Would You Trust the Building of a Winning Team to Someone Insecure About Their Own Talent?
In many companies, that’s exactly what happens — and the result is a silent cycle of mediocrity.
The following idea is inspired by a quote attributed to Steve Jobs, often phrased as:
“A players hire A players. B players hire C players.”
The meaning behind it is simple yet powerful:
- A players are high-performing, talented, and confident professionals. They’re not afraid to hire people who are as good as or even better than they are, because they value excellence and know it strengthens the team.
- B players, on the other hand, fear being outshined. Out of insecurity, they hire less competent people (C players), leading to a cascading mediocrity effect.
There’s also an addition to Jobs’ original quote that circulates widely:
“At that moment, the company loses credibility with its people.”
This can be interpreted as a practical consequence of the logic: when a company starts hiring less qualified professionals out of insecurity or internal politics, its culture of excellence fades — and that’s noticed both internally (by employees) and externally (by clients, partners, and the market).
How to Avoid the Cycle of Mediocrity
To stop B players from hiring C players, superficial control — like upper management simply overseeing hires — isn’t enough. It takes strategy, a strong culture, and conscious leadership. Here are some practical actions that help prevent the problem:
1. Build a Culture That Values Excellence
Companies that promote mediocrity often don’t realize when it starts.
Keep reinforcing that hiring people better than yourself is a virtue, not a threat.
Reward leaders who build strong teams, even if that makes them “replaceable.”
2. Set Clear and Demanding Hiring Criteria
Use a selection process that evaluates not only technical skills but also cultural fit, critical thinking, initiative, and ambition.
Avoid hiring “for convenience” — the candidate who seems less threatening, easier to manage, or just “good enough.”
3. Add Cross-Validation by High-Performing Leaders
Don’t let insecure or average individuals make critical hiring decisions alone.
Include an interview stage with a known A player, even from another area.
Have senior leaders review key decisions — not as bureaucratic control, but to reinforce the culture of excellence.
4. Evaluate Managers’ Hiring Track Records
Leaders who consistently build weak teams should be questioned and, if necessary, reassessed for management roles.
Periodically review the performance of the teams they’ve built — it reveals whether a leader is “hiring up or down.”
5. Provide Psychological Safety for Hiring Well
B players often hire poorly because they fear being replaced.
Department heads must emphasize that growing with a strong team is the path to staying relevant and valued — not a threat.
6. Train Leaders to Recognize True Talent
B players sometimes don’t even recognize what an A player looks like and may feel intimidated by people with initiative or independent thinking.
Conduct interview workshops, role-playing sessions, soft-skills evaluations, and coaching to expand this awareness.
The Consequences of Hiring Down
When B players hire C players, the damage goes far beyond one bad hire — it compounds over time and deeply affects the company’s culture, performance, and reputation.
1. Gradual Decline in Quality and Performance
C players tend to be average or weak, with little initiative, creativity, or sense of responsibility.
They rarely challenge the status quo or elevate the team’s level.
The result: a team running on autopilot — without innovation or ownership.
2. Deterioration of Organizational Culture
C players avoid challenges, accept poor decisions without question, and value conformity over excellence.
This creates a culture of mediocrity, where “good enough” becomes the standard — and A players leave because they see no room to grow.
3. Cascade Effect: Mediocrity Spreads
When C players get promoted, they usually hire D players.
This starts a vicious downward spiral in quality and performance across the hierarchy.
Before long, teams become fragile, reactive, and unproductive.
4. Loss of Internal and External Credibility
People inside the company notice when leaders hire poorly — it damages engagement and trust.
Externally, clients and partners feel the difference in service, delivery, and quality — eroding the brand’s reputation.
5. Difficulty Reversing the Situation Later
Fixing a culture contaminated by poor hiring is far harder than keeping it strong from the start.
It demands leadership changes, painful transitions, and time to rebuild credibility.
6. Strategic Misalignment
C players lack strategic thinking and rarely contribute valuable insights to major decisions.
That leads to cross-department friction, poor project execution, and loss of competitiveness.
Conclusion: Hire to Multiply, Not to Protect
Leadership is about multiplying excellence — not merely maintaining it.
When we promote insecure leaders who shy away from brilliant talent, we don’t just lose performance — we lose the future.
Companies that want to play in the big leagues must ensure that only A players are doing the hiring.