19 leaders on promoting from within versus hiring externally

When creating a more senior position or needing to fill a current one, leaders need to decide where to go for that talent. On one hand, promoting from within rewards loyal employees who may be interested in moving up and gaining new responsibilities. On the other hand, they may not have the capabilities or experience to fill that role. Hire them when they’re not ready, and they could fail, harming your business and causing management challenges. Don’t hire them, and you could experience other management issues: They may feel hurt that an external hire was brought in for a role they felt they deserved. A lot of factors go into hiring decisions, especially when hiring from within is an option. We asked our Fast Company Impact Council members how they consider this issue. Here’s what 19 members shared about their thinking process and approach. 1. ASSESS EVERY ROLE INDIVIDUALLY We consider the skills and experience required to successfully fulfill the responsibilities of senior leadership roles, and just as importantly, each candidate’s alignment with our values. Using this foundation, we assess every role individually. In some cases, the greatest impact comes from elevating an established leader who can drive continuous improvement. In others, greater value may be realized by introducing external perspectives that open the door to new opportunities. While each role is unique, this disciplined and consistent approach enables us to make thoughtful decisions that best serve our people and the organization. — Mark Smucker, The J.M. Smucker Company 2. DEFINE THE SKILLS AND POTENTIALLY UPSKILL First, you have to define the skills. Look at durable skills like negotiation, communication, and probing for clarity. Also look for foundational skills to make sure they are able to do it themselves, which is still fundamentally important in order to be effective at managing others, whether that’s a team of humans or AI. If someone internally has these skills, promote. If they d