Finding Freddie Mercury: Hiring Beyond Cultural Fit

Queen is a band that should never have worked by traditional standards. Brian May was raised as part of the British aristocracy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a genius intellect that has made him as accomplished an astrophysicist as a rock star. Freddie Mercury was a fabulous persona developed by Farrokh Bulsara, an immigrant from Zanzibar with a passion for opera, heavy metal, and excess. And though Queen as a brand was tied up in Mercury’s larger-than-life image, every member of the band—including drummer Roger Taylor and quiet bassist John Deacon—wrote chart-topping hits that contributed to the band’s legacy.

In the Queen rockumentary Bohemian Rhapsody, it’s suggested that Queen was always a band made up of four solo acts, in that each member of the band brought their own musical tastes and passions to make something greater than the sum of its parts. 

This notion has stuck with me ever since I first watched the film because it’s a perfect metaphor for any team that consistently accomplishes great things. I see my job as an executive recruiter for the outdoor and active lifestyle industry as something of a producer for a band; I work with hiring managers to find those truly outstanding candidates that will bring a fresh perspective and new energy to a team and, in doing so, take the entire team to a new level.

But there’s a recent trend that, in my opinion, is making it harder than ever for companies to build the kind of eclectic dream teams that make magic happen: The idea of hiring for cultural fit.

I wrote just last month about how crucial it is for companies looking to attract top talent to think long and hard about their candidate journeys. In a tight labor market, brands have to invest just as much time in marketing to prospective hires as they do with prospective customers. A good culture can make all the difference when a brand is trying to stand out from the competition, but culture is something so nebulous that its expression can lead to some unforeseen side effects.

Many companies have come to understand that a ping pong table or keg of craft beer in the break room isn’t going to be enough to attract serious talent, but according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the problems stemming from culture and hiring practices runs much deeper. Whether we know it or not, our own experiences and biases can lead any of us in the role of hiring manager to look for people who are like us. We relate more easily to people we understand, and at the end of the day there will always be a perhaps subliminal desire to choose the candidate we’d like to work with, all else being equal.

I believe there are processes hiring managers can put in place to mitigate those biases and the risks they present in the hiring process. But what happens when those biases are more than subliminal? 

What happens when, say, a bike manufacturer decides they are only going to hire people from the bike industry? Or when a rock climbing equipment company always chooses the candidate with the most outspoken personal passion for rock climbing? 

What if Brian May and Roger Taylor had insisted on finding a new lead singer with a straightforward rock-and-roll background and bass chops instead of embracing the entirely different perspective of Freddie Mercury?

When brands put too much of an emphasis on hiring based on a cultural fit or insider perspective, there’s a tremendous opportunity cost. That cost takes the shape of the unique experiences someone from outside the industry or outside your traditional subculture might have, and the innovations they may bring to the table. The risk for this is significant in the outdoor industry simply because so many people who work on backpacks and bikes and hiking equipment do so because they love the lifestyle tied up in all of that gear. I get it, and I embrace it; this convergence of passion and professional work is part of what makes working in the outdoor industry such a delight.

But I can’t help but be intrigued when I watch one of my clients push the boundaries by focusing on hiring leaders from the consumer products industry. I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact the right person with consumer experience can have for an outdoor brand, and it’s an impact I hope more outdoor companies will benefit from in the future.

As you prepare for your next big hire, I leave you with one question: How are you going to find your Freddie Mercury, that dynamic element that can be the catalyst to new ideas and greater success? 

—Tony O’Neill, President

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About the Author: Tony O’Neill is the Founder and President of Highline Outdoor Group — the purpose-driven executive search firm for forward- thinking outdoor industry and sporting goods companies and brands.

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