The #1 Characteristic For All My Hires

Why I Only Hire Coachable People

It's the one trait that predicts success better than experience, skills, or references

The Resume That Changed My Hiring Forever

Years ago, I interviewed two candidates for a medical assistant position. On paper, Candidate A was perfect: five years of medical office experience, excellent references, and technical skills that matched our needs exactly.

Candidate B had less experience but something else caught my attention: four years of high school volleyball, two years of community college theater, and a part-time job at a restaurant known for its rigorous training program.

I hired Candidate B.

Within six months, she had become our most reliable team member. She took feedback without defensiveness, adapted quickly to new procedures, and even started mentoring newer employees. Meanwhile, I watched other practices struggle with "experienced" hires who couldn't take direction and resisted any changes to how they'd always done things.

That hire taught me the most valuable lesson of my management career: Coachability beats experience every single time.

The Hidden Cost of "Perfect" Candidates

Most practice managers hire backward. They focus on technical skills, experience, and knowledge – things that can be taught relatively quickly. They overlook the one quality that determines whether someone will thrive in their culture: the ability to be coached.

Here's what I've learned after 30+ years of hiring: You can teach someone to use your practice management software in a week. You can't teach a 35-year-old to take feedback without getting defensive.

According to research from Leadership IQ, 46% of new hires fail within 18 months. But here's the surprising part: only 11% fail because they lack technical skills. The other 89% fail because of attitude, coachability, and cultural fit issues.

Your hiring process is probably optimized for the 11% while ignoring the 89%.

What Coachability Actually Looks Like

Coachability isn't just being "nice" or "agreeable." It's a specific set of behaviors that indicate someone can grow, adapt, and improve within your culture.

Coachable people:

• Ask clarifying questions when given feedback

• Implement changes without arguing about why the old way was better

• Take responsibility for mistakes instead of making excuses

• Seek out additional training or guidance when they're struggling

• Can separate criticism of their performance from criticism of their character

Uncoachable people:

• Defend their methods even when they're not working

• Get defensive or shut down when given feedback

• Blame external factors for their performance issues

• Resist new procedures because "that's not how we did it at my last job"

• Take any correction as a personal attack

The difference isn't personality – it's mindset. And mindset is much harder to change than technical skills.

The Athletic Advantage (And Why It Matters)

When I see athletics, music, theater, or military experience on a resume, that candidate immediately moves to the top of my interview list. Here's why:

These experiences create coachable people because they involve:

• Regular performance evaluation and feedback

• Learning to improve through repetition and adjustment

• Understanding that personal performance affects team success

• Experience with different coaching styles and approaches

• Comfort with being pushed outside their comfort zone

A volleyball player has been told hundreds of times to adjust their approach, timing, or positioning. They've learned that feedback isn't personal criticism – it's information that helps them improve.

A theater performer has had directors give them notes on their delivery, timing, and stage presence. They understand that the goal isn't to make them feel bad, but to make the production better.

These candidates arrive pre-programmed to understand that feedback equals growth, not failure.

The Questions That Reveal Everything

Most hiring managers ask about experience and skills. I ask about growth and learning. Here are the questions that reveal coachability:

"Tell me about a time you received feedback that was difficult to hear. How did you handle it?"

Red flag answers:

• "I've never really received negative feedback"

• "My supervisor was wrong about that situation"

• "I explained to them why their approach wouldn't work"

Green flag answers:

• "It stung at first, but I realized they were right"

• "I asked for specific examples so I could understand better"

• "I implemented their suggestions and saw improvement"

"Describe a situation where you had to learn something completely new. What was your approach?"

Listen for:

• Willingness to admit they didn't know something

• Proactive steps to learn (asking questions, seeking resources, practicing)

• Persistence when initial attempts didn't work

• Appreciation for those who helped them learn

"How do you typically respond when someone suggests a different way to do something you're used to doing?"

