What if your best hire doesn’t “fit” your culture—they add to it?

Microsoft Canada’s Kree Govender shares a practical stack you can try this month:

- hire culture add (not clones),
- test with the Three A’s: Attitude, Aptitude, Assimilation (to change),
- run STAR interviews with independent panels to avoid groupthink,
- use AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to surface hidden bias,
- and swap vanilla CVs for 90-second video/audio intros that actually show how people think.

In this episode you’ll learn:

- How to design for culture add and positive tension on purpose
- The Three A’s hiring lens (Attitude, Aptitude, Assimilation)
- Why STAR + independent interviewers raise signal and reduce bias
- How Copilot helps measure (not guess) interviewer bias
- When a 90-second intro beats a CV for early screening

Watch on Youtube

Chapters
00:00 Cold open — “Stop hiring your mirror”
00:26 Culture add vs culture fit (and why tension helps)
02:05 The Three A’s: Attitude, Aptitude, Assimilation (to change)
03:30 STAR interviews + independent panels (no groupthink)
05:00 Don’t guess bias—instrument it with Copilot
06:45 CVs → 90-second video/audio (what to ask for)
08:50 Leadership: Create Clarity • Generate Energy • Deliver Success
10:30 Model • Coach • Care in practice
12:20 What to pilot this month + wrap

Try one tactic this month and tell us what changed: 90-sec intro videos, STAR-only prompts, or independent panels?

👉 Watch and Subscribe for operator-grade hiring conversations here, or on Youtube.

Resources
• Willo — screen smarter at scale: https://willo.video
• Connect with the host, Anita Chauhan (Willo)
• Guest: Kree Govender, SMB Canada Leader @ Microsoft

Share this with a leader who still starts with CVs.

Show Resources

• Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
• CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
• Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host

Anuj Rastogi is a sales and revenue leader turned talent strategist who helps purpose-driven founders and HR leaders scale their teams. As Managing Director at BackStretch, he's seen firsthand how companies unknowingly sabotage their hiring by chasing the "obvious" candidate. In this conversation, Anuj breaks down the three critical hiring mistakes that even progressive companies make—and why the person who looks perfect on paper is often the wrong choice.

From a retail worker who became a top sales performer to developers hired without degrees who outperformed their credentialed peers, Anuj shares real stories that challenge everything we think we know about qualifications. He explains why job descriptions miss 97% of what the work actually entails, why hiring sequence matters as much as who you hire, and how the easy-apply era has created a volume crisis that's drowning out genuine talent. His advice? Stop optimizing for speed and start optimizing for the human connection that reveals true capability.

If you've ever wondered whether that stack of 1,000 applications is actually helping you find better people—or just creating more noise—this episode will make you rethink your entire approach. Anuj doesn't just critique the broken system; he offers a practical path forward that balances technology with the irreplaceable value of human judgment. Whether you're a founder building your first team or a talent leader drowning in resumes, this conversation will shift how you think about who deserves a shot.

Connect with Anuj Rastogi:

• Anuj Rastogi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anujrastogi13/ - Managing Director at Backstretch, helping purpose-driven companies build resilient talent pipelines
• BackStretch: https://backstretch.biz/ - Talent strategy firm focused on quality hiring and proactive search
• YENZA3: https://www.yenza3.com/ - Guiding organizations on people-centric AI and knowledge transformations

Show Resources

• Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
• CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
• Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host

Daneal Charney is a fractional HR executive and leadership coach who has seen hundreds of tech companies navigate their hiring challenges. After 10 years in the Toronto tech ecosystem, including her role as Executive in Residence at MaRS, she now helps fast-growth companies build high-performing leadership teams. In this episode, she breaks down the three biggest hiring mistakes that keep companies stuck in broken patterns.

Daneal reveals why we consistently hire based on what we can see rather than what actually drives performance - the motivation and mindset that exist "below the iceberg." She shares why hiring before you're organizationally ready sets everyone up for failure, and tackles the controversial topic of hiring from your personal network. Her insights on CEO bias in hiring decisions and the importance of defining success criteria will change how you think about building your team.

From a medical company's innovative panel interview approach that led to a 15-year hire, to frameworks for identifying the drivers and motivations that predict long-term success, Daneal provides actionable strategies for better hiring decisions. She also weighs in on emerging tools like one-way video interviews that can reveal communication patterns and behavioral signals traditional methods miss.

Connect with Daneal Charney:

• LinkedIn Profile - Fractional HR Executive and Leadership Coach specializing in fast-growth tech companies https://www.linkedin.com/in/danealcharney
• MaRS Discovery District - Toronto innovation hub where Daneal served as Executive in Residence https://www.marsdd.com

Show Resources

• Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
• CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
• Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host