Cultural fit

I spend a lot of time assessing people on whether they will fit within a company. The higher up one goes, it is a given that you can do the job-but that is not a strategic hire. The focus is whether the person can communicate at various levels:

• Know what to say and when to hold off
• Understand how to build internal relationships with people or teams that matter
• Perceive the dynamics and power base in an office, region or corporation
• Have the confidence to work independently as well as tapping in to those when unsure
• Keep an open ear to what is being said but not necessarily be a party to the chatter
• Study the flow of power and information, know where to be and why

Notice I have said nothing about working hard at your job to succeed. That is also a given, but spending too much time polishing up the presentation is as lethal as spending too much time gossiping. The middle ground is a safer bet many times, and in the next post I’ll write more about cross cultural corporate fits..