Agility Has Become the Hallmark
Heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury echoes this sentiment: “I prefer a bigger opponent. Smaller, agile fighters cause me trouble.” Agility is a valuable asset, both in the ring and in business.
Our experience working with emerging growth companies reveals a distinct difference from established organizations. Agility is paramount for these companies – think speedboats, not battleships! They need to accelerate quickly, maintain high velocity, and change course rapidly. To achieve this agility, they must hire agile people.
The culprit behind most failures in these environments isn’t incompetence, but a lack of cultural fit. Skilled and intelligent individuals can struggle in the wrong environment. Here at Teambuilder Search, we witness this often. To address this challenge, let’s explore our 4 P’s of Cultural Fit for hiring in emerging growth companies.
1. Pace
Pace measures the speed at which a group or team operates. Fast companies need fast people. Team members must act with a sense of urgency and are capable of “bursts” to meet time-sensitive goals and hit necessary gates. If you place a lower energy, slower-moving, less urgent personality in your fast-moving company, everyone will feel frustrated.
2. Process
Decision-making in an emerging growth company hinges on outcome orientation, not just completing tasks. These companies need team members who are constantly driving results, learning on the fly, making sound choices, and embracing calculated risks. Hiring someone who prioritizes tasks over outcomes drains energy from managers and other team members.
3. Philosophy
Philosophy of decision making dictates how people approach opportunities and challenges. Members of a group tend to be either dreamers or doers, idealists or pragmatists. Emerging growth companies definitely have visionaries, but in most roles, they need pragmatically minded people who can connect the strategic elements to actual execution. You need practically minded people to help get through the necessary gates. They must not only get things done but also adapt in how they get things done. If you hire a dreamer when you need a doer, you will be left undone.
4. Play
Play is all about team building, collaboration, and bonding. Team members in emerging growth companies should be fervent about victory for the whole team. These people desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. If you end up hiring people more devoted to personal goals than to team goals, you end up with a lot of posturing and distraction instead of production.
Final Thoughts
If you get the cultural fit right, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining an agile and profitable environment. You will be able to dodge a punch and then fire right back!
Check out our Thought Leadership articles to learn more, or contact us to discuss your hiring and recruiting challenges.
