Most companies start hiring when they feel pressure. Someone leaves, growth outpaces capacity, a new initiative needs support, and the instinct is to move quickly. But urgency is the enemy of clarity. When the seat isn’t clearly defined before hiring, the role becomes a moving target. And when the role is unclear, no candidate can be right because the leader doesn't even know what “right” is yet. So the company hires based on what sounds reasonable: experience, skillset, a good conversation, maybe a gut sense of “they’d fit well.” But “fit” here is just code for “they made me feel comfortable.” Comfort has nothing to do with capability. And even when the role is described, it is almost always described in tasks, not behavioral requirements. A job description might say: “Communicates effectively” “Manages multiple priorities” “Works well under pressure” “Takes initiative” But what does that actually mean in day-to-day behavior? Does “communicates effectively” mean organizing information concisely, or having patience for emotional processing? Those are different brains. Does “takes initiative” mean they generate ideas, or they execute without waiting for permission? Those are different instincts. Companies hire for competence, and then are shocked when they get the wrong wiring. Skill determines whether someone can do the job. Wiring determines whether someone can do it without draining themselves every day to survive it. And no résumé tells you that. So what happens? The interview becomes the battleground. But the interview is now one of the least reliable tools we have. Not because candidates are deceptive but because the environment rewards performance. AI has made this much worse. Candidates can rehearse “ideal” answers to any behavioral question. They can simulate emotional intelligence. They can mimic self-awareness. They can pull strategic language, communication frameworks, and reflection scripts from chatbots in seconds. Meanwhile, the interviewer is evaluating: Confidence Eloquence Relatability The ability to say things that sound right Which means hiring decisions are now being made on presentation, not pattern. And patterns are what matter. Behavior is not who someone claims to be. It’s how they move when the work is in front of them. If someone has to stretch outside their natural wiring to meet the behavioral requirements of the job, they will burn out, disengage, slow down, or silently exit. Not because they’re wrong. But because the role is wrong for them. This is the part most leaders don’t realize: The success of a hire is determined before the interview ever happens. If the seat is not clearly defined — behaviorally, not just operationally — then the interview has nothing solid to measure against. And without something solid to measure against, the interview becomes a talent show. Traditional hiring is shooting in the dark. It rewards the person who performs identity well, not the person whose natural wiring aligns with the work. The solution is not to interview better. It’s to define the seat better. Before you even consider candidates, you must be able to answer: What behaviors does this job require daily? What type of cognitive pace does this seat demand? Does this role require being around people or being protected from people? Does success in this seat require initiating, supporting, stabilizing, or accelerating? You cannot evaluate a candidate accurately if you don’t know the behavioral blueprint of the role itself. Because clarity is not describing what the job does. Clarity is describing what the job requires of the person doing it. Once you know that, the interview is no longer a guessing game. It becomes recognition, not persuasion. If hiring feels like gambling, it’s because the decision is being made on: Personality performance Surface traits Gut instinct Comfort Great teams are not built on “hope this works.” They are built by aligning people to seats, not seats to people. When you hire based on wiring instead of wishing, teams stop burning out, leaders stop overfunctioning, and work starts to feel like momentum instead of resistance. This is where performance begins. Not in talent. In alignment.