Cultural Fit in Hiring

Want to improve your hiring massively? Learn how to spot and avoid these seductively bad hires in advance: 🚨 The Toxic A-hole What makes someone toxic is that they're manipulative. And they tend to be very competent. So you have someone with a track record of success that shows up very well in an interview. Sounds like an A-player, right? ☢️ What are the signs?  - Defensive on weaknesses, attributes failures to circumstances/environment - Serial short stints (a year or less) are a flag you have to go deep on - Reluctance to give a reference from the last company 📉 How can you buy down risk? If you have this archetype in front of you, it's critical to do everything you can to check. I would do everything possible to find a trusted reference within my network before I move ahead. 🚨 The Loveable B-Player These candidates are seducing. Time melts with them, and before you know it, your hour interview is over, and they chatted you up the whole time. Don't get me wrong. I want to work with people I enjoy. ☢️ What are the signs? - Squishy language and company jargon but few concrete accomplishments - Every accomplishment on the resume was done by an anonymous "we" - A little too eager to take on feedback 📉 How can you buy down risk? I want to work with this person. Can I hire them as a freelancer first? Can we do a small project to test what it's like to work with them? Even an interview case study that simulates the work we do. I would also want a trusted third party with less connection to be a part of that test. 🚨The Culture Mismatch This is less about the candidate and more about the hiring manager not knowing their cultural non-negotiables. The common mistake is doing a "culture fit," which is code for, "Do I like this person?" The better way is to isolate the value that is the common denominator across high-performers and single-mindedly assess for that. ☢️ What are the signs? Imagine you have a culture based on Radical Honesty. Then the fundamental value you need candidates to show you is the ability to learn from feedback. Every candidate will have one answer prepared for this, but only those who operate this way consistently will have 4 to 5 examples across different domains. If they seek and apply feedback at work, on a team, in school, or from their friends, you can be confident they'll do the same when they join you. 📉 How can you buy down risk? Spend the time codifying your team's cultural values and isolate the one you simply can't compromise on. Now tell them a story about someone at your company living that value, one that makes their eyes open wide with surprise. Can they imagine operating in the same way? Have they operated that way before? ---- Want more proven A-Player interview questions? You can get mine here: https://lnkd.in/euhHGPg7 Subscribe for free. Get 50+ playbooks & templates. Make sure to follow Dave Kline for more.

I’ve been in executive search long enough to see a pattern: - A company is struggling with high turnover. - They invest heavily in recruitment, employer branding, and hiring incentives. - They get excited about strong candidates-only to lose them at the final stage. Why? Because top candidates aren’t just evaluating the role-they’re evaluating the company. And the truth: If your culture is broken, your hiring process is just window dressing. Executives love to ask, “How do we attract A-players?” But they don’t always ask, “Why would an A-player choose to stay here?” - Great candidates don’t just look at salary-they look at reputation. And in the age of Glassdoor, Blind, and LinkedIn, company cultures are an open book. - They talk to past and current employees. If your people aren’t recommending your company, that’s a flashing red flag. - They assess leadership in interviews. A hiring process filled with vague answers, unclear expectations, or high-pressure urgency screams dysfunction. Your ability to recruit top talent is directly tied to your ability to build a culture that people actually want to work in. Too many leadership teams try to “sell” candidates on a dream instead of addressing the real issues driving people away. - Telling half-truths → “We have a strong culture!” (But turnover is high, and employee engagement scores are low.) - Hiding red flags → “Work-life balance is important to us.” (But leadership quietly expects 70-hour weeks.) - Ignoring internal data → Exit interviews consistently show the same culture problems, but leaders dismiss them as “one-off cases.” The best candidates don’t fall for PR spins. They see the gaps. And when they do? They walk. Leaders Need to Audit Themselves Before Hiring If you’re struggling to attract and retain top talent, ask yourself: ✅ Would I enthusiastically recommend this company to my own network? ✅ What are the top reasons employees leave-and are we actually addressing them? ✅ Are we coaching and developing leaders, or just cycling through people?  Culture isn’t what you write in your job descriptions-it’s what candidates hear in backchannel conversations. 📩 If you’re ready to build a culture that attracts—not repels—top talent, let’s connect. #ExecutiveCoaching #Leadership #TalentStrategy #CultureMatters #HighPerformanceTeams

