Identifying the Humans Who Will Thrive
Summary:
You know that feeling when someone just gets your organization? When they light up at exactly the things that make your culture unique? That's what we're talking about here - finding the humans who will truly thrive in your environment. Here's a practical guide to identifying and attracting people who will succeed in your unique context, drawn from real experiences in different organizational cultures.
What’s in it for you:
You want to get better at identifying who will truly thrive in your org culture
You’re looking for practical ways to assess authentic alignment beyond standard interview questions
You're ready to be honest about who succeeds (and who doesn't) in your environment
Helia’s Perspective
I DEEPLY believe our world needs all types of humans - those that love a start-up versus those that want to know exactly what to expect and when, well, they’re different humans. And both companies and humans shift - I’ve thrived in the all-in responsive world where things were coming at me faster than I could ever keep up, and am now very much in a SPACIOUSNESS and flow kind of world. And, the knowing where your org is AND identifying candidates that match the moment (the real moment!) will make all the difference. Could they be someone who likes to make order out of chaos if that’s where you are? YES, of course! Can they be someone who wants the how-to manual all written out? Probably not…
I’ve hired brilliant folks who needed more than I could give them - or folks who were ready to run faster than our company could manage. Taking a few moments to think this through is one of the best things you can do - for business and for humans!
Two brilliant folks who helped scale Think of Us in VERY different ways - Pauline who loved to turning chaos into detailed (and human-centered!) processes, and Whitney, who helped turn an idea into a living/breathing/beautiful program.
What this Looks Like in Practice
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Before you can find the right humans for your organization, you need to get really honest about your culture. Not the culture you wish you had or the one written in your values statement - the real, day-to-day experience of your team.
Quick Culture Assessment
Ask yourself:
What makes people successful here?
What causes people to struggle?
What do we celebrate?
What pushes our buttons?
How do decisions really get made?
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Understanding what types of humans will thrive in an organization isn't about finding the exact list of skills or experience - it's about being honest about your environment. A person who loves structure might feel lost in a scrappy startup, while an entrepreneurial spirit could feel stifled in a more established organization. As always, there’s no such thing as right or wrong - it’s just about matching your organizational culture with the types of humans who will flourish within it in this space and time!
Let me share some real examples:
The "Why and How" Culture (like Think of Us )
After some painful misses (and a few lucky hits) with bringing on team members at Think of Us, we realized something crucial about the kind of people who actually succeeded there:
We didn't need:
"Yes" humans (what's the point?)
"No" humans (never move anywhere)
We needed people who:
Asked "Why?" first
Then, I immediately jumped to "How?"
Got energized by finding better ways
Loved questioning assumptions
Real talk: Someone who just wanted to execute existing processes would have been miserable there, no matter how skilled they were.
We were building something new, and we needed people who got energized by questioning and improving things - folks who saw problems as puzzles to solve, not roadblocks to get stuck on. Understanding this changed everything about how we hired.
The "Thrive in Chaos" Culture (like Revolution Foods)
Picture this: Your delivery truck's top gets ripped off by a low tree, blocking the only exit. You're short 15K apples for tomorrow. And you have a huge sales pitch in three hours.
Some candidates heard this and thought, "nightmare!" Others leaned forward and said, "tell me more..."
We needed people who:
Got excited by impossible puzzles
Could hold multiple urgent priorities
Stayed calm in chaos
Found joy in the challenge
Real talk: Someone who needed predictability would have lasted about a day, even if they were brilliant.
We were tackling a mission where every day brought new fires to put out, and we needed people who saw chaos as an opportunity to get creative. This insight became our north star for adding people to the team.
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Now it’s your turn! Let’s get an honest picture of the types of folks who will thrive on your team.
Step 1: Name Your Patterns
What types of people tend to stay?
Who are your stars and why?
Who's left quickly and why?
What stories do you tell new hires?
Step 2: Share Real Scenarios that…
Show your culture in action
Highlight typical challenges
Reveal your working style
Demonstrate what success looks like
Step 3: Watch reactions during the convo…
Initial reactions (body language tells all!)
Follow-up questions
Energy levels
Areas of focus
For a more detailed step-by-step guide to do this, check out THIS worksheet.
Secret Sauce & Takeaways
You’ve defined your type of human - that’s great. Now, here are some interview techniques that help confidently identify those humans.
The Scenario Test(!) - Share a real situation and ask:
"How would you approach this?"
"What feels fun?
"What feels crunchy
The Culture Deep Dive - Ask questions like:
"What’s your favorite role you’ve had? Tell me all about it and why you loved it?”
What are you most proud of? Tell me the story?
What are your pet peeves at work??? (I usually add this into the application/a question to answer in writing - it’s amazing what folks share and how illuminating it is!!!)
The Story Listen - Share a typical day/week at your company and watch:
Do they lean in or pull back?
What questions do they ask?
Where does their energy shift?
Red Flags are, well, real! Here are a few to watch out for:
The pace! How do they like to work? At what cadence?
Comfort with….ambiguity!!!! This is a make-or-break - pay attention to what you can truly offer this human, and if that will help them thrive!
Communication needs - how do they like to communicate? Be communicated with? Does that align? Will it flow?
Here are some categories that folks may fall into (or might straddle a few - I identify as a builder AND problem solver!)....Not perfect or all encompassing - and here are a few to build off of:
My kiddos Rev Foods’ing - hairnets and delivery trucks and lift games and apples and, well, all the things!!!!
Want to Try This?
Templates & guides:
Our Finding Your People Worksheet walks you through identifying who thrives in your specific environment.
The Management Center's Role Expectations resource helps clarify what success actually looks like.
This Job Competencies List forces you to get crystal clear on what really matters (pro tip: limit yourself to two priorities per category. It's painful but worth it!).
Recommended Reads:
Read THIS post by First Action on Thoughtfully Building and Evaluating Your Start-Up’s Culture, highlighting Laura Del Beccaro’s experience building Sora (it’s LONG - and there’s good stuff in here!)
For more on hiring holistically, check out Helia’s main Interviewing: Finding Your People resource (that links to lots of things!)
Connections:
While we haven’t taken it(!) -we always think highly of the Management Center, which has a Hiring Your Team training!
Have a person or org you recommend for help with role scoping and hiring? Tell us about them!
This article is Helia's perspective! We've learned the most from doing and talking with other doers willing to share their wisdom. We share these stories in the Helia Library because we don't need to start from blank pages or do it all alone.
As always, take what's helpful, leave what's not, and make it your own.
