Hi First name / Friend,
 

Starting today, I'm sending you one ability a week, the traits I believe every great hire needs before you ever extend an offer. Not what's on the resume, not what school they went to the actual human skills that determine whether someone becomes a teammate you keep, or a problem you manage. Each week you'll get why it matters, what to watch for, and the exact questions to ask in an interview to find out if someone's got it. First up: the ability to self-sacrifice, and why it matters more than you'd think.

 

Ability to Trust: There was an interesting study on how Navy SEALs select their elite teams and what makes someone the “best of the best.” A grid was formed with High Performance on one axis and Ability to Trust as a baseline. When someone is a high performer but low on trust (a toxic employee), they often still get rewarded in organizations even though they're destroying the team and running off future leaders. The SEALs discovered it's better to have someone high in trust and middle (or even lower) in performance than an extremely high performer their co-workers don't trust. Trust goes hand in hand with the ability to self-sacrifice.

 

Self-Sacrifice Does Not Mean Being Available 24/7: Self-sacrifice means being able to temporarily put aside your own wants and needs to ensure the team succeeds at its task — covering for a co-worker's emergency, or offering to help before you leave for the day. Unfortunately this trait is often abused in organizations and burns the employee out, or makes them bitter as extra work keeps getting dumped on them. What we're looking for is a healthy balance: the ability to pitch in, with the reassurance they won't be taken advantage of. Again, it's about trust.

 

Big Red Flag: One interview question that tests for self-sacrifice: “When was the last time you did something for someone else and asked nothing in return?” If an interviewee can't answer this, be careful — you may be dealing with a selfish person. Selfish people are rarely great team players, are more prone to power-plays, and often carry toxic attitudes toward co-workers. Everybody has to do things outside their scope occasionally; refusing to do so is a refusal to be part of the team.

Obsession With Fairness: Millennials and Gen Z are often obsessed with fairness. Asking one team to make outrageous sacrifices while others make none will cause pushback. As the HR professional, look out for the human factors behind your employees: point out workload disparities to leaders, identify when a helpful person is becoming over-burdened, and encourage team leaders to consider balance to avoid burnout and turnover. Be an advocate.
 

How Long: When asking people to make sacrifices, do your best to give a timeline — even though “it depends” is often the honest answer. When you do have a timeline, share it. When you don't, apologize sincerely: “I'm sorry, I know it's frustrating not to have a timeline. I appreciate you working so hard, and I'll share good news as soon as I can.” Silence causes additional anxiety; when there's an end in sight, things feel more manageable.

That's it for this week. Next up: The Ability to Work in a Team — and why your next hire is walking into a group that's already mid-story, whether they realize it or not.
 

Talk soon,

Kristin

I'm working on something new behind the scenes, if you'd want early access to beta test it before anyone else sees it, just reply to this email or shoot me a message.