The Character Equation: Hiring Beyond Competence

What’s 2+2 in leadership hiring? The answer isn’t always 4. Especially when you forget to account for the hidden variables: character and context.

Almost 50–70% of new executives fail within 18 months, not for lack of skill but because hiring often overlooks character, cultural fit, and adaptability.

We often think of hiring as a simple maths problem. You line up competence with experience and expect to find your next great leader. Except it rarely works out that neatly.

If it did, executive search firms would not exist, and organisations would not be battling costly leadership failures. The truth is, the traditional hiring equation leaves too much out.

The Common Equation (That’s Often Wrong)

For decades, the default formula for leadership hiring has been:

Competence + Experience = Success

It looks logical. After all, you want someone who knows the ropes and has the track record to prove it. But here’s the problem: competence and experience are table stakes. They get a candidate through the door, but they do not guarantee long-term success.

That’s why so many seemingly “perfect on paper” hires underperform, clash with culture, or fail to lead transformation.

It is like trying to bake bread with flour and water only. You will get something edible, but it will not rise.

Why Character is the Missing Constant

The leaders who truly thrive bring something more complex to measure but impossible to ignore: character.

Character is the multiplier that turns capability into sustainable impact. It is made up of qualities that do not sit neatly on a CV but determine how a leader shows up when things get tough:

• Resilience: The ability to bounce back when plans fall apart

• Humility: Recognising they do not have all the answers and empowering others

• Integrity: Making the right decision, even when no one is watching

• Courage: Standing by values and convictions, even under pressure

Without these, competence can collapse under the weight of real-world challenges. A leader who is brilliant technically but weak under pressure will not inspire loyalty. Someone who knows the industry inside out but lacks humility can alienate teams.

Character is the constant that steadies the equation when the environment gets unpredictable.

Contextual Intelligence: The Third Variable

If competence is the what and character is the who , then contextual intelligence is the how.

It is a leader’s ability to:

• Read the room and sense unspoken dynamics

• Align with culture without losing their own authenticity

• Navigate ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information

• Shift style as the context shifts, whether that is leading a turnaround, scaling fast growth, or steering through crisis

Think of contextual intelligence as the difference between knowing how to play the piano and knowing what to play in front of a live audience

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Plenty of leaders are brilliant in one environment but fall flat in another. A scale-up star may stumble in a FTSE-listed giant. A corporate veteran may buckle in a volatile start-up. Contextual intelligence is what makes the difference between situational fit and situational failure.

Our Equation

At Adastrum, we believe the true hiring equation looks like this:

Great Hire = Competence × Character × Contextual Intelligence

Notice the multiplication sign. It matters.

If competence is strong but character is weak, the result is compromised. If character shines but contextual intelligence is missing, performance will not scale. Each variable amplifies or limits the others.

That is why hiring the right leader is more than just checking boxes.

How Adastrum Solves the Equation

A candidate with all the competence in the world but no character or contextual awareness is a high-risk hire. 

Similarly, a person of high character who lacks the necessary skills or the ability to adapt will struggle to deliver results. This balanced approach is critical, especially when 95% of UK businesses admit to making at least one bad hiring decision each year.

So how do you measure the unmeasurable? At Adastrum, we bring science to subjectivity:

• Deep psychometrics to uncover personality traits, motivations, and values beyond what is visible in an interview

• Behavioural interviewing to explore how candidates have reacted in real-world situations

• Scenario testing to simulate pressure points and see how leaders respond under ambiguity

• Cultural mapping to align leaders not only with business goals but also with the subtle realities of your organisation’s environment

This is not about “gut feel” or glossy CVs. It is about rigorously testing whether a leader can thrive in your context, not just any context.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Today’s leadership environment is not steady. It is marked by volatility, digital disruption, shifting employee expectations, and the constant drumbeat of transformation.

In this climate, competence alone is like knowing how to drive but not knowing how to navigate a storm. Character and contextual intelligence are what help leaders steer through uncertainty without losing their way.

Organisations that hire beyond competence do more than avoid costly failures. They build leadership teams capable of resilience, adaptability, and genuine cultural impact.

Closing Thought

The next time you are faced with a shortlist of brilliant CVs, ask yourself:

• Who has the resilience to lead when the unexpected hits?

• Who has the humility to listen as much as they direct?

• Who has the contextual intelligence to thrive in this organisation, not just any?

Because competence gets leaders in the room, but it is character and context that determine whether they stay and whether they succeed.

At Adastrum, we help you solve the full equation.