The perfect match: Ability and attitude

Here comes the “million-dollar question” (it might even be literal!): «What do you think makes the best professional?» You might think about their skills and knowledge as being the essentials because, after all, you can work on the rest. Well, of course you can motivate people, but it’s important to keep in mind that you can’t change their intrinsic incentives or their biggest wishes.

So, here comes the funny part!

While some candidates might have all the necessary skills to do a certain job, they might not be willing to do the work. On the other hand, someone could not have the skills yet, but have a good attitude that will allow him or her to learn and develop anything they need for the position.

So, when hiring a person for our team, we should evaluate these two different factors to make sure that they’ll be a good fit. 

Ability and attitude

Let’s start with the perfect fit for your company: A-players.

These individuals will not only have great talent and excellent sales skills, but also the right attitude.

They are motivated to push the company forward.

In this case, it’ll be an excellent culture fit since they’ll bring enthusiasm and boost the company’s energy level.

So, if you come across this kind of profile, make sure you attract and hire them, providing them with an interesting career’ challenge and development plan.

Ability but no attitude

Other times, we have people who are really capable of doing great things, but unwilling to do them.

They’ll bring bad vibes to your company.

So, be careful!

Don’t make your decision based only on the skills, and pay attention to your gut feeling, as most probably something will make you feel like you shouldn’t trust them.

Attitude but no ability

Yet in some other cases, you’ll have to face tough decisions when it comes to those individuals who aren’t A-players yet but have the potential to become one.

This is the kind of profile that doesn’t have the necessary skills for the position, but they have a great mindset and would be an ideal fit for your company.

So, what should we do in these cases?

It might be useful to ask yourself: «How many resources (training, time, money, etc) can I invest on this person? How quickly do I need this person to achieve a strong performance?»

From time to time, it’s nice and profitable to hire them thinking more on the mid-term as opposed to short-term, providing them with the proper training so all their potential can be uncovered fast. 

No ability or attitude

Finally, you’ll meet profiles that won’t be a good fit at all.

Hopefully, you’ll easily identify that they don’t have the needed skills nor the required attitude (wrong mindset), so you won’t hire them.

Otherwise, as soon as you notice the misfit, make sure that you let them go as fast as possible. We don’t want the rest of the team to be affected (in motivation or results) by people who lack a good attitude.

Finally, let’s remember that most people will only be genuinely motivated to do things that they really enjoy doing. For that reason, it is essential to connect talent with context, since a person with great talent won’t shine in the wrong position.

So, it’s highly important to allocate talent where it feels motivated and corresponded.

In conclusion, matching ability and attitude is the key to success. You have to look for the skills, but most importantly for the right attitude, potential and cultural fit.

This will allow you to work with great professionals who are motivated and will keep your company’ mission on track.


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