Leadership Traits

Hiring is one of the most difficult ongoing tasks a business faces. Not only do managers have to evaluate a candidate’s hard skills, but they also need to look for the right soft skills and personality traits to ensure a new employee will be a cultural fit.

We asked 14 members of Young Entrepreneur Council the following questions to uncover some of those essential qualities:

Q. What’s a non–negotiable trait every new hire must possess? Why is it critical to your business?

1. Shared core values

Every new hire, regardless of seniority, must possess our company’s core values. It is important for the company’s health that the employees work every day as a team and appreciate each other, to some extent. For successful collaborative efforts and a low turnover rate, it is imperative that core values align. —Stanley Meytin, True Film Production

2. Politeness

My team is filled with polite people—we won’t have it otherwise. To be successful, we must work together, respect one another, and get along great. Any new hire must pass the “nice test.” It’s a simple thing, but it’s important. —Colbey Pfund, LFNT Distribution

3. Attention to detail

We have found detail-oriented people have a natural personality type that makes them a) produce very high quality work, b) need very little oversight, and c) do things right and that far exceed our expectations on the first try. These three things are priceless in my opinion, and make for a worry- and headache-free hire. —Justin Faerman, Conscious Lifestyle Magazine

4. The ability to work with the existing team

Although my team is rather small, we’re like family, so it’s critical that any new hire can work and get along with others in the company. If a potential new hire doesn’t like working in a team or can’t take feedback from a team member, then they will not last in any of my businesses. —Kristin Marquet, Creative Development Agency, LLC

5. Ownership of work

Taking initiative and being able to problem solve without a lot of hand-holding is an employee who is an asset to any business. A person like this realizes that tough decisions need to be made at inopportune times with little advisement from superiors. This type of person will always give their best because they know they will need to take responsibility for their decisions and the results. —Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

6. Self-awareness

Every new hire must know themselves well—what they like and don’t like, what motivates them, what challenges them. They cannot be 100% satisfied with where they are at. Given what they know about themselves, what are they working to improve on? To win as a business, we must continuously improve. If the people working here already do that in their own lives, they will bring that same energy to work. —Matthew Bernard, Darex LLC

7. Adaptability

In a fast-growing company, it is important that all of our team members know how to quickly grow and adapt. As we hire new staff members, update our branding, improve our products, and optimize our marketing, there is a lot of change. Every new hire needs to be able to adapt accordingly, to ensure they’re still able to perform in the new environment. —Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep

8. The desire to learn

Businesses grow. Employees and the value they are able and willing to bring to a company should grow, too. If you’re looking to make an investment in someone, you need to know they are dedicated to learning and improving. —Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

9. Tenacity

In the startup world, getting tasks completed quickly and efficiently is key. Tenacious employees tend to be more goal-driven. They can identify the most important tasks to be completed, and work more easily through problems that arise. —Mark Krassner, Expectful

10. Transparent communication style

When your staff isn’t transparent and communicating openly about their progress or projects, it leaves you blindsided with no time to adjust, like playing half a game of chess blindfolded. New hires should be transparent and communicate well. —Ali Mahvan, Sharebert

11. Willingness to be wrong

You must be willing to be wrong and learn from your mistakes. I’ve found the “worst fits” are people who cannot admit mistakes. This inhibits their growth—they typically think they have all the answers—and causes immense frustration across the organization, because they constantly make excuses. —Jeff Epstein, Ambassador

12. Strong work ethic

There are so many people who don’t necessarily understand what a work ethic means. They think a paycheck just arrives. Real work ethic means the desire to put the time in and get the job done, no matter what. That is one of the most important things a new hire can do. —Angela Ruth, Calendar

13. Basic research skills

Every person should have the basic skills and mind-set to research online. Having the simple attitude of “Let me Google that” goes a long way at startups, where there is not much time for training or showing how to do things. Besides demonstrating an ability to solve problems, having this attitude shows that someone is a self-starter and does not need a lot of direction. —Tolga Tanriseven, GirlsAskGuys

14. A great attitude

For us, it’s all about providing opportunities. We’re firm believers in hiring attitude over experience. We have found that people who possess a shared positive energy, a go-getter attitude, and who are passionate about contributing to our core mission, are more engaged with their team. —Stephen Ufford, Trulioo