Playbook
Lead Team
The work this situation takes, including the parts that are easy to miss. Start with any one.
Team alignment health check
A per-pillar alignment score with the below-neutral gaps, where the team diverges, and the weakest pillar to repair.
Structured hiring decision scorecard
A structured scorecard where each interviewer's vote and rationale are recorded and the final verdict provably follows your decision rule (no after-the-fact rationalization).
Job requisition spec
A complete requisition: responsibilities with success metrics, a must-have skills list capped to avoid the unicorn trap, a valid comp range, and a clean biased-language screen.
Work-sample interview question bank
A reusable, competency-mapped question bank where each question has a predetermined acceptable answer and red-flag list.
Reference-check call script and scorecard
A structured reference-check script with a confidentiality preamble, probing questions, and a numeric endorsement scorecard.
Structured offer package
A complete, band-compliant offer package with every component itemized and a pre-set negotiation ceiling.
Interview panel coverage plan
A structured interview-loop plan mapping interviewers to competencies, sized per the research, with a dissenter assigned.
Bias-guarded interview debrief packet
A structured debrief record that captures independent pre-discussion verdicts, a bias-check, and a consolidated recommendation.
Candidate work-sample assignment spec
A ready-to-send work-sample assignment with a fixed time box, deliverable definition, and a weighted scoring rubric.
Pre-requisition team gap register
A defensible record of WHY this role exists and the specific gap it fills on the team, completed before any job description is written.
Decision-rights and single-threaded-owner register
Every critical decision and deliverable has exactly one named accountable owner, with advisers/consulted/informed parties and an escalation path explicitly recorded, eliminating diffused 'chicken' accountability.
Also part of this playbook, opening soon:
- Score our psychological safety
- Draft a team working agreement
- Build a team alignment map