Hiring Isn't About Finding Talent. It's About Defining Success.

Over the past 15+ years, I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders across startups, scale-ups and corporates, to build high-performing teams. But before I could teach others to do it right, I had to get a lot of things wrong.

Here are five hiring lessons I had to learn the hard way. The kind that costs time, money, morale, and momentum. The kind that can kill a business (and almost did for me).

If you’re a founder, exec, or manager trying to build a strong team, I hope these help you skip that pain.

1. Never Hire Without Defining Why You’re Hiring

Sounds obvious. But it’s where most hiring mistakes begin. Seriously.

Early in my career, I’d start with a job description. Or worse, copy an old one.

What I didn’t realise was this: If you don’t define the mission and outcomes of a role first, the rest of your hiring process is guesswork.

The result? I’d hire someone who looked right “on paper,” only to find they weren’t aligned with what the business actually needed.

The fix: Use a Hiring Blueprint. Define the why behind the role, what success looks like in 6–12 months, and the competencies needed to get there.

When you hire with clarity, performance follows.

2. Skills Don’t Matter as Much as You Think

I once hired a marketing lead who ticked every box on the skills list.

Smart, experienced, articulate.

Six months in, we had a backlog of initiatives... but no real outcomes. No ownership. No drive.

What I learned: Skills look good on a CV. But mindset, motivation, and resilience are what drive performance in the real world.

The fix: Prioritise evidence of ownership, learning, and adaptability. Ask: “What did they do when things got hard? What did they learn? Did they grow or retreat?”

Skills can be trained. Mindset is what sticks.

3. Hire for Where You’re Going — Not Just Where You Are

It’s tempting to hire reactively. A problem pops up, and you hire to fix it.

But that kind of hiring leaves you constantly playing catch-up. I’ve made this mistake more than once.

The better approach: Zoom out. What will the business need in 6–12 months? Will this hire still be a good fit once they’re onboarded and the business has grown?

If not, don’t hire yet. Or redefine the role.

Takeaway: Hire for your future state. Not your current pain.

4. Culture Fit Isn’t Enough

I used to think “culture fit” meant someone who’d gel well with the team.

But if everyone thinks the same, you end up with groupthink, not growth.

Real lesson: Culture add and adaptability are more powerful than just fit.

Great hires challenge your thinking, push the team forward, and bring perspectives you haven’t considered.

That’s what you need if you’re scaling.

5. Don’t Hire the Person You’d Want to Grab a Beer With

One of my most costly mistakes was hiring someone I really liked — and ignoring signs that they weren’t right for the role.

They were smart. Friendly. Easy to talk to.

But they couldn’t deliver. And that mistake set the team back by months.

The truth: You’re not hiring a friend. You’re hiring someone to move the business forward.

Your test: Would you rehire this person six months from now based on outcomes alone?

If the answer is no, accept it and keep looking.

Final Thought

Every mis-hire taught me something. But the most important lesson?

Clarity beats charisma. Process beats gut feel. Ownership beats polish.

The best hiring decisions aren’t about finding “great people.” They’re about defining what great means and building a system that finds it, tests it, and supports it from day one.

That’s exactly what I teach every week in Hiring for Leaders. It's a no-fluff newsletter for founders and managers who want to hire smarter.

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Thanks for reading, Konstanty