Want to Upgrade Your Hiring Process in 5 Minutes? Try This High Return Practice: Hiring Candor In just 5 steps, you can flip your next hiring conversation into a mutual truth-check, the kind that builds trust, filters for alignment, and sets up both sides for success. Here’s how: Step 1: Show Your Warts Start by sharing something difficult about the role or culture. A real challenge, not something sugar-coated. Let the candidate see the full picture. Step 2: Highlight a Cultural Non-Negotiable If your team lives by radical candor, peer accountability, or fast pivots, say that. And share how it might feel in practice, not just in theory. Step 3: Name Your Concerns Have a hesitation about the candidate’s fit or experience? Say it. Kindly, clearly. “One thing I’m wondering about is how you’d handle X. Can we talk about that?” Step 4: Ask for Their Reservations Flip the script. “What gives you pause about this role or our culture?” Watch for how they respond, with curiosity, defensiveness, openness? Step 5: Debrief Honestly Share how they showed up in the conversation. Ask how it felt to them. Make it clear: if we’re going to co-elevate, we have to start now with the truth. In Never Lead Alone, we call this a High Return Practice because it doesn’t take much time, but it tells you everything you need to know about your team’s willingness to live its values from day one.

"They’re not a culture fit." Those words echoed in the conference room as we discussed a promising candidate. 🙋🏾♀️ Me: "What exactly do you mean by that?" 😕 Hiring Manager: "You know... they just don't seem like they'd fit in with our team." As an HR Executive, I've encountered this phrase countless times. But this particular instance made me realize we needed to reframe our entire approach to workplace culture. Let's break down why "culture fit" can be a dangerous concept: 1. It often leads to homogeneity 👥👥👥 2. It can mask unconscious biases 🕶️ 3. It limits diversity of thought and innovation 💡 Instead, I proposed we focus on "culture add." 💡 Insightful Moment: A truly strong culture isn't about finding people who "fit in," but about welcoming individuals who bring unique perspectives and experiences that enrich our organization. From that day forward, we shifted our hiring discussions: ❌ "Are they like us?" ✅ "What unique value can they bring?" ❌ "Will they fit in?" ✅ "How can they help us grow?" ❌ "Do they match our current culture?" ✅ "How can they enhance our culture?" This mindset shift had a profound impact. We saw increased diversity, fresh ideas, and ultimately, better business outcomes. Our teams became more dynamic, innovative, and adaptable. ✨ Personal Transformation: This experience reinforced my commitment to fostering truly inclusive workplaces. It's not just about ticking boxes; it's about creating an environment where every individual can thrive and contribute their unique strengths. #MyWhy is clear – to build organizations where diversity is not just welcomed, but actively sought after. Where "culture" is not a mold to fit into, but a living, evolving entity that grows richer with each new voice. 💼💡 Let's start a conversation: How does your organization approach culture in hiring? Have you moved beyond "fit" to "add"? Share your experiences below! Together, we can transform workplaces into vibrant, diverse communities that drive innovation and success. 🌈🚀 #DiversityAndInclusion #WorkplaceCulture #HRLeadership #TalentAcquisition #InclusiveHiring #OrganizationalDevelopment

