Evaluating Unconventional Candidates

Sometimes, the ones who may not match the traditional profile end up being the best fits of all.

December 08, 2022

There’s no shortage of intriguing sports headlines these days.

NFL playoffs races are heating up, the basketball season is well underway, and the World Cup has had a number of thrilling upsets.  

But another important story has seemingly slipped through the cracks.

The University of Chicago’s men’s soccer team went undefeated and won the Division III National Championship last weekend under first-year coach Julianne Sitch — one of just two female head coaches at the level.

Why do we care? What’s the relevance to us in a Division III soccer championship coach?

Many of us as leaders get to handpick our personnel — our coaches, our team members, the people we put in charge of executing a mission.

As a result, we often conform to expectation and choose someone with a fairly conventional background so that at least if he/she fails, we don’t look naïve or radical in our selection.

But Sitch’s success and the university’s choice to appoint her beg three key questions we may want to consider when evaluating candidates or personnel for a position.

1. Is there something unusual or intriguing in this person’s background that may be a strength?

2. What non-obvious, hidden skills could this person have that a more conventional hire might not?

3. Can I live with the repercussions if the selection doesn’t work out?

The lesson here isn’t that we should always think as far outside the box as possible or dismiss what we view as the most relevant skills for a candidate.

It's that sometimes, the ones who don't match the traditional profile end up being the best fits of all. 

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