Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting

Most managers focus on competencies when evaluating candidates but it’s character that will transform the DNA of the organization. Here’s how to assess it.

- Mary Crossan

IT’S BEEN SAID THAT WE HIRE FOR COMPEtence and fire for character. Consider Boeing, which has been brought low by poor leadership decisions that have severely compromised its planes’ quality and safety, and hence public trust, forcing its CEO to announce a year-end departure. And yet the debate about who should be the next CEO of the troubled airplane manufacturer has centered on the merits of engineers versus accountants — that is, competencies. Missing from the conversation is the recognition that what’s needed is a leader with strong character-based judgment. As potential new leaders have been discussed, there’s been no talk of relative strengths or weaknesses in character.

While managers often think that they hire for character, most have equated character with values fit. They’ve tended to give too much weight to character dimensions such as drive and accountability and too little to humility and temperance — which can result in bringing toxicity and weak judgment into the DNA of the organization. That often prompts individuals with strong character to either leave the organization or disengage. This is especially so when yet another high-profile promotion signals that the organization values a limited or unbalanced set of character behaviors.

There’s no doubt that hiring, firing, and promotion fundamentally shape the culture of an organization for better and worse. Simply put, organizational culture reflects the character of individuals within it. Therefore, attending to character is a real leverage point. Having worked with many organizations seeking to elevate character alongside competence in their HR practices, I can share some key lessons.

Understand the Differences Between Competence and Character