What small business owners can learn about hiring from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Some of the best dancers in America (and the world) never make the team

I'm captivated by the Netflix series - America's Sweethearts documenting the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders... somewhere between the high kicks and the jump splits my HR brain started nerding in on the details of the hiring process.

You weren't watching it thinking about recruitment....that's my job. I'm a little obsessed with hiring and teams, so I can't help but watch the whole thing through that lens... yet once I show you what I noticed, you might not be able to unsee it either.

Let's be clear. You and I don't have the Cowboys marketing machine behind us. We don't have thousands, actually stop the bus....tens of thousands of highly qualified applicants from all over the world (hi Aussie Faith...fan girl here) sliding into our inbox. Most days we'd settle for a handful of decent ones.

Yet the lesson Kelli and Judy teach across those three seasons is one that matters just as much for a salon, a cafe, a trades business or a physio clinic as it does for one of the most famous dance teams in the world.

The most technically gifted person isn't always the right fit

Watch closely and you'll notice something that might hit close to home

Some of the most amazing, technical, lyrical dancers... the ones with years of ballet and jazz behind them, the ones who can clearly dance... don't make the team.

It feels harsh!. Yet Kelli and Judy aren't hiring the best dancer in the room. They're hiring the best dancer for the job in front of them, and that's a very different thing.

They're not looking for a stage performer. They're looking for a stadium performer. Someone who can fill an arena, hold a specific style, be part of a line of women high kicking and jump splitting as one, and send a specific type of energy all the way to the back row of an enormous NFL stadium.

Technical skill gets you in the door. It doesn't get you on the team.

Skill gets you noticed, fit gets you hired

Here's where it lands for your business.

When you're hiring from a place of desperation, and most small business owners are because you needed the help yesterday, it's so easy to get giddy over a great resume.

Look at this experience. Look at these skills. OMG...They can hit the ground running.

So you hire the resume, not the person. A few months in you realise the fit just isn't there.

The technically brilliant hire who can't gel with your existing team. The experienced one who quietly grizzles at the way you like to do things. The superstar who's wonderful with the work, yet leaves your clients feeling like an afterthought.

Skill is the easy bit to spot. Fit is the bit that actually makes or breaks the hire.

Get laser focused on what you actually need

The real genius of Kelli and Judy is that they are pin point laser focused.

They know exactly what makes a successful DCC. Not just the dance ability....the values, the work ethic, the temperament, the type of person who'll represent the team and the organisation well. They talk about upholding the star, about not tarnishing it, and whatever you make of that, it's a crystal clear standard that every decision gets measured against.

Most small business owners are hiring without that clarity. We know we need help, yet we haven't stopped to define what great actually looks like in our specific business, with our specific team, our specific clients and our specific way of leading.

When you don't know exactly what you're looking for, you'll be dazzled by whoever shines brightest on paper or by the person who talks the talk at interview. When you do know, you hire with intention.

The questions worth asking before you say yes

So before you get swept up in a shiny resume, slow down and get curious about the things a resume will never tell you.

What's actually driving them to want to work in your business... is it genuine, or is it just a job?

How will they work alongside the team and clients you already have, the ones who make your business what it is?

How will they respond to the way you lead, the pace you move at, the standards you hold?

The big one... are they truly the right fit for your business, at this moment, doing this work? Not the most impressive person who applied. The right one.

Right talent, right reasons, right time

It's a cutthroat world out there in Cowboys land, and thankfully you don't have to be anywhere near that ruthless.

Yet the underlying lesson holds. The DCC have us captivated because they hire for fit and values, not just talent, and because they're never too dazzled to forget what they actually need.

You can do exactly the same. Bring in the right talent, for the right reasons, at the right time... and you build a team that lifts your business and is a joy to lead....GO COWBOYS!

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