“Hiring someone who is opposed to your ideas is not the same as hiring someone who is opposed to you.”
Managers often forget that diversity is the key to success. It is typical for a manager to want to hire someone whose personality traits are similar to her own. But managers need to understand the difference between hiring someone who has a different viewpoint and someone who does not fit with the group. As John Baldoni writes, “Hiring someone who is opposed to your ideas is not the same as hiring someone who is opposed to you.”
Different viewpoints are anti-groupthink and bring new objectives into perspective, while different personalities can lead to unnecessary conflict. Pre-hire assessments can help managers determine who will bring conflict and who will bring diversity to an existing group. Assessments can reveal those who can bring different sets of skills and opinions without disrupting the balance of the group. This information can help managers hire the best fit for the job, team and company.
For further reading about hiring people who can eliminate groupthink, read John Baldoni’s post “Hire People Who Disagree with You.”
