An employee who thrived in a startup's early stages might struggle as the company grows, becomes more corporate, and changes its dynamics. "Fit" is not a static attribute but a relationship between a person and the company's current stage, requiring leaders to re-evaluate team composition over time.
High-achievers, especially when feeling insecure, often believe they must dominate every situation. A leader's job is to explicitly relieve this pressure, allowing them to trust their team and focus on their core strengths. This enables better performance, as seen with Peyton Manning at SNL.
Many comedians who didn't succeed at Saturday Night Live, like Tim Robinson, later achieved great success. This illustrates that failure is often due to a mismatch with the environment or team dynamics, not a deficiency in talent. The right context is required for talent to flourish.
When considering a talented candidate who isn't a perfect cultural fit, leaders should get the team to consciously "opt-in" to spending extra energy to support them. This reframes a hiring challenge as a collective investment in a person's success, building team ownership from day one.