Coachable candidates will:

• Express curiosity about the new approach

• Ask questions to understand the reasoning

• Acknowledge that their way isn't the only way

• Show willingness to try new methods

The Culture Fit Framework

Technical skills get someone in the door. Culture fit determines whether they stay and thrive. But "culture fit" is meaningless unless you can define what it actually means in your practice.

Here's my framework for evaluating culture fit:

Values Alignment

• Do they share your core values around patient care, teamwork, and professionalism?

• Do their examples and stories reflect priorities that match yours?

• Would their natural approach complement or conflict with your team dynamic?

Communication Style

• Do they communicate directly but respectfully?

• Can they disagree without being disagreeable?

• Do they ask thoughtful questions or just wait for instructions?

Growth Mindset

• Do they see challenges as opportunities or obstacles?

• How do they talk about past failures or setbacks?

• Are they curious about learning new things or protective of current knowledge?

Team Orientation

• Do they understand how their role affects others?

• Can they celebrate colleagues' successes without jealousy?

• Do they take ownership of team outcomes, not just individual tasks?

The Expensive Mistake Most Practices Make

Here's the hiring mistake that costs practices thousands: hiring for current skills instead of future potential.

The thinking goes: "We need someone who can hit the ground running. We don't have time to train."

The reality is: Someone with perfect technical skills but poor coachability will:

• Resist your procedures because they conflict with past experience

• Create friction with team members who do things differently

• Become defensive when you try to correct or improve their performance

• Eventually leave when they realize your culture doesn't match their expectations

Meanwhile, a coachable person with 70% of the technical skills will:

• Learn your procedures quickly because they're eager to do things your way

• Integrate smoothly with existing team members

• Improve rapidly with feedback and training

• Become a long-term asset who grows with your practice

The math is simple: Six months of training a coachable person costs less than six months of managing an uncoachable one.

Red Flags That Predict Hiring Disasters

Over the years, I've learned to recognize warning signs during the interview process:

Interview Red Flags:

• Criticizing previous employers without taking any responsibility

• Rigid insistence on "the right way" to do things

• Defensiveness about gaps in experience or knowledge

• Inability to give specific examples of learning or growth

• Body language that closes off when discussing feedback or change

Reference Check Red Flags:

• Former supervisors who are notably unenthusiastic

• Comments like "technically competent but..."

• Mentions of resistance to change or feedback

• Descriptions of conflicts with team members or management

Trial Period Red Flags:

• Arguing with training instead of asking questions

• Comparing your methods unfavorably to previous workplaces

• Reluctance to ask for help when clearly struggling

• Immediate criticism of existing procedures

The Long-Term Payoff

When you hire for coachability and culture fit, everything else becomes easier:

Training is faster because people want to learn your way instead of defending their way.

Team dynamics improve because new hires integrate smoothly instead of creating friction.

Performance management simplifies because feedback conversations are collaborative instead of confrontational.

Retention increases because people who fit your culture want to stay and grow with you.

Leadership becomes more enjoyable because you're developing people instead of constantly managing resistance.

Your Next Hire Decision

The next time you're hiring, resist the temptation to choose the candidate with the most impressive resume. Instead, choose the candidate with the most coachable mindset.

Ask yourself:

• Would this person thrive with regular feedback and coaching?

• Do they seem genuinely interested in growing within our culture?

• Can they adapt their approach when needed?

• Would they make our team stronger or just bigger?

Remember: You can train skills. You can't train character. You can teach procedures. You can't teach humility. You can share knowledge. You can't share coachability.

The candidate who's eager to learn your way will always outperform the candidate who's convinced their way is better.

Your culture deserves people who want to be part of it, not people who want to change it to match their preferences.

The next hire you make is an opportunity to strengthen your team's foundation. Choose someone who will build on what you've created, not someone who will require you to work around their limitations.

Your future self – and your current team – will thank you for hiring the coachable candidate over the "perfect" one.

Jim Heinz is a medical practice management consultant with over 30 years of experience building teams that actually work together. His hiring framework focuses on cultural fit and growth potential rather than just technical qualifications. Learn more about building effective teams at JimHeinzConsulting.com.