Calibration
Under, just right, over.
| Situation | Under | Just Right | Over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interview debrief | Sits through the debrief and agrees with the loudest interviewer. Never says whether this person would be stronger than the people already on the team. | Compares the candidate, skill by skill, to people already doing the work. Votes no when the hire would only fill a seat, even if the team is tired of covering. | Treats every mixed signal as a no. Strong candidates stall, interviewers stop trusting the process, and the team keeps covering the open work. |
| A teammate asks to move internally | Changes the subject when they ask about other teams. Holds onto them because this quarter's plan needs them where they are. | Helps them find a role that uses what they already do well, then plans a handoff so current work does not fall over. | Walks them to the new team the same week to look generous. The remaining people inherit undocumented work and a hole in coverage. |
| Weekly one on one | Runs through tickets and deadlines. Growth never makes the agenda. | Spends part of the hour on one skill to practice this week and the rest on the work in front of them. The person leaves with a next step that fits the current load. | Turns the meeting into a standing career workshop. Delivery slips, and the person is coached more than they are staffed. |
| A colleague refers a friend | Moves the friend to the front of the line and softens written feedback so the colleague is not embarrassed. | Runs the same loop and the same standard as any other candidate. Tells the colleague the outcome without dressing it up. | Adds extra interviews to prove there was no favoritism. The candidate takes another offer while the loop is still running. |
| Staffing a hard project | Gives the work to whoever has done it before. Everyone else stays in their lane. | Puts a less experienced person on it with enough cover that the customer still gets a solid result. Names what they should learn by Friday. | Hands them the critical path with no backup so they can grow. The date slips, and they spend the next month repairing trust. |
| Reviewing this week's resumes | Screens for keywords that match the people already on the team. Unusual backgrounds never get a loop. | Advances people who could do the work the team will need next year, even when their titles do not match. Passes on a comfortable lookalike who would only add a pair of hands. | Advances anyone who looks impressive on paper. Interviewers spend the week on people who cannot do the job, and the matches who could are still waiting. |
| A new hire's first month | Hands them a laptop and the backlog. They copy whatever they see, including sloppy habits. | Gives them real work and a named person to learn from. Checks that they are picking up the standard, not just the tools. | Fills the calendar with shadowing and reading lists. They produce nothing, and the team still carries their load. |
| Who presents the work | Presents it themselves every time. The people who did the work stay unknown outside the team. | Lets the person who did the work present, and steps in only for gaps. Uses the room to coach without taking the credit. | Puts someone unready in front of a high-stakes audience with no rehearsal. Their reputation takes the hit, and the work looks weaker than it is. |