To help better understand just how difficult this process is, I want to share a little story with you. This is a letter which was sent by a company in Jerusalem which is known as Jordan Management Consultants. A client of theirs was looking for some people to fill managerial positions in his new organization, so he submitted the resumes of twelve applicants to the consultants for their recommendations. The following is the text of the report from Jordan Management Consultants.

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computers, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocation aptitude consultant.

It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capacity.

Imagine how the client of Jordan Management Consultants must have felt. He had selected twelve people who he felt could fill the managerial roles, yet the professionals consultants had determined, by using all of the means available to them, that none of the applicants were suitable. It makes you wonder how a person like myself could possibly use unscientific methods to select my own staff for the summer project we have in mind.

Jordan Management Consultants provided their client with a summary of their findings:

Simon Peter is emotional, unstable and given to fits of temper.

Andrew has absolutely no quality of leadership.

The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above Company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We believe it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, definitely have radical leanings.

Additionally, the both registered high scores on the manic depressive scale.

However, one of the candidates shows great potential. He’s a man of ability and resourcefulness. He is a great networker, has a keen business mind, and has strong contacts in influential circles. He’s highly motivated, very ambitious and adept with financial matters. We recommend Judas as your Controller and Chief Operating Officer.

All the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you the utmost success in your new venture.

As you can see, if Jesus had chosen the twelve apostles based on modern methods of leadership selection, most would have never had a chance to participate. The lesson here is that we should choose people for what they can become through us, not for what they already are or for what they have already done. Reading the story didn’t provide me with any help in my own selection process, but it did help me understand that no matter who I choose, it would be up to me to help them achieve their true potential. It would be up to me to help them achieve the goals I had set for them. The selection is only the beginning. I know that I must choose a person for what he or she can become, but then I must pave the road for that person to develop the potential within.

So next time you find yourself involved in hiring or selecting people to be on a team or a project, remember that you must look for potential, not history. You must take an active role in developing that potential, and not expect to sit back and relax. Just be thankful that Jesus didn’t actually rely on Jordan Management Consultants when he was filling his managerial positions. Go instead with your gut instincts and accept your responsibilities.