We are about to hire our first real corporate department head from a larger enterprise, but I am terrified they will bring slow-moving corporate bureaucracy to our agile mid-market leadership team. How do we vet them for speed?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Corporate executives are trained to manage existing systems and protect resources, not to build things from scratch or operate with limited data. To prevent them from introducing bureaucratic paralysis, you must rigorously vet their conative fit and comfort with risk during the hiring process.

First, look at their Kolbe A™ Index profile. A corporate leader with a very high Follow Thru and Fact Finder score, but a very low Quick Start score, will naturally struggle in an entrepreneurial environment. They will demand exhaustive research and rigid procedures before making any moves. Look for candidate profiles that show accommodation or insistence in Quick Start, meaning they can tolerate ambiguity and are willing to experiment.

Second, test their hands-on capability. Ask them to describe a time they had to personally execute a project without any support staff or budget. If they cannot give a detailed, gritty example, they will struggle in a mid-market company where leaders must both plan and execute.

Third, evaluate their alignment with your core values and the GWC™ framework. They must demonstrate that they truly Get, Want, and have the Capacity to do the heavy lifting of building a department, not just supervising others.

During interviews, present a real, unsolved operational issue your company is facing. Observe whether they immediately suggest hiring consultants and building committees, or if they outline a practical, low-cost experiment to solve it.