In over a decade of building operational teams across emerging markets, I’ve learned this: hiring the right people is both an art and a system. The real skill? Recognizing potential before it turns into performance.
Here’s how I do it — and how you can apply it to your next hire, especially in early-stage chaos.
Inner Drive (aka Intrinsic Motivation)
You can teach skills. You can coach strategy. But you can’t install drive.
I look for what I call the “thirst for life.” Management theory calls it intrinsic motivation — a concept studied by Edward Deci. These are the people who act from within, who want to create, build, improve. They don’t just execute; they care.
How to spot it?
- They light up when they talk about what they’ve built.
- They mention people and ideas, not just metrics.
- Their energy feels like a current — fresh, awake, alive.
Interview tip: Ask about a time they started something. Pay attention not only to the results, but also to the emotion in the story.
Thinking in Motion (aka Cognitive Flexibility)
In a world of shifting goals, I want thinkers who ask: “What would it take to make it work?” Not just “Can this work?”
This is rooted in what Carol Dweck calls the “growth mindset.” It also connects to agile leadership — the ability to pivot in ambiguity (VUCA environments).
What I look for:
- No “I don’t know” default. Instead, they explore possibilities.
- They narrate their thought process.
- They stay centered when I throw them a curveball.
Real story: I gave a candidate a logistics problem they’d never seen. Mid-answer, I flipped the scenario. No panic. Just a calm: “Got it — in that case, I’d reframe the goal like this…” That’s the kind of thinking that survives scale.
Experience is Overrated (Sometimes)
I don’t dismiss experience. But I don’t fetishize it either. As Michael Armstrong and many HR experts point out, potential — when paired with the right environment — beats tenure.
If someone’s thinking is strong and their energy real, I can coach them up. I’ve done it many times. The best hires I’ve made were people who knew less but learned fast. One of them built an entire ops process within 90 days — in a region they’d never worked in before.
Final Thought: Be the Leader They Choose
There’s a twist to all this. You can’t hire stars if you’re not someone they want to follow.
Great people gravitate toward leaders who see their potential early — who notice the spark before it becomes a fire. Your job isn’t just to filter candidates. It’s to become the kind of person they want to grow with — the kind of leader who notices light where others see fog. As Edward Deci once said: “People with high internal motivation outperform those chasing rewards.”
That’s how dream teams are built.
