When you hire military, you hire like a Superboss
In a recent Harvard Business Review piece, Sydney Finkelstein penned his Secrets of the Superbosses. It’s a great read regarding Finkelstein’s decade of research on a specific pattern he noticed with top people in several different fields. For instance, “In professional football, 20 of the NFL’s 32 head coaches trained under Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers or under someone in his coaching tree,” notes Finkelstein. He also sites hedge funds and software as industries with Superbosses. Having personally encountered the consistent success of top military-experienced hires in Corporate America, I was curious about his research while not surprised in his findings.
One of his “key personality traits” of Superbosses is “unconventional hiring”. Rarely is a military-experienced hire a conventional hire. As Bradley-Morris guides an employer through a military hiring process or program, our focus is on transferable skills – this unconventional idea doesn’t easily fit into recruiting strategies centered on keyword searches from resumes submitted online. Superbosses who hire military focus on intelligence, creativity and flexibility, often taking chances on an individual’s potential over pedigree.
There are several parallels between the SuperBoss’ and Military Leader’s playbooks as well including an understanding of organizational churn as well as the long-term advantages in sustaining a master/apprentice relationship. In the military, much like in industry, top-performers have a tendency cross paths and Superbosses know the importance of a strong professional network.One of his “key personality traits” of Superbosses is “unconventional hiring”. Rarely is a military-experienced hire a conventional hire. As Bradley-Morris guides an employer through a military hiring process or program, our focus is on transferable skills – this unconventional idea doesn’t easily fit into recruiting strategies centered on keyword searches from resumes submitted online. Superbosses who hire military focus on intelligence, creativity and flexibility, often taking chances on an individual’s potential over pedigree.
The biggest takeaway for hiring military is the idea alluded to in the piece that A-players hire A-players while B-players hire C-players. Superbosses look for someone of the highest caliber who is worthy of their investment and mentorship.
Superbosses understand that some of their best people will lead their company, some will lead other companies, but all will have an appreciation for the leader who pushed them to be their best.