I was asked recently to share my thoughts on hiring for “Culture Add” vs. “Culture Fit” and decided it would make a decent post here.👇🏾 In many hiring conversations, I’ve heard phrases like, “we want someone who fits our culture.” But when we think critically about it, we should ask: Does this language truly foster inclusivity, or does it reinforce barriers that limit the diversity of our teams? As a Black professional in tech, I’ve experienced the effects of “culture fit” firsthand. Walking into an organization where no one shared my background – from growing up in Harlem, attending an all-Black high school, or having Haitian immigrant parents – often left me questioning if I truly belonged. This unspoken expectation of “fitting in” became an invisible barrier, making it difficult to share fresh perspectives that could actually drive the organization forward. For hiring managers and organizations, it’s time to consider: Are we aiming to bring people on board who can add to our culture rather than merely blend into it? Shifting from “culture fit” to “culture add” encourages us to value unique experiences and recognize that growth comes from a diversity of thought, not from replicating more of the same. 🌈 Try this - next time you’re interviewing, challenge yourself. Reflect on phrases like, “Is this someone I could have a beer with?” and consider whether that question truly invites diverse perspectives. Instead, focus on whether the person could bring a fresh lens or a new way of thinking. Let’s build spaces where everyone feels empowered to contribute authentically. 🌍✨

The biggest mistake I've seen companies make? → Waiting too long to act. Hiring mistakes happen more often than we’d like to admit. And most organizations realize they’ve made a bad hire within the first four weeks, but they leave that person in place for over a year. -A year of friction.   -A year of missed opportunities.   -A year that could’ve been different. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve seen two strategies that have transformed the way teams hire—and built some of the best teams ever: 1️⃣ Involve the team in the hiring process. We’re used to a top-down hiring approach—interview with a boss, then maybe meet with their boss. But how often do you meet with the entire team before being hired? This needs to happen more often. Here’s why:  → Team buy-in skyrockets.   → Culture fit is assessed early.  → Collaboration starts before day one. Some companies take it even further by adding panel interviews where team members have a say in who joins them. It’s not just about leadership—it’s about finding the right fit for the team. 2️⃣ Give the team veto power. (This is a bit harder to pull off, but it works.) Once hired, new team members go through a 3-6 month probation period. After that, the team decides if they’re a fit. Whole Foods used this approach, allowing teams to vote on whether someone stayed or moved on. It wasn’t about firing—it was about finding the right environment to thrive. Hiring for fit isn’t about finding someone who looks like the team or talks like the team. It’s about finding someone who can “add”. - to the culture, collaborate effectively, and help the team grow. When teams have a say in who joins them—and a say in who stays—that’s when you build the best teams ever. Because the best teams aren’t just built from the top down. They’re built by the people who make the culture what it is every day.

Attention Recruiters: You're more than a pipeline filler; you're the architect of your company's soul. Your role goes far beyond matching keywords on a resume. Here's your three-part mandate to move from order-taker to culture-builder: 1. Understand the Ethos, Not Just the Job Description. Go deep. Spend time with the founders and leadership. Ask the tough questions: Who is a definite no for us, regardless of skill? What behaviors would actively harm our culture? True understanding of the company's DNA is your most powerful tool. 2. Challenge the "Scale Fast" Mentality. We all feel the pressure to hire quickly, but speed at the expense of culture is a debt you'll pay for later. Be the strategic voice that champions intentional hiring. Remind your hiring managers that the right person strengthens the team, while the wrong person, hired in a hurry, can fracture it. It’s not just about filling a seat; it’s about adding to the foundation. 3. Be the Historian and the Architect. Whether you're at a founder-led startup, a company in transition, or building from the ground up, your position is pivotal. You translate the founder's vision, preserve the core values, or lay the cultural cornerstone. This isn't admin; it's leadership. You are responsible for the integrity of the team. Let's change the narrative. Recruiting isn't just about finding talent; it's about building a company that lasts.

