Recruiting for Teaming: Hiring People Who Can Work in a Team

Most recruiting follows a rigorous path — capability, experience, strategic thinking, psychological testing. But the art and discipline of working effectively in a team, what some call 'teaming', usually gets little attention. Recruiting for teaming changes that.

The one question that reveals teaming

Imagine asking a single question in a leadership interview: what's the best team you've ever been part of, and why — and what was your unique contribution? At first it can seem subjective. Yet the answers reveal a great deal: whether someone understands the core elements of teamwork, and whether they see themselves as an individual or part of a collective.

Why teaming matters in hiring

Teamwork is dynamic — it happens in constantly shifting configurations of people, across boundaries of expertise, status and distance. Recruiting for teaming helps you understand who genuinely knows how to be in a team, and who understands the discipline that effective collaboration demands.

Frequently asked questions

What is recruiting for teaming?

Hiring with attention to how well someone works within a team — their understanding of collaboration and their contribution to it — rather than assessing capability and experience alone.

What interview question reveals someone's teaming ability?

Ask: what's the best team you've been part of, and why — and what was your contribution? The answer shows how they think about teams and where they place themselves within one.