Building a Team
🚧 ExpandingStill expanding this one, but here’s the through-line I want up front: building a team is not the same as filling seats. The strongest teams are assembled — you hire for the shape of the whole, for strengths that complement what’s already there, rather than cloning the people you already have. That deliberate composition is also where diversity stops being a slogan and becomes a competitive advantage: different perspectives catch problems a monoculture never sees. The mechanics of actually getting there live in inclusive interviewing and in keeping bias out of résumé screening.
What the full version will cover:
- Mapping the strengths and gaps you already have before you write the req
- Hiring for complementary skills and team shape, not sameness dressed up as “fit”
- Sequencing hires — junior, senior, and specialist — as a team grows
- Building diversity in deliberately, and why it makes the team better, not just fairer
💡
Before you open a role, sketch the strengths your team already has and the ones it’s missing — then write the job around the gap. “We need another backend engineer” is a seat. “We’re strong on shipping fast but weak on systems thinking under load” is a team. Hire the second way and every new person makes the whole stronger instead of just bigger.
📚 Go Deeper
Books
- Who: The A Method for Hiring — Geoff Smart & Randy StreetA disciplined system for hiring deliberately — scorecards, sourcing, and structured selection.
- The Manager's Path — Camille FournierHow team composition and growth evolve as the team and your role scale.
Tools
- Project Include — Hiring recommendationsConcrete, evidence-based practices for building a team through consistent, fair, and inclusive hiring.
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