Build to Win: The Three “C”s of Hiring Success

One of the most critical jobs of a people leader is building a high-performing team.

I like to think of it like a General Manager of a sports team who is assembling a group of players who can compete for the championship. It’s important think about how the group as a whole will function together versus focusing on each role in a vacuum where you could end up with a team of superstars (or “A players”) who are individually great but collectively disappointing.

I love this quote from basketball legend Sue Bird:

"I've been on extremely talented teams that just don't click, and I've also been on teams with a little bit less talent, but they clicked, and because they clicked, they did better than other talented teams I've been on."

When hiring to build a winning team, I like to focus on three Cs: Character, Critical thinking, and Chemistry.

Experience is important, but I find it’s far less predictable than those three Cs. More on that in a bit.

But first, let’s explore the Cs.