Dump Your Geniuses and Hire Idiots

Hiring idiots is probably not the best suggestion, looking for people who don't mind looking like idiots is probably more apt. According to Carol Dwek a Stanford psychologist, those who are willing to make mistakes are more geared for success than those who think of themselves as possessing an innate talent.

There are a lot of implications that follow Ms. Dweck's research. What does this mean for recruiters? What does it mean when you promote new leaders? What does it mean when you build a team to work on your project?

A New York Times article by Janet Rae-Dupree illustrates:
"The problem is that, having been identified as geniuses, the anointed become fearful of falling from grace. “It’s hard to move forward creatively and especially to foster teamwork if each person is trying to look like the biggest star in the constellation,” Ms. Dweck says."

It reminds me of football or any sport for that matter. In the offseason you read a lot of headlines about a team that picked up a new star player in free-agency. Commentators postulate, "Is he going to be the difference maker that puts the team over the top this year." More often than not, the star doesn't mesh with the team, they're a loner and they don't play as loose because of the expectations that the fans, the media and mostly themselves have placed on their shoulders as "the star."

In NY Times article Rae-Dupree quotes Dweck,
“People who believe in the power of talent tend not to fulfill their potential because they’re so concerned with looking smart and not making mistakes. But people who believe that talent can be developed are the ones who really push, stretch, confront their own mistakes and learn from them.”

With that in mind it seems a strategy when looking for new leaders might not be the person who never messes up or the person who always has their ducks in the row. Rather look for the person who tried something new and it turn out to be a disaster but later demonstrated how they learned from it. Avoid the Valedictorian. It seems obvious when you look at it in this context but when you're looking at two individuals and one seems like the safe bet, things aren't quite as clear.

To read the whole article from the NY Times click here.