Culture Fit Triumphs Over Perfect Qualifications
At Acumen Executive Search, we have once again witnessed the power of cultural alignment in hiring decisions. Recently, we partnered with an evolving bio-technology organization to find their next President due to a retirement. The Board, the current President, and the Leadership were very clear about their expectations for the new President.
We found a candidate who seemed perfect on paper, scoring a 10 out of 10. After the Board interviews, they were eager to make an offer immediately. However, we advised them to interview the three other candidates we presented. The Board decided to move two candidates forward, making it the perfect candidate’s position to lose.
During the on-site interviews with the current President and Leadership Team, our “perfect” candidate talked over people, exceeded the allotted presentation time, and failed to ask meaningful questions to the staff. In contrast, our “stretch” candidate came in without predetermined solutions and asked the team powerful questions. He was humble and personable.
The current President and Acumen persuaded the Board to interview both the “perfect” and “stretch” candidates again, armed with the new information. The Board recognized that hiring the “perfect” candidate would lead to losing key employees and dramatically changing the culture.
We are proud to share that this August, our “stretch” candidate will start his new role, once again proving that culture fit wins every time.
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