Why You Might Not Need Another “A-Player” On Your Team
Why Competence Without Character Will Always Break What You're Trying to Build
Hiring is one of the most high-stakes decisions you’ll ever make.
Not because of how it starts, but because of how it ends. I’ve watched dozens of organizations hire someone who looked perfect on paper, crushed the interview, and brought a resume that practically sold itself, only to end up creating chaos six months later.
And here’s the pattern: it’s rarely a skill issue. It’s always a character one.
You don’t lose sleep because someone missed a technical detail. You lose sleep because they eroded trust. They played political games. They chased credit. They refused feedback. They were great at what they did, but careless with how they did it and everyone around them paid the price.
If you’ve been there, you know. The person who checked every box on the job description became the reason your top performers started looking for the exit.
That kind of damage doesn’t start with bad intentions. It starts with the wrong priorities in the hiring process.
Today I want to talk about why most hiring models fail and how you build teams that actually last.
The Temptation to Hire for the Wrong Reasons
When pressure is high and results matter, it’s easy to default to the most measurable data: certifications, skills, metrics, and past results. But when you put someone in a position of influence without vetting their integrity, what you gain in speed you lose in stability.
This is where the disconnect begins. We assume competency will lead to culture fit. But culture will never be protected by talent. It’s protected by trust. And trust is built by people who show up consistently, take responsibility, and handle power with humility.
Most leaders don’t slow down long enough to examine those qualities.
But Scripture gives us a different lens.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” — Proverbs 4:23 NIV
This isn’t a feel-good reminder about being kind. It’s a foundational leadership principle.
If everything flows from the heart, then what’s in someone’s character will eventually show up in their leadership, especially under pressure.
Skills may open doors, but your heart determines what happens once you're inside.
Hiring without assessing a person’s heart is like building a house without checking the foundation. It may stand for a while, but when stress comes, and it always comes, it won’t hold.
That’s why Proverbs doesn’t say "occasionally check" your heart. It says "guard it, above all else."
What if we brought that same vigilance to our hiring?
When the Resume Outpaces the Integrity
The warning signs don’t always show up on day one. In fact, the most dangerous hires are often the most impressive at first. They’re articulate, confident, technically sound, and quick to learn. But beneath the surface, something’s off.
They manipulate data to win an argument.
They take credit for team wins and shift blame when things go sideways.
They flatter up and pressure down.
And because they produce results, they often go unchecked until the culture is fractured and trust is gone.
I’ve sat across from executives and leaders who couldn’t figure out why their once-thriving team was now filled with tension. I’ve walked teams through cleanup after one person’s hidden character flaws created a ripple effect that almost destroyed the organization.
They didn’t hire a bad person. They hired someone whose heart was misaligned and didn’t catch it until it was too late.
Why We Keep Making the Same Mistake
Leaders are drawn to confidence and competency. That’s not wrong, it’s human. But it becomes dangerous when we confuse confidence with character.
Most interviews reward performance under pressure. But real leadership is revealed when no one’s watching. The problem is, we don’t interview for that.
We don’t ask:
“Tell me about a time you admitted fault when it cost you.”
“What did you learn from the last time you led through failure?”
“Who do you go to for honest feedback and what’s the hardest thing they’ve told you recently?”
Those kinds of questions go deeper than task execution. They surface the condition of where a person is in their professional maturity.
We say we care about values, but we rarely test for them.
And when we fail to guard the gate, we pay the price.
If everything flows from the heart, then the heart is what we must vet first.
That means watching how someone:
Talks about former teammates and bosses
Responds when asked about mistakes
Treats people with less perceived power
Handles delayed timelines or unexpected friction during the hiring process
We don’t need perfect people. But we do need people who are healthy. Teachability, humility, and self-awareness aren’t bonus traits. They’re essentials.
Proverbs 4:23 reminds us that what’s inside eventually becomes visible. So before we rush to judge skills, we need to be wise enough to examine the source.
The Multiplier Effect of Character
The right hire with the right heart will multiply your team’s momentum.
They create safety. They elevate others. They bring clarity. They handle pressure without making it everyone else’s problem.
When something breaks, they take responsibility. When something wins, they give credit. They lead in meetings, but they lead even more when they think no one’s watching.
And that’s the person worth waiting for.
One person with strong character will do more for your culture than five high-performers with ego issues.
Proverbs 4:23 doesn’t just apply to who you hire, it applies to how you lead. If you aren’t guarding the heart of your team, you’re giving the enemy a foothold in your culture.
Building a Character-First Hiring Process
So how do you move from theory to practice? Here’s a framework to help you build a process that prioritizes heart over hype.
1. Slow the Process Down
Urgency is the enemy of discernment. If someone is being rushed into a key seat, you should pause. Speed rarely builds something that lasts. It builds liability.
2. Redesign the Interview Questions
Build questions that reveal patterns of thought, accountability, and character. Here are a few to start:
“Tell me about a time you were wrong and how you handled it.”
“What’s a difficult truth you had to share with a team member? How did it go?”
“What’s the most difficult decision you’ve had to make that no one applauded?”
Answers to those questions will tell you more than polished interview responses.
3. Change How You Check References (DON’T MISS THIS ONE)
Don’t just ask for input on skills. Ask about emotional intelligence. Ask what happens when they get challenged. Ask what kind of culture they helped create.
You’ll learn quickly whether they built trust or just chased results.
4. Test Their Response to Feedback
During the hiring process, give light but honest feedback. Watch their response. Do they deflect? Justify? Or do they listen and adjust?
How someone handles critique before they’re hired often predicts how they’ll behave when they’re on the team.
Which one of the items below can you begin implementing immediately? Comment below and let me know!
Build Teams That Run on Trust, Not Just Talent
Great teams aren’t built by accident. They’re formed by leaders who consistently prioritize who someone is over what they can do.
When character becomes the filter, not just a “nice to have”, you shift the culture of your entire organization. You stop hiring people who impress you in an interview but damage morale in a staff meeting. You stop excusing toxic behavior just because someone’s productive. You stop sacrificing long-term trust for short-term traction.
And instead, you start building a team where:
Feedback is welcomed, not feared.
Mistakes are acknowledged, not hidden.
Celebration is shared, not hoarded.
Progress is sustainable, not manic.
This is the difference between a team that grows and one that lasts.
High-trust teams don’t just outperform others, they outlast them.
That’s what happens when leadership stops measuring resumes and starts testing
The principle of “guarding your heart” doesn’t just apply to the people you bring in, it applies to you, too.
You’re the one setting the standard. You’re the one modeling what’s tolerated and what gets corrected. If your hiring decisions consistently excuse red flags in favor of quick wins, eventually, your team will start doing the same.
Choose Character. Every Time.
You will never regret choosing someone with teachability over someone with ego.
You will never regret prioritizing integrity over image.
You will never regret investing in someone who owns their mistakes, honors others, and walks in humility, even if they’re still developing a few technical skills.
But you will regret giving someone influence whose character you never vetted.
So here’s your leadership challenge this week:
Review your current team. Who have you elevated based purely on output?
Review your hiring pipeline. Are you screening for heart or just skill?
Review your own rhythm. Are you leading with the kind of integrity you expect from others?
The next time you face a hiring decision, slow it down. Ask different questions. Look past the resume.
Guard your culture like it’s sacred, because it is.
Proverbs 4:23 wasn’t written for human resource strategy. It was written for spiritual longevity.
But if you live it, lead by it, and build with it, you’ll create a culture that outlives every business cycle, outlasts every crisis, and honors God with every decision.
And in the end, that’s the only kind of leadership that’s worth multiplying.
Prioritize integrity, leader.
— Jared