When the Perfect Résumé Isn’t the Perfect Hire

Just one more football analogy. I promise.

England’s latest World Cup disappointment has given me one final leadership lesson before I retire the football metaphors until the Premier League season starts.

Before we get there, if you haven’t already, go back and read my previous blog about penalty kicks. Then spend a couple of minutes looking up Lionel Messi’s penalty record from this World Cup and Harry Kane’s first penalty that didn’t count.

Following England’s miserable defeat, I was listening to my favorite football commentators, who had a fascinating discussion about who makes the best international managers. Everyone assumes the world’s best club managers must also be the best international managers, but recent history suggests otherwise.

Carlo Ancelotti. Thomas Tuchel. Hansi Flick. Fabio Capello. Some of the greatest club managers the game has ever produced have struggled on the international stage.

Meanwhile, the two World Cup finalists are led by managers who built their experience inside the international system. One developed Spain’s youth teams before taking over the senior side. The other served as an assistant and gradually learned what tournament football demands before becoming Argentina’s manager.

The environments are completely different. Club managers spend months working with players every day, building systems, refining tactics, and buying personnel that fit their philosophy.

International managers get players together for a handful of days, cannot recruit anyone new, and have to win under enormous pressure with limited preparation.

Both managerial jobs involve football. However, they exist in very different environments.

I have witnessed the same thing happening with advisory firms, where hiring managers become captivated by the résumé of a prospective new hire. The person may have years of experience with big-name firms or impressive credentials and titles. Those things matter. But they don’t answer the most important question:

Is this the right person for this role?

An outstanding relationship manager may not enjoy building systems. A gifted operations specialist may not want to lead people. A successful financial planner may not become an effective lead advisor responsible for business development.

Someone who thrives in a large enterprise may struggle inside a four-person independent practice where everyone wears multiple hats.

The skills that created success in one environment are not always the skills needed in another. That’s why the best hiring decisions go beyond experience by exploring how someone naturally works.

Behavioral assessments such as DISC, Myers-Briggs, or Kolbe can add valuable insight. None of them should make the hiring decision for you, but they can help you understand how a candidate prefers to communicate, solve problems, make decisions, and respond under pressure.

Combine that with structured interviews, practical work samples, reference conversations, and a clear understanding of what success actually looks like in the role, and you are hiring the person most likely to succeed in your environment.

The advisory firms I see having the most success with hiring build complementary teams in which each person is matched with work that fits their strengths.

International football reminds us of that every four years. The biggest names don’t always lift the trophy. Sometimes the winner is simply the team managed by someone who understood the job better than everyone else.

And with that, I think I’ve finally exhausted my supply of World Cup analogies.

At least until the Premier League kicks off again.

Hiring is one of the most important growth decisions you’ll make. If you’re planning to add a new team member, your Beacon wholesaler can connect you with practice management resources to help.

Song of the Month: You Can’t Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones.
Mick Jagger was in the crowd as England’s World Cup ended once again in disappointment. It seemed fitting. The song reminds us that outcomes don’t always go our way, whether in football, business, or hiring. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s learning, adapting, and building a stronger team for next time.

 

FOR ADVISOR USE ONLY. NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMER SOLICITATION PURPOSES.

Beacon Capital Management, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information about Beacon Capital Management is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov under CRD number 120641. Beacon Capital Management only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempted from registration requirements.

Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments or investment strategies.

Sammons Financial® is the marketing name for Sammons® Financial Group, Inc.’s member companies, including Beacon Capital ManagementSM.

 

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