News that England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor is in talks to play in the Second XI for a county-level men’s team shows how important it is for managers to cast a wide net when they are recruiting new staff.
Taylor, widely regarded as one of the best women ever to play cricket, has an informal agreement with Sussex that if they are in need of a wicketkeeper, she’ll get the nod, the Guardian reports.
Women have now thankfully broken through gender barriers in most industries – but Taylor playing in a men’s team is not about shattering a glass ceiling. It’s about Sussex getting the best man for the job… irrespective of whether the person in question is actually a man.
Bringing in talent from outside the normal silos of recruitment can reap big rewards; indeed, that line of thinking applies more to small organisations than their larger counterparts. For example, the University of Utah computer graphics programme, run between 1965 and 1980 by technologist David Evans, made a habit of hiring dyed-in-the-wool free thinkers with wild ideas and curious minds.
Evans’ recruits went on to help found Netscape, Apple and Pixar – redefining the art of computing for an entire generation.
Whether Sussex’s team-selection googly proves successful remains to be seen – but Sussex, Taylor and her coach Mark Lane should be applauded for thinking outside the crease.
Management ups and downs
Promotion:
Rory McIlroy
For netting a £78m sponsorship bonanza as Nike’s latest product representative in the world of golf. His first tournament with Nike kit will be this week’s HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi. Fair play to the lad for winning over the corporate behemoth – and one-upping the Tiger.
Relegation:
Chelsea FC management
For a pretty remarkable bit of sour grapes over departing staffer Frank Lampard. On its official website, the London club edited out comments to reporters from goalkeeper Petr Cech that lauded Lampard’s loyalty and importance to the squad – just after the midfielder became the team’s equal-second, all-time goal scorer.