Misfits Will Make Your Team Better
Stop looking for that perfect person to add to your team. They don’t exist. Start to look beyond the work experience. Look past the résumé. Don’t worry about cold-calling one of their references. It’s time to start to embrace the weird.
I’ve always been drawn to companies that embraced a unique, punk rock perspective. Skate kids, artists, nomads. When I’ve worked for companies that don’t have this attitude I felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like I had to fake who I was; I couldn’t show my true self because it wasn’t “professional.”
I even had a couple of jobs where I wore dresses. Who was that person? It wasn’t me.
I listened to a podcast recently where Simon Sinek interviewed his good friend and design guru, Brian Collins. I heard this interview months ago and tried my best to soak it up. I was driving home while listening and then parked in my driveway after I got there trying to take notes because I loved what I heard. I decided to go back and re-listen to it so I could organize all the inspiration.
These two guys managed to capture my philosophy for running teams in 30 minutes. They got to the heart of the matter quickly and put team-building into words that colored every aspect beautifully. I have been searching for this very thing for over a decade.
Be the Jim Henson of Leaders
From The Muppets? Yes, that Jim Henson. Henson was very good at what he did. He also realized that he could make his creation even better if he included other artists with unique talents that were different from him.
“Henson realized that his own talent was amplified, accelerated, and colorized by bringing in collaborators that were different. He went out to find people that were infinitely better than he was. What they created was better than what he could’ve done by himself.” — Brian Collins
When you include people on your team that are different than you, magic happens. Include people with different energies and intelligence. Include people that are introverted, extroverted, or have a knack for conversation. If everyone is allowed to contribute the best of themselves, the outcome will be something you never would have come up with alone.
The Culture Must Accommodate the Person
Too many companies get caught up in their culture. Does this person fit our culture? Do they fit the brand? Those are the wrong questions. Does your culture make room for people with talents that can support your mission/goal? What can they contribute to the culture? What can they add?
“Contribution is a growth mindset.” — Simon Sinek
If you want to move forward, start to make room for different people.
Most of the people I’ve had on my teams wouldn’t necessarily be friends outside of work. That’s a good thing. I want people with different interests to come together to help me make my store better. They can teach me stuff. They can teach each other stuff. They can teach our customers stuff. All this stuff would not come together and make something new if everyone had the same hobbies.
If you include people like that, they will become an inevitable contributor to the culture. That’s what you want.
You need people that can TALK, people that can DO, and people that can DO BOTH.
Past leaders have told me that everyone on my team should be a top seller. This is insane. First of all, it’s just mathematically not possible. Not everyone can be number one. It’s also not realistic if you want a business to run smoothly.
You need people that can talk naturally and easily to everyone. Those people are your sellers. You need task-oriented people. Those people do your markdowns and shipment. You need creative/stylish people. Those people set up displays, windows, and make your merchandise look great.
When all these people come together and do what they’re good at, you create something new and you all move forward together.
Working in retail, we naturally look for people that are talkative and outgoing. That’s important. We also need quiet, stylish people that can fold down the store and make it beautiful. We need everyone.
Keep Your Team Diverse
Hire attitude, train skill. Keep your team diverse.
Hire people that are excited about what you’re doing. Take another look at the awkward computer kid. (That kid turned out to be one of my best sellers.) Hire the tall, shy guy from Nashville who is covered in tattoos (also one of my best sellers.) Take another look at the girl with no work experience whose personal style says more about her than she ever could.
You need a variety of people to help you do whatever you do even better.
My teams are comprised of misfits, nerds, book worms, yogis, prom queens, surfers, and sneaker-heads. They are all welcome. They also make my job way more fun. The next time you interview, toss the résumé to the side and get to know the person behind it. They may be the key that moves you forward in a way you never thought possible.
About Kit
Kit Campoy is a former retail professional turned freelance writer. She writes about Leadership, Retail, and Web3. Contact Kit for your content needs.