When Judging Talent, Recruiters Must Weigh All of the Data

Recruiters who scout talent for an organization are sometimes swayed by a particular skill, attribute, or trait that they believe is a difference-maker. 

If they allow this quality to overwhelm their attraction and assessment, thereby ignoring other data and important success factors, they invariably make a bad call. Even talent scouts as professional and accomplished as those in the National Football League can fall sway to overweighting a preferred skill. 

Since today begins the NFL draft, it is instructive to examine this shortcoming as it has played out in several earlier drafts. 

Justin Ernest bench pressed 225 pounds an impressive 51 times at the NFL combine in 1999. This amazing feat is still the best ever by six reps. Unfortunately, the rest of his defensive lineman skill set was severely lacking. He was never good enough to play a single snap in the NFL after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints. 

The same year, Rondel Melendez posted an unheard-of record in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.24. Two other players have since matched this feat, but no one has beaten it. This blazingly fast speed drew the attention of many NFL teams. Melendez was quickly drafted by the New York Giants to their later regret. Despite his speed, his ball catching and route-running skills were sub-par and he never played in a NFL game. 

Matt Jones, a college quarterback at the University of Arkansas, had a rare skill the scouts had never seen before. Not only was he fast, but he could leap nearly 40 inches in a vertical jump from a standstill. He quickly became a hot commodity as a potential wide receiver, and he was selected in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Once in the NFL, however, it became clear he couldn’t catch a cold much less a football and his career imploded after a few poor seasons. 

Similar stories and examples are way too common. Even today, in a sport where talent selection is the difference between winning and losing for years ahead, the mistake of overweighing a single skill or attribute over the larger set of data points is highly prevalent. This subjective shortcoming, of course, applies to virtually all organizations, leaders, and recruiters. 

Those who become seduced by an elevated strength or skill and who therefore look past other critical success factors, usually make a poor selection. The goal is to look at all the data surrounding an individual and to push beyond the attraction of an unusual skill or trait. 

Overweighing any one strength and allowing it to place a heavy thumb on the scale of assessment is always a weak call. The best leaders and recruiters resist this at all costs. But, then again, 51 bench presses can be awfully hard to ignore.