Over a decade ago I taught high school in England. I was attending the University of Oxford, working towards a M.Sc. in Education.  

The Master’s degree wasn’t cheap, and before long I knew I needed an income source in order to avoid debt. 

I had been a full-time teacher in Ontario before I left for Oxford, so I figured I could work part-time, gain a steady flow of money, doing something I was skilled at. They were also in need of experienced teachers. So, I applied. 

I imagined the hiring process would be like it was at home - I would participate in a 30-minute interview, answering 5 questions before a panel of principals. Then, if I seemed capable, I would be hired.  

Except it wasn’t that simple. It was far more outstanding. 

Yes, I was interviewed by a panel of people. Except, rather than being interviewed by a panel of principals I might never work for, here I was interviewed by the head teacher and administrators I would report to. I imagine they were much more invested in knowing if I fit within their team. 

Afterwards, I had to teach a high school English class in front of the interview panel.  

Keep in mind I had never seen these students before. I had no context of what they’d studied all year. The only instructions I received is that I needed to prepare a one-hour, engaging, well-constructed, grade 9 English lesson, based on the curriculum expectations. 

After the lesson, the panel would talk among themselves, ask the students to give feedback, and decide if I was a worthy fit.  

I thought this was exceptional.  

While it put a lot of pressure on the interviewee, I loved the multi-pronged approach.  

Of course, interviews are challenging. They also can be faked. You can certainly use all the right buzz words and say the right things, without knowing how to put them into practice. But an interview with a practical component? There is no faking it.  

I also loved that the panel included student feedback in this process. It completely made sense. Why wouldn’t we ask for feedback from the people who will be directly impacted by the incoming leader? 

However, it rarely happens. The people who are most impacted by a team leader or team member are seldom, if ever, consulted during the hiring process.  

While this practice is typically the status quo, not every organization behaves this way. 

According to Daniel Pink, in his book, Drive, Wholefoods and W.L. Gore & Associates are exceptions.  

At Wholefoods, the departmental supervisors don’t do the hiring. That task falls to the department’s employees. After a job candidate has worked a 30-day trial period on a team, the prospective teammates vote whether to hire that person full-time. 

 At W.L. Gore & Associates, the makers of the GORE-TEX fabric, anyone who wants to rise in the ranks and lead a team, must assemble people willing to work with them.   

I love this!

In my own career, I’ve been a part of amazing teams and had outstanding team leaders. People who were smart, creative, collegial, who pushed each other’s thinking, and grew together.  

I’ve also had the complete opposite. Many of us have.   

We likely knew immediately if things were working out or not. 30 days would have been ample time to decide if a person was a good fit for the team. And who better to weigh in to make this decision? The team itself, of course.  

I’m not sure why this doesn’t happen more regularly.  

By not taking the time to find the right team, we limit productivity, success, and growth. We could easily combat this by building feedback loops from team members early into the hiring process.  

As a challenge this week, especially if you are a manager, I invite you to look at your hiring process. See if there are ways you can add in practical components into the interview process. Then, try to build in feedback loops from direct reports or team members within the first 30 days.  

Finding the right mix of people will make a significant impact on workplace culture, productivity, and quality of work. Adding in feedback loops or processes, like the ones I’ve described above, could be great first steps for your organization or business. 

If you need any help implementing these processes, we are here to help. Free 30-minute consultations are available. 

Best wishes, Lauren