The 3 Cs to Evaluate Potential Team Members

What makes a great team member? I always come back to the three C’s when I’m evaluating someone to be on my team, to work for me, or to welcome into my inner circle. These 3 C’s are (in order of importance):⁠
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1. Character: this tells me everything I need to know about them. I evaluate how trustworthy they are, I evaluate how they treat all people (like the waitstaff, their assistant, me, etc), and I evaluate their overall integrity. I only want to work with people who are trustworthy and who respect the people around them, so character is a big one for me.⁠
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2. Commitment: you don’t want to bring someone on your team who you can’t rely on! So commitment is another key value that I consider before I start working with someone. I look at their commitment to our shared mission/vision/values- are they practicing what they preach? I also evaluate their commitment to our shared project- are they holding up their side of the deal? Are they hitting deadlines? Are they showing up when/where they need to? When I invest I commit 100% and I expect the same from my team members.⁠
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3. Capacity: how able and capable are they to do what I need them to do? In this category I not only evaluate their ability to do something, but also how they add value to something. I want to make sure my team members are ready, willing and capable of doing what I need them to do, and ideally I want them to be the best at what they do. I’ve been taught: work with the best, they won’t cost you money, they’ll make you money. They’ll add value to the project. They’ll bring their excellence to the project. They will leave it better than they found it and they are ready to go!⁠