It is a simple phrase: character over talent.
How can it benefit you and your organization?
This simple phrase has been a cornerstone of Mike Urgo’s belief system. It started in athletics where he grew a collegiate hockey program from seven dedicated players to over forty. He took this philosophy from recruiting college hockey players and translated it to aid in building and managing high performing teams in the workplace.
We believe that good people, with a solid foundational understanding of the job’s responsibilities, outperform people who may have all the credentials, but whose character and attitude are sub-par.
This sentiment can be tricky, especially in the world of technology. If you are looking for a python developer, you cannot hire someone who does not know python. That is not what we are discussing. We are talking about going the extra mile in the hiring process and doing more than an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) or AI can do.
As leaders, it is important that you are taking the time to not only validate the technical abilities of candidates, but also their character looking for an overall fit. Do they understand your organization’s culture? Would they be a good personality fit on your team? Are they going to deliver diversity of thought? In our experience, it’s best to weigh those qualities above years of experience or several certifications.
People connect with good people. If that python developer with all the accolades is condescending to junior developers or is disrespectful to their SCRUM team, it doesn’t matter how good they are, because their talents will be over-shadowed by their poor character. We have also found that good character employees are also open to development and learning while also coaching others, which translates directly to high performing teams.
There’s no short cut to finding high character talent. It requires time and effort through intentional conversations. It also requires self-discipline. You cannot be distracted by an overwhelming amount of credentials or being turned off back a lack of credentials. A longer-term solution is to create a powerful internal succession plan and career path for employees. In theory, if you’re hiring high character talent and then promoting internally, you will have a constant pipeline of high character individuals.
None of this is possible if leadership is not setting the appropriate example. What happens if leadership does not exude high character actions? High character people leave. We’ve all heard that people leave bad leadership, not companies. The same goes for attracting high character talent.
Do you need help setting up tangible career paths for your employees? Do you want to train your leaders on how to hire high character talent? Schedule a call to see how Intellectual Nebula can help you!
Schedule a call with us today and let us begin cultivating a relationship that can help your organization exceed its goals:
The ability to take the time to understand your organization, your people, your processes, and translate to technological solutions is what makes Intellectual Nebula so effective!
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