We’ve all done it: hired people who ended up being toxic in our teams. Employees like that can harm morale, breed conflict, and kill collaboration. Ultimately, they undermine the achievement of our goals.
I’ll call my worst hire Frank (not his real name). When my business partner and I met him on a trip, we wanted to hire Frank right away. He seemed eager to please and his professed talents would be a good addition to our growing team. We flew Frank to headquarters to interview with our employees, more of a formality really. We were shocked when the team didn’t want him. One teammate begged us not to hire the man. He had dug into Frank’s qualifications during his interview, and his resume got thinner and thinner.
My business partner and I had spent more time with Frank. We thought we knew better. We hired him. Big mistake.
It took some time for the man’s true nature to emerge, and by then he was doing important work for big clients. They seemed to like him. Our team members, however, weren’t fans. Frank made his teammates feel inferior, blamed others for his mistakes, and was a terrible gossip (usually belittling members of his team to others in the bigger company). When we finally parted ways with Frank, our employees took us out to a celebratory lunch to say thanks.
We missed red flags in the interview process. If we had done a more thorough job of vetting, we would have avoided a long period of trouble.
So, how do you bring the right people into your team while spotting the potentially disruptive ones? First, it’s vital to define the kind of positive culture you want and then second, to be just as diligent in looking for cultural fit as you are technical ability.
What follows are a few lessons about hiring for cultural fit:
Listen to Your Team: To ensure the best fit for your existing employees and new people coming in, listen closely to the opinions of your team members. Your initial interview with a candidate is just a step, and your first impression can be wrong. Have candidates meet their future teammates, your boss, and one or two people in the organization who don’t have a vested interest in the position. Ask them to listen carefully for clues—good and bad. Subject matter experts can help you dig deeper into qualifications, while HR or someone with high EQ might be able to determine potential toxic personality traits such as insensitivity, bullying, overconfidence, negativity, and so on.
Ask ‘Why,’ and Then Ask It Again: To learn more about a candidate’s underlying character and motivators, it’s important to ask why questions. For instance, at some point in the interview the candidate is going to tell you a story about a difficult work situation they overcame. They’ll have prepared this story, and they will sound like a champion from Greek mythology. Employ the Socratic Method and ask why and then why again to determine their real character and potential fit with your team. For instance, “Why did you take that direction over another?” “Why did the solution you chose work?” “What would have happened if you’d have gone the other way?” “Why did your value system make you do what you did just then?”
Focus On Behaviors: Be on the lookout for specific behavior-based examples that might give you a glimpse into the person’s true nature. To get there, ask behavioral questions such as, “Tell me about a time when you resolved a conflict you had with a coworker,” or “What’s one thing in your career that you would have handled differently in retrospect.” Their responses can reveal patterns in how self-aware they are, as well as how they handle interpersonal challenges, collaboration, and stress. One executive I began coaching told me he liked to determine potential behavior by asking candidates: “What kind of animal would you describe yourself as in the workplace.” He had learned a valuable lesson when first using this tactic. One candidate described himself as a monkey, full of energy. The executive gave the fellow the job, and later admitted: “While I was won over by his comment on ‘energy,’ I should have seen the monkey comparison as a big warning. The guy was unfocused and all over the place. He interfered with the work of others. He caused problems with productivity and eventually had to be let go.”
Observe Potential Language Red Flags: Be cautious of words or phrases you note during the interview that indicate a candidate may blame others (including bosses or teammates) for past failures; speak negatively about previous companies; or display signs of arrogance. These might indicate potential toxicity. You can also note when a candidate gives evasive responses or overemphasizes their individual achievements while downplaying the contributions of other team members. In addition, if a person demonstrates a rigid attitude toward feedback they’ve received in the past, that might indicate a lack of coachability.
We can all do a better job of screening for toxic team members during the hiring process. By emphasizing cultural fit and prioritizing candidates who demonstrate collaboration, integrity, and emotional intelligence, we can bring more quality people into our teams. No leader is ever going to be perfect in the process, but a little diligence upfront can pay dividends for years to come for you and your team.