One of my greatest early failures leading our team at Cooke Media Group was hiring people that were just like me. For years, I assumed I should hire people I liked, so I hired outgoing, creative, people-oriented employees – essentially, people just like me.
I loved the team, and we had a great time working together, but it didn’t take long to start losing money fast. I finally realized that I’d already hired me, and what we needed were people with gifts and talents I didn’t have.
So I started hiring people who loved working with budgets, tech, schedules, and details – definitely not my strengths.
So if you’re like I used to be, and wondering why your team isn’t operating more effectively, then stop hiring people like you.
And be secure enough to hire people smarter than you – especially in areas where you’re weak.
That insight alone transformed our team.
This article originally appeared on philcooke.com and is reposted here by permission.
