Likability: The Most Common Hiring Mistake
When looking for the ideal candidate to fill a key position, it is common for hiring managers to identify a list of attributes they consider essential to being successful in the role. In addition to the technical skills required, this list of additional management and interpersonal characteristics is often so lengthy that no one, including the hiring manager, could possibly meet the minimum qualifications for the job. I often joke with hiring managers that if God herself walked through the door, she would not be able to meet the qualifications!
Having faced such stringent qualifications, why then do new hires often fail to meet the expectations of the hiring manager? It happens because, in the hiring process, the hiring manager becomes distracted by the candidate’s interpersonal skills or overall attractiveness. The candidate’s charm, wit, or quickness to respond in an engaging manner sidetracks the hiring manager or team from focusing on the candidate’s ability to do the job. In fact, candidates are often hired primarily on the basis of their likability and not on their ability to do the job.
In a previous article, “Making Decisions: Take This Principle to the Bank,” I argued for the importance of trusting one’s initial judgments, or “thin-slicing,” when making decisions. Thin-slicing is the ability to make judgments based on scant data, and it can be a very effective decision-making tool for routine business matters or issues. However, hiring decisions at senior levels are out of the ordinary, infrequent, and often more complex than routine business decisions. It is critical during the hiring process to avoid letting interpersonal engagement and congeniality trump capabilities and competencies. Remember that hiring decisions are less about the likability of candidates and more about their ability to get the job done. In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, he observes that the most effective CEOs and leaders are often mild-mannered and humble. In fact, he states that some very engaging leaders need a “charisma-ectomy,” because their interpersonal attractiveness, charm, and magnetism can mask their lack of training, experience, or other critical skills necessary to be successful in the job.
In the case of hiring for significant senior roles in an organization, it is critically important for hiring managers to go beyond the interpersonal acumen of candidates to a deeper understanding of their competencies and aptitudes. This is not to say that having effective interpersonal and communication skills is not important. Rather, interpersonal acumen is only one of many data points to consider. In fact, because hiring managers can easily overlook the actual capabilities individuals bring to their candidacy as a result of their appeal, it is important for these managers to take an even more stringent look at those to whom they are immediately attracted. According to Dr. Gordon Patzer, who has conducted three decades of research on physical attractiveness, human beings are hardwired to respond more favorably to attractive people. There is a bias that attractive people are generally more talented, kind, honest, and intelligent than those who are less attractive.
On the many occasions I have evaluated competing candidates for senior positions, the hiring managers frequently want to hire the candidate they find most interpersonally appealing. When we discuss the interviews, assessment results, job requirements, and organizational fit, we often find that the most likable candidate does not always have the capabilities necessary for long-term success. This attractiveness bias can prevent managers from looking beyond their initial impressions of likability to more lasting and important facets of candidates’ capabilities and skills.
In summary, trusting one’s instincts and thin-slicing can be effective tools for making decisions that are routine and uncomplicated. However, when hiring for high-level or critical positions, hiring managers must consider more than their initial impressions, recognize their unconscious biases, and take a deeper dive into understanding those competencies most critical to the success of the position. Doing so will help produce better outcomes for all involved.
