Have you ever wanted to hire someone so desperately that you overlooked red flags in a player’s behaviors?

Have you slowed down when a “yellow flag” of caution started waving during your hiring tryout?  These warn you the player may not be able to succeed in the role.

We have all made these mistakes.  Let’s talk about what to watch for, so you catch these issues more often and have the courage to act upon them.

Here are common yellow or red flags indicating a player you thought was a potential superstar might actually might fail on your team.

For instance, when the player:

1. Says or does something contrary to your values. It may seem like a little thing, but may could be an indicator of a much bigger issue.

2. Is late or a no-show. Tardiness is often a habit, not a one-time mistake. Reasons for being late range from the truth to pathological lying.

3. Boasts, exaggerates, or gives excuses. When it sounds too good to be true, it often is.  I’ve had people crying, almost begging me to believe them and they were lying.  Let the facts be the “bad cop.”   Respectfully and empathetically focus the conversation on facts rather than possibilities.

It’s also a concern when a player cannot humbly discuss their failures, what they learned, and what they do differently as a result.  Another yellow flag is exaggerations.

4. Focuses too much on “Me – me - me.” Notice if the player has an unhealthy focus on themselves.  This shows up in many ways.  Some examples include comments that indicate an excessive ego, victim mentality, entitlement attitude, lack of giving credit to others, or obsessing about money and claims of offers from other companies that they are receiving.

5. Plays the “blame game.” Although a victim mentality is an issue with low self-esteem, it spreads toxins when their self-esteem affects their communications and actions.  Get players comfortable talking and catch when they attack others rather than empathetically explaining the problems of their current or former workplaces.

By the way, also notice if they mercilessly attack themselves.

6. Is inconsistent. For instance, the way they explain situations and people does not match their earlier comments.  Respectfully question inconsistencies to confirm you understood correctly and hear their response.

7. Has leadership gaps. When you’re hiring leaders, confirm their systematic approach to hire, manage, develop, and retain people.  Are they trustworthy?  Do they like to learn?  Great leaders establish a clear vision, define measurable TARGETs, hold themselves and their people accountable to mutually agree upon metrics, develop each team member to be their best, and respectfully fire those who are unable to meet their standards.

8. Are clueless.  They do not understand what they do not know.  Consciously or subconsciously some players trying out for your team are great actors, but it’s because they have an unrealistic conclusion about their capabilities.

Here are two drills you can try to confirm their awareness.  The first is to teach them something to see how quickly a player learns and can apply the knowledge they gained.  The second is short or more extended scrimmages doing actual or simulated work they would do in the open position.  These scrimmages can be discussion of typical scenarios or actual work they do on their own or with others.

9. Have poor listening skills.  A player can talk too much, be introverted or extroverted, or lack active listening skills.  However, two bigger concerns are when they quickly forget or misunderstand what is said, or they interrupt others.  This should never occur during an interview workout when they are trying to behave their best.

10. Are not engaged.  It’s a concern when a player is mostly silent during an interview workout, even if they are very introverted.  Maybe they didn’t study your website or they are not strongly interested in what you are saying.   Even introverts should demonstrate they can have productive two-way dialog and confirm their passions connect with your organization’s purpose.  It is hard to have a non-communicator succeed in team play.

11. Demonstrate red flags you’ve seen before. What behaviors from prior players trying out for your team confirmed they would fail?  Did the player demonstrate any of these behaviors?

12. Does anything wrong. After the first core workout, the screen, ask yourself if anything occurred that was unacceptable or might be concerning, and why.  Be realistic rather than quickly dismiss a negative you caught.  Always make hiring decisions based on facts, not an outcome you are hoping for that is unsupported by the facts.

Thoroughly teach, test, and train (our 3T Process) your hiring coaches to master strong online interviewing skills.  This also strengthens their ability to lead in-person interview workouts.

Leading interview workouts is a balance of preparation to confirm good and bad indicators without expecting rigid, flawless perfection.

If your hiring system is good but not championship quality, then reach out to Hire the Best.  We have a proven system to help you get where you want to go.