The best hire I never understood
When we hire someone, we tend to follow an invisible rulebook that favours connection. We look for common ground — an unspoken alignment in values, energy, background, and sometimes even speech patterns. It’s not unusual to choose someone we feel we can talk to easily, someone who reminds us of ourselves, or someone who shares our outlook on life and work. This is human nature. We’re drawn to what’s familiar. In times of stress or uncertainty, we assume that this familiarity will help us communicate better, work faster, and avoid friction.
At Arapina, I’ve often followed that path. I’ve hired people I “clicked” with — people whose minds worked similarly to mine, who intuitively understood my vision, and with whom collaboration felt natural and easy. It works, most of the time.
But not always.
Recently, I made a hire that went against all of those instincts. From the beginning, I felt no personal resonance. We spoke the same language, yes — but often, I didn’t really understand what they were saying. Not emotionally, not intellectually. Their approach is deeply technical. Mine is deeply creative. They are methodical, structured, and precise. I’m intuitive, improvisational, and driven by instinct and storytelling. It’s like we operate in two different realms.
If you had asked me early on if this was the right fit, I would have hesitated. I didn’t “get” them. And I felt they didn’t get me either. There was no natural chemistry, no shared rhythm. It felt foreign.
And yet — this has been one of the best hires I’ve ever made.
Why?
Because I had to let go. I had to surrender the illusion that connection is the only or best foundation for trust. I had to trust without understanding. I had to allow them to do their job in the way they know best, not the way I would do it or expect it to be done. And the results have been transformative.
On a professional level, they have elevated our digital marketing, introduced a level of precision and efficiency I could never have envisioned on my own, and carried out tasks with such competency and clarity that it has made me rethink how I evaluate team members altogether. Her technical rigor complements my creative spontaneity in a way that is uncomfortable — but wildly effective.
Of course, it hasn’t been easy. Communication still isn’t natural. I still often don’t understand how they get from A to B — and I’m still playing catch-up when it comes to the way she processes and presents information. But I’ve learned to respect that difference instead of trying to reshape it. I’ve learned that trust doesn’t have to be personal to be powerful.
This experience has cracked open my ideas about leadership and hiring. It’s reminded me that teams aren’t built to reflect ourselves — they’re built to extend us. The real strength lies in diversity, not just in demographics, but in minds, methods, and mannerisms. Sometimes, the best thing you can do as a leader is to admit you don’t understand — and then get out of the way.
So no, we don’t connect. But we do complement. And in business, that can be even more important. What are your best hires you have ever done? Share your ideas with me.