Anupam Mittal says wrong leadership can 'kill a company', shares steps to hire 'the right senior folks'

Anupam Mittal, the millionaire founder and CEO of People Group which owns Shaadi.com, also shared three steps he focuses on to hire senior leaders for his company. (Image credit: Anupam Mittal/LinkedIn)

Anupam Mittal on Wednesday highlighted how hiring the wrong leaders can bring down a company despite having a passionate team and a revolutionary product or service. The founder and CEO of People Group, which owns Shaadi.com, also shared three steps he focuses on to hire senior leaders for his company.

"How do you kill a company? By hiring the wrong leadership!" he wrote on LinkedIn. "You can have a revolutionary product, a passionate team, and a booming market – all brought to their knees by a few bad decisions at the leadership level."

Mittal admitted that hiring the "right senior folks" is not easy, especially when fancy recruitment tools, psychometric evaluations, and interview techniques promising the perfect hire are only "marginally effective".

He then proceeded to share how he chooses senior candidates for his company.

1.) Meeting frequently

"Everyone has their guard up during office hours and official interviews. The key is to be in a more relaxed environment and the best setting is over a meal -- saves time too," the Shark Tank India judge said. "Basically, I am trying to understand their personality and values. Also, one such meeting won’t do. You specifically need three and here is the brilliant hack: if every meeting gives you more confidence, you got your hire. If you get more doubtful, move on."

2.) 'Unnamed' reference checks

"‘Named’ ref checks don’t work," Anupam Mittal said. "I use my own networks to find common connections and request them for confidential 15-20 minute reference checks."

He further elaborated on the 'PEARL' reference check theory that he follows which stands for promising reciprocity, ensuring confidentiality, asking targeted questions, retrieving critical insights, and learning rehiring potential.

3.) Hire builders

Businesses today grow and change at lightning speed, the Shaadi.com owner said. What you want in a leader is a combination of high learning agility, strong ownership, outcome orientation, and a high degree of candor.

"‘Builders’ are usually like that – they like to roll up their sleeves and get shit done," Mittal said. "Preachers and politicians can create toxicity in an org, what you are looking for are scientists who love questioning the status quo and finding the right answers. Building a winning leadership team takes time, but hire correctly and you will cut down half your day-to-day workload."