It may seem like I want to discuss hiring people...
Like with most things we get better the more we do something, and for me I became rather good at hiring people. In the beginning there was a learning curve and there was the ever-lurking spectre of making the wrong decision, but with some good hires made, lessons learned, and a process in place, over time there were very few that I look back on with any regret.
You might think I'm about to offer perspective on hiring, but you would be wrong. And although the following is about a hiring situation, you would still be wrong.
Like any good hiring situation, there is a hiring manager and an interview team to help onboard the best possible candidate. Depending on the size of the organization there is most likely HR support and maybe even a Talent Acquisition team to help find possible candidates. Most interview processes involve a number of rounds that result in two or three possible choices; from there a decision needs to be made. As I reflect on a specific hiring situation, we had done all the interviewing and had boiled it down to two candidates; a debriefing meeting had been called to get everyone's insights, thoughts and opinions — This is particularly important because it ensures the best decision is made. The team's feedback was split regarding who the best candidate was, and one person in particular was very vocal regarding who needed to be hired and how it was really the only choice. Finally I looked at the phone (it was a conference call) and simply asked, "Who owns the hiring decision?" After a moment, a voice sheepishly spoke up and said that the hiring manager did. With that clarified, I thanked everyone for their input, and told them I would make my decision by the end of the day.
And there you have it, what this is really about is Ownership.
And why the need to write 313 words before I mention "Ownership"? Mostly because when you boil it all down there are really only two points to be made about ownership, and it wouldn't have been much of a read.
If you want to accomplish anything you need to have an Owner (Full Stop)
There can only be one Owner (Full Stop)
I suppose we could also look to this famous saying to offer insight into what I have said — A camel is a horse designed by committee. And the reason is that although the camel is a magnificent animal, we all know if there had been an owner it would have been a horse.
iamgpe