I need to hire someone new. How do I make sure I hire the best possible person for the position?

You are scared to death to hire in this economy, and with good reason. One of the scariest things a leader does is add a person to her team. When it goes well, hiring a new team member can be just what is needed to take the organization to the next level, hit the next milestone, and accelerate growth. 

When it goes poorly, however, the best case is that it will be a total and complete waste of time. Most likely the result is much worse… The new hire will have an overall negative impact on the existing team and instead of taking steps toward your mission, everyone will fall backward and lose ground. The situation will need to be rectified and that will cost thousands of dollars in time, energy, and expense.

Most of the time, leaders make these kinds of hiring decisions by using their instincts. Truth be told, I am a big believer in leadership instinct and at Kutsko Consulting,...