Great Leaders Hire for Potential, Not Familiarity
If you've already decided a candidate can't do the job, why invite them to the interview? Recently, I had an interesting conversation while being assessed for a leadership role. The discussion wasn't focused on understanding my experience, approach, or how I would solve the organization's challenges. Instead, much of the conversation centered on why the role was difficult and why my background might not be relevant. The underlying message seemed to be: "GCC hiring is different from IT Services hiring." "Client deployment timelines are demanding." "The dynamics are far more complex." I completely agree that every industry has its unique challenges. But isn't that the purpose of an interview? To explore how a candidate would approach those challenges. To test assumptions. To discover perspectives that may be different from what has been done before. When organizations hire leaders, they are not hiring someone to repeat the past. They are ...