pause” within my intuition that I pushed aside and didn’t listen to.

At the same time, your instinct alone is not enough. Look at things like job tenure. Have they recently worked in an environment that is similar to yours? Switching from a non-profit to manufacturing might be too much of a change of pace.

There is an ancient Arab proverb that says, “Trust God, but tie up your camel.” References are a great way to answer some of the outstanding questions. Ask the hard questions. “What are your pet peeves in a job?” “What does fulfillment at work look like to you?”

At the end of the day, with hiring and with everything else, you make the best decision with the facts you have today. You absolutely will get it wrong at times. No one ever get is right 100% of the time (see note above about being human). ;)

I asked Chat GPT how he/she/they (??) made hard decisions, and their last point was the most profound:

“Learn and Adapt: I view the decision-making process as a learning opportunity. Regardless of the outcome, I seek to improve my decision-making skills for future situations.”

Out of the mouth of babes. Er… AI.