How to Tell Who the Best Employees Will Be–From Soccer

This is a fun tidbit about how one CEO figures out who could and could not be a good worker and leader in his company.  He plays soccer.

Here are the qualities he looks for when he plays (and hires):

One is reliability, the sense that they’re not going to let the team down, that they’re going to hold up their end of the bargain. And in soccer, especially if you play seven on seven, it’s more about whether you have seven guys or women who can pull their own weight rather than whether you have any stars.

So I’d rather be on a team that has no bad people than a team with stars. There are certain people who you just know are not going to make a mistake, even if the other guy’s faster than them, or whatever. They’re just reliable.

And are you a playmaker? There are people who don’t want to screw up, and so they just pass the ball right away. Then there are the ones who have this kind of intelligence, and they can make these great plays. These people seem to have high emotional intelligence. It’s not that they’re a star player, but they have decent skills, and they will get you the ball and then be where you’d expect to put it back to them. It’s like their head is really in the game.

See–you might think you’re playing soccer, and you’re actually being evaluated for your next job.  I’ve actually heard of a Louisville church that does this.  Makes sense.