Should You Hire People You Don't Like?

Strange question, right? And yet there are a lot of hiring pundits out there who’ll tell you not to give in to your emotional “biases” about hiring someone. They encourage you to remain focused on technical skills and detached from your emotions as you evaluate a potential new hire.  

Sure, we all have emotional biases that don’t serve us well all the time. As Denzel Washington says, some people can “angry up your demons.” Well, that’s a therapeutic issue that runs deep, isn’t it? If you have bad feelings about a potential new hire, your three main options are 1) don’t hire them, 2) ignore those feelings and hire them anyway, or 3) go get some therapy to resolve your deep-seated emotional issues.

First of all, I haven’t had a lot of luck convincing leaders to pursue the therapy option. Furthermore, I don’t think being completely well-adjusted and psychologically integrated is essential to being successful as a leader. As with most things, it depends on degree.

If you’re a curmudgeon that doesn’t like anybody, then you’re missing a lot of fun in life, and you should get some help. However, we all have emotional preferences based on past experiences, and that’s okay within reason. Personally, I’m a huge fan of therapy and have spent many hours improving my success and happiness.

In the small business world, you’re often working side-by-side with your team members and interacting regularly with someone you don’t like is very draining on your energy and happiness. Small business leaders have many challenges, and you don’t need that kind of drag on your ability to lead effectively.

The best decisions are made using a combination of both thinking and feeling data. For hiring decisions, analyze a new hire position and know the top seven predictors of success for the role. Measure and grade those abilities, and then make sure you like the person well enough to enjoy working with them. Alternatively, I know some excellent clinicians…

Don’t be a stranger. (770) 993-1129. tdockery@TheResolveFirm.com