How Rudolph Got Hired

One of my favorite Christmas movies is the beloved holiday classic, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The undeniably lovable, wobbly legged reindeer with his shiny red nose. I was three when I was first introduced to Rudolph. Four decades later and after two decades in the Talent Acquisition industry, I’ve come to look at the story of Rudolph from a whole different lens. 

Rudolph had a unique skill set that set him apart from his peers. A talent that was not initially recognized as critical or valuable, yet, would become vital to saving Christmas. His shiny red nose. When Rudolph is seen participating in the annual reindeer games, Comet is aghast by the presence of his illuminating nose and dons him unfit for duty; despite Rudolph being able to fly higher than any of the other reindeer during tryouts. But Rudolph looked and behaved differently. In Comet's misguided assessment, Rudolph did not fit or look the "part" or  match the traditional job description of the role.

Too often I’ve seen hiring managers make the same mistake. They hire in a vacuum. They want to hire people that look, think and act like they, and the majority of their organization does. They refuse to look at candidates who deviate even a fraction from their preconceived notions of what the perfect candidate should look like. 

Today’s business world and social culture is changing at a relentless, frenetic pace. This is largely contributed to the need for social reform and the constant explosion of new technology, digital transformation, data, analytics and the like.  We cannot go to market with such linear, bias thinking about the talent we need to get the job done. If we want to hire innovative, creative and unique talent we need to toss out the cookie cutter approach to hiring and think more innovatively and creatively. We need to aspire to hiring people who look and behave differently when assessing talent. We need to focus more on the entirety of the individual sitting across the desk from us and less on the job description. Gone are the days of traditional hiring practices. Granted candidates should meet the basic requirements of a role and exude evidence they will honor and abide by your cultural and core values; however, we should not be quick to eliminate those that are risk takers, quirky, forward thinkers or who don’t fit into the status quo mold. We should challenge ourselves to seek out ways they could add value to our organizations. This will require us to boldly disrupt our systems, which is never an easy playground to show up on but with the right mindset and alignment of mission, could transform your organization.

If Albert Einstein were alive today I guarantee there would be companies that would immediately reject his candidacy. He was the epitome of quirky - that crazy unkempt hair, wearing fluffy slippers to work, and mumbling incoherently to himself when deep in thought. He was what left of center calls left of center, yet he was one of the greatest minds and influencers of the 20^th century. To hire such talent, we need to look beyond the resume and stale job requirements, look beyond color and race, look beyond our own unconscious bias and make bolder hiring choices.

Like many organizations who fail to see potential risk when making short-sighted decisions, no one at the North Pole foresaw the blinding snow storm that took place on Christmas Eve. I do find it surprising they were void of a contingency plan given it was the North Pole and snow was, well... their thing. They needed an immediate creative solution. Rudolph, for all intents and purposes, did not look the part or fit the traditional job description yet, in the end, his quirky, innovative skill set, that initially no one saw the value in, became the solution to saving Christmas that year. 

One of my favorite moments in the movie is when Santa readies the sleigh for take-off and asks, “Are you ready, Rudolph” and Rudolph enthusiastically replies, “READY SANTA”. He had always been ready even though the North Pole wasn't ready for him. He was very much ahead of his time. His passion, drive, determination and unusual skills propelled him from being rejected and considered unfit for duty to leading the pack and being the hero of the holiday.

Don’t make the same mistakes Rudolph’s leadership and hiring team made. Hire people who will best represent the direction your company is heading and are cutting edge thinkers and creative problem solvers. Hire people smarter than you. Hire people who look differently from you. Hire people who will challenge you to approach your business from a whole new paradigm. Hire the unicorn of an individual who is highly capable of getting the work done, but makes you scratch your head a little. They just might end up saving your company one day!

©2016 LoriAnn Boyer - All Rights Reserved

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