MIT Sloan Management Review Examines the Science-Backed Character Assessment Organizations Must Put Into HR Practices

"Character is who someone is and how they became that person and thus is unique to the individual. While explicit consideration of character in hiring is a relatively nascent practice, it can have significant payoffs," says Mary Crossan, a Distinguished University Professor and a professor of strategic leadership at Western University's Ivey Business School and the author of "Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting."

"Organizational culture reflects the character of individuals within it. Therefore, attending to character is a real leverage point for hiring, firing, and promoting," Crossan says. It's particularly important to consider character when promoting from within, as the person being elevated in the organization is already known to other employees. Promotions send a strong signal as to what character traits are valued by leadership and, consequently, what kind of culture the organization seeks to promote.

Evaluating assessments of character to the same level of importance as assessments of competencies requires an appreciation for how these processes differ. While competencies can be evaluated independently of each other, character attributes are interconnected and need to be considered holistically. These assessments are objective and rigorous based on the science revealing what character is, how it can be assessed and developed, and how it can be embedded in organizations. In "Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting," Crossan shares that character comprises 11 interconnected dimensions with an associated set of observable behaviors.

Character assessments require a separate interview and are meant to enable more free-flowing and personalized conversations than the structured interviews that assess competencies.

When conducting interviews with potential job candidates, key considerations to keep in mind include understanding that the interviewer's character is revealed as well as the interviewee's; observing the clusters of dimensions and their strengths and weaknesses; observing whether integrity and humility are on display; choosing two or four interviewers; and determining the overall strength of character development based on the interview.

"It's easy to recognize and close gaps of competence, but many organizations have been flying blind on character. Character can transform the culture of an organization, for good or bad. Bringing it into HR practices such as hiring and promotion gives managers the opportunity to make it an organizational asset," concludes Crossan.

The MIT Sloan Management Review article "Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting" publishes at 8 a.m. ET on October 22, 2024.

About the Author
Mary Crossan is a Distinguished University Professor and a professor of strategic leadership at Western University's Ivey Business School. She also cohosts the Question of Character podcast series and is a cofounder of Leader Character Associates and the Virtuosity Character mobile app.

About MIT Sloan Management Review
MIT Sloan Management Review is an independent, research-based magazine and digital platform for business leaders published at the MIT Sloan School of Management. MIT SMR explores how leadership and management are transforming in a disruptive world. We help thoughtful leaders capture the exciting opportunities — and face down the challenges — created as technological, societal, and environmental forces reshape how organizations operate, compete, and create value.

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Tess Woods
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SOURCE MIT Sloan Management Review