Which person would you employ?

[Rossita]

Which of these two people would you employ? For a bit of background they both started at the company at the same time and they’re both currently doing the same job. The vacancy they are both applying for is a promotion and will involve managing the department that they currently work in. The role does not require any professional qualifications.

Person A:
Highly qualified to PHD level in an unrelated field.
Has some experience from a previous role that helps in her current position.
Works very well alone and produces some really good work.
Is very committed to the department
Does not work so well as part of a team.
Can sometimes act a little ‘superior’ and has upset every other member of the team at some point.
Does not accept any constructive criticism and believes that her way is the only way to do things.

Person B
Qualified to GCSE level
Has previous experience that helps in her current role.
Is committed to the department.
Produces some really good work.
Sometimes struggles to work alone as she can lack in self confidence and needs to ask advice from other team members.
Is very much a team player, she is good at building professional relationships.
Has on several occasions managed a project which showed she was a good leader.
She is not always great at delegating so ends up taking on too much work herself.

I’ve posted here so people could vote because it makes it easier to see the overall opinion.

YABU Person A
YANBU person B

If I had to pick it would be B as confidence can grow over time, whereas an abrasive arrogant person is very very unlikely to change and can create a toxic working environment.

@SecretSpAD

But if I were either and I knew you'd posted for anonymous opinion on the internet rather than interview me - then I'd withdraw my application to be honest.

Yeah this. You're not the one shortlisting/interviewing are you?

B, she will gain confidence when in the role. A will cause low moral within the workforce and affect the dynamics.

HR department Mumsnet

I think you should get this thread taken down OP it could come back and bite you

Defo B

Neither. I'd go external. A sounds like they'd be a disaster as a manager and B can't delegate. If it had to be one or other I'd choose B. Because she hasn't upset every member of team, and can learn to enhance areas where she currently falls down. In my experience, As don't change.

Oh shit you are the one shortlisting! Bloody hell OP that's not on at all.

FTR the team will love B to be their manager. But B will go off with stress in six months because they can't manage/delegate and A will end up taking over because there's no one else and piss the team off even more.

B - confidence and delegation skills can grow and develop over time and with support. Not so with some of the personality traits demonstrated by A.

@edwinbear

Neither - I'd hire externally.

Same

B, although they'll need support to find their feet. A will need telling to wind her neck in, which isn't support.

I'd argue that a PhD in an unrelated field isn't "highly qualified" if it's not relevant unless there are transferable skills (I'm thinking of STEM PhDs, i.e. have a PhD in biology, job still related to STEM and requires knowledge/experience gained during PhD but not that specific area so e.g. related to scientific research, experiment design), so their education level may not be relevant.

If I was A or B I’d choose a company that doesn’t decide via mn ;

Also can’t vote on phone but definitely B . B can be trained up ...

It depends on what the role requires, and to the context for your descriptions of both candidates.

I have worked for someone who would fit A’s description. They were direct, made some tough decisions, and turned around an at-risk team into a successful and profitable endeavour. Someone less self-confident or more of a people-pleaser would have massively struggled because there was no way to keep everyone happy. Uncomfortable change was needed to turn things around - and because of that, ultimately The department survived and we all kept our jobs.

I’ve worked for someone roughly fitting B’s description - nice to everyone, agreed with whoever they were talking to at the time, which actually made them very stressful to work for as there was no consistent plan or strategy.

Your A and B might be completely different, and some roles do need a lighter touch than my A would have. I’m just picking out reasons why the obvious choice might not be the right one.

@TENDTOprocrastinate

It sounds like you are person B and the view of person A (Second paragraph) is your opinion?

This!

I’m with @edwinbear neither of them sound the right candidate for the job.

Seek an external hire that is proven in the role.

The list shows a definite bias against person A. I’d have someone without prejudice look over the application

B all the way. She works well as a team player... And can learn.
No room for 'superior' people in a Team.

Neither. External hire. B probably marginally better than A but both have deal breaker issues for me.

B if I see potential for them to develop further and have the resources to support them to do so.

I struggle with A's as I can't bear what arrogance does to a team dynamic. But sometimes the actual role means that if you can't find someone with more balanced skills you just have to damage limit the problems that A's over-inflated ego causes (and maybe try and help them grow as a person too).

Person B's downsides of lacking confidence and struggling to delegate are things that can be learned. A bit of support in the early days might be all that is needed.

Person A "has upset every other member of the team at some point." That's not really something that can be undone. And someone who does "not accept any constructive criticism and believes that her way is the only way to do things" - no, that is not manager material in my opinion. Too inflexible, will be too inclined to micromanage to ensure her way is adhered to.

For me, Person B has more potential, more proven ability, and considerably less baggage than Person A.

A has the ability to develop the department and build a stronger team in the long run. The existing staff likely just feel threatened. Some may elect to leave with A but so be it. Ultimately you employ the brightest. If B wanted to progress they could have done a distance learning qualification while working full time.

I dont assume A is arrogant just from that, she might be of course. But doesn't deal well with change, not very good at picking up social cues (hence offending people), struggles to work within a team in the conventional sense, but very intelligent by the sound of it and capable of focusing in on a task and completing it to a high standard sounds like potentially (without being an armchair expert) they might have autism. I know lots of people are going to say maybe they're just horrible to work with, and of course, but similarly the description also being bias towards B highlights that many times people struggle to build a rapport; and are often overlooked at interview etc.

How much time have you got to nanny B? That might rule her out.

Person A will leave, cos they're producing better work than their manager if you hire B. What justification is there for losing the company 'very good' work?

Which one can get the best out of the team? Which one can make you most money?

The decision is not who is best for the employees, it's who is best for the company.

B lacks credentials and ultimately that will be problematic.

Hmm. Managers who can’t delegate and are uncertain are useless. Person A might actually be ok.

I worked with someone once who was quite abrupt and difficult to get on with, while being very good at his job. He was promoted and turned into a brilliant manager who was actually really good at looking after staff. He was great at cutting through bullshit and didn’t care if he was ruffling feathers, but his team were happy, protected and hard-working. He had been a difficult team member because he’d been managed by idiots for years and was really frustrated.

We don’t know if your person A would blossom with the responsibility.