I've seen it happen many times. A thriving organization with engaged teams, clear values, and momentum suddenly transforms into a revolving door of resignations and declining performance. Often, it's a single misaligned executive hire. When I joined my previous company, I inherited a leadership team with one recent addition who seemed impressive on paper. Great credentials, compelling interview presence, and technical expertise. What wasn't assessed? How they'd operate within our carefully built culture. Within months, the changes were palpable. Collaboration gave way to siloed decision-making. Transparent communication transformed into information hoarding. The psychological safety that had encouraged innovation dissolved as teams became hesitant to share ideas. The financial impact was undeniable - increased turnover, decreased productivity, and erosion of the customer experience. But the deeper cost was watching ten years of intentional culture-building unravel in less than two quarters. The painful truth: culture isn't just built from the bottom up - it's protected (or destroyed) from the top down. What I've learned through this experience: Cultural alignment must carry equal weight to technical capabilities in executive hiring Leadership team chemistry requires intentional assessment Values alignment isn't a "nice-to-have" - it's foundational The true cost of a wrong executive hire extends far beyond compensation This doesn't mean hiring only agreeable personalities. Healthy tension and diverse perspectives are vital. But core values alignment is non-negotiable. The most effective organizations I've worked with build cultural assessment directly into their executive hiring process - using structured approaches to evaluate not just what a leader can do, but how they'll do it. Has your organization experienced culture shifts after leadership changes? What safeguards have you found effective in your executive hiring process?

I worked with a client who was stuck in the "fit" mindset, hiring people who thought and looked like the rest of the team. We made the bold choice to bring in someone with a completely different background. Someone who didn’t check all the usual boxes but had fresh ideas. We hired a candidate from hospitality for a tech role, and their experience in customer service completely changed how the team approached employee engagement. Their ideas boosted morale and retention in ways the organization hadn’t considered before. Shifting to “culture add” means asking questions like: What unique experiences, skills, or perspectives does this candidate bring that our team doesn’t already have? How can this person help us grow, evolve, and better serve our diverse clients, customers, and communities? When shifting to “culture add,” focus on these practical steps: ✅ Revisit job descriptions to eliminate language that reinforces bias and limits who applies. ✅ Redefine what makes a “strong candidate”—prioritize adaptability, curiosity, and values alignment over personal similarities. ✅ Train hiring teams on how to recognize and interrupt bias in the interview process. ✅ Use structured interviews with consistent questions to assess skills and values—not likability or “gut feeling.” Hiring for culture add is about creating a team where diverse perspectives actively contribute to your organization’s growth. What questions or challenges have you faced while rethinking hiring strategies? My comment section is open! I’d love to hear from you.

If I hear "they're not a culture fit" one more time... I'm going to lose it. "Culture fit" has become the laziest excuse in hiring. It's corporate speak for "I have a vague feeling I don't like them, but I can't articulate why." Here's what "not a culture fit" usually means: ❌ "They asked too many questions about work-life balance" ❌ "They didn't laugh at my joke in the interview" ❌ "They seem too confident/not confident enough" ❌ "They don't remind me of myself when I was their age" ❌ "They want to work remotely and I don't trust that" None of these are culture problems. They're bias problems. Real culture fit questions: ✅ Do they share our core values? (Ask them what their core values are. How do they define your core values? Ask for examples of how they'd react to a situation.) ✅ Can they work effectively in our communication style? (What do they do when they feel attacked? How do they handle their boss being CC'd? How do they figure something out when they don't know something?) ✅ Do they thrive in our level of structure/autonomy? ✅ Are they energized by the problems we solve? ✅ Can they handle our pace and decision-making process? The difference? Vague "culture fit" = "I don't like them for reasons I can't explain" Real culture fit = "Based on specific behaviors and values, here's why they will/won't succeed here" The worst part? "Culture fit" often means "culture clone." You end up with a team of people who all think the same way, have the same backgrounds, and make the same assumptions. That's not culture. Stop using "culture fit" as a catch-all rejection. If you can't explain specifically why someone won't succeed in your environment, the problem isn't them. It's your hiring process. Do you really know yourself? Do you really know your core values? My core values are GROWTH with every action, GRIT on everything I work on, CLARITY in everything I do. (And I like to put on silly hats when I get the opportunity to do so, so I don't take everything serious.) What does "culture fit" actually mean to you? Drop your REAL definition below 👇