Hire Really Smart People

We are in the middle of hiring several positions at Cross Point and I recently re-read this from Bill Hybels:

“In general, a leader won’t attract, motivate, or retain people who are higher on the leadership effectiveness scale than they are…Over time, the net effect of hiring people less effective than you is an ever-increasing number of lower-caliber leaders….Embolden your staff members to grow their own leadership and then to shoot high when someone needs to be added to the team. Encourage them to go after the brightest, most accomplished, most effective leaders they can find. In so doing, you will continually upgrade your organization’s leadership capabilities.”

Here are the questions that we usually have about potential candidates for a position:

1. Are they available? 

If they are available, the chances are that there is a reason they are available. Great people are currently doing great things where they are. They probably aren’t yet aware that they want to be on your team.

2. Can they do the job?

We all look for someone that is capable of getting the job done, but often not quite as good as we could do it. That seemingly brings job security, but over time, that brings mediocrity and low moral for the whole team.

3. What will it cost?

Hiring great people costs money. We all have to live within a budget, but if you continually look for the cheapest options, you will eventually get what you pay for. 1 Timothy 5:18 says, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 

Next time you are hiring for a position on your team, go after the best. Bill Gates once said about the success of Microsoft,  “The key for us, number one, has always been hiring very smart people.”

Hire really smart people.