One of us

Our President has had to go to some extraordinary lengths recently to convince at least a portion of the electorate that he is indeed "One of Us";in other words, he is a native-born an American.

The need to fit in is an urge that drives a lot of human activity and inspires much of our great literature.

In business life, finding the right fit can be a difficult quest, whether it's for our own career or for an open position we're trying to fill.

Looking in on this evergreen topic, FORTUNE Magazine today posted a story entitled, "Is it better to hire for cultural fit over experience?" The story points out the shortcomings of interviews, psychological tests and detailed job descriptions as effective tools in predicting a candidate's likely success in the particular job.

One technique that seems to get an endorsement from the FORTUNE article, however, may be the oldest one of all -- the network referral. Relying on current employees to bring in people they think will feel comfortable in the organization has proven to be an effective recruiting tool in all kinds of organizations.

 No single approach is sufficient, of course. There are drawbacks to networking.  One is that the network may be too small or too narrow relative to the company's expanding opportunities and customer base.  Another is that a large number of recruits who share a common background -- IBM, General Electric,  the Navy Seals, Wal-Mart ...whatever -- will hijack the existing culture in a given company.

Like our country which has historically expanded the pool of presidential candidates to match its changing demographics,  the biggest challenge for corporate leaders may not be finding people who are "One of Us."  It will be defining what "Us" means.

Another way of looking at this is to recognize the dynamic nature of teamwork. As William James wrote:"The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community."