The #1 Thing Matt Britton Looks for When Hiring

Matt Britton has hired hundreds of people throughout his career—from his early ventures through building Suzy into a leading consumer insights platform. When asked what single quality he prioritizes above all others in hiring decisions, his answer is consistent: intellectual curiosity combined with genuine empathy for understanding other people.

Why Curiosity and Empathy Trump Traditional Credentials

On the surface, this might seem counterintuitive. Shouldn't a CEO prioritize technical skills, relevant experience, and proven track records? Those things matter, certainly. But they're table stakes—prerequisites, not differentiators.

What separates exceptional performers from good ones is deeper. It's the ability to ask better questions, to remain genuinely interested in understanding how things work and why people behave as they do, and to approach problems with genuine empathy for the human dimension.

In a company built around consumer insights, this makes particular sense. A data analyst with technical skills but no genuine interest in understanding consumer psychology will produce reports. A data analyst with technical skills AND curiosity about human motivation will produce insights that drive decisions and create value.

Curiosity as a Core Capability

Curiosity is underrated in hiring. It's not easily taught—either someone has it or they don't. And it's incredibly predictive of success across different roles and changing circumstances.

Curious people:

• Ask better questions before rushing to solutions
• Dig deeper to understand root causes rather than surface symptoms
• Learn new skills and adapt when market conditions shift
• Connect ideas across domains and see patterns others miss
• Maintain enthusiasm even during challenging periods
• Push themselves to improve rather than settling for good enough

In a rapidly changing industry like AI and consumer insights, this adaptability matters enormously. The specific skills that were essential three years ago may be less relevant today. But curiosity—the drive to understand how the world works and how to create value—remains constant.

Empathy: The Underestimated Leadership Skill

Empathy is the ability to understand other people's perspectives, motivations, and experiences. It's fundamental to leading teams, creating great products, and building meaningful relationships.

In hiring, empathy manifests as genuine interest in the people you're bringing into your organization. It means listening carefully to understand what drives them, what they value, and whether the opportunity aligns with their growth and aspirations. Curious, empathetic hiring managers attract better candidates because candidates feel genuinely understood and valued.

For your team, empathy creates psychological safety. People know their leader genuinely cares about them as people, not just workers. They're willing to take risks, try new approaches, and acknowledge mistakes because they trust that their leader's response will be rooted in understanding their situation and intent, not judgment.

How Curiosity + Empathy Changes Team Dynamics

Matt has built Suzy's culture around these principles. Walk into the office and you notice the difference. People ask each other thoughtful questions rather than giving commands. There's genuine interest in understanding different perspectives. Disagreements focus on understanding different viewpoints, not proving who's right.

This approach creates compounding advantages:

• Better Decision Making: Diverse perspectives thoroughly explored lead to better decisions than top-down directives
• Faster Learning: When people are genuinely curious about each other's expertise and perspective, knowledge spreads rapidly
• Higher Retention: People stay with leaders and organizations where they feel genuinely valued and understood
• Innovation: Curious teams ask more questions, challenge assumptions more constructively, and generate more ideas
• Resilience: Teams built on empathy support each other through challenges rather than fragmenting under pressure

The Interview: Looking for Curiosity and Empathy

How do you actually assess curiosity and empathy in interviews? Matt's approach is straightforward:

• Ask open-ended questions about their past: Listen for how candidates describe their experiences. Do they ask questions in return? Do they seem genuinely interested in understanding context and motivations, or just in proving their competence?
• Ask them what questions they have for you: Curious people always have thoughtful questions. Their questions reveal what they're actually interested in and how deeply they've thought about the role and company.
• Give them a problem to solve: Watch how they approach it. Do they ask clarifying questions? Do they show empathy for the end user or stakeholder affected by the problem? Do they acknowledge what they don't know?
• Talk about failure: Ask how they've handled setbacks. Curious, empathetic people typically reflect on what they learned. Defensive people blame external factors.

Building a Culture of Continuous Learning

Once you hire for curiosity and empathy, you need to maintain that culture as you scale. This requires intentional decisions about how you structure work, provide feedback, and celebrate success.

At Suzy, this means:

• Creating time and space for learning and exploration, not just execution
• Celebrating questions and challenge as much as solutions and agreement
• Hiring for diversity of background and perspective specifically to expose the team to different worldviews
• Providing honest feedback rooted in understanding of the person's capabilities and intentions
• Modeling curiosity and empathy from leadership down

FAQ: Hiring for Culture and Capability

What if someone is brilliant but low in empathy?

They might work in specific roles with limited team interaction. But in most cases, lack of empathy becomes a limiting factor as responsibilities expand. Brilliant people who don't understand how to work effectively with others create friction and limit team potential.

Can you teach curiosity or empathy?

You can help people develop these qualities, especially empathy, through coaching and experience. But it's hard to teach genuine curiosity—it's more of a disposition or orientation toward the world. This is why hiring for it matters more than trying to develop it post-hire.

How do you balance hiring for culture fit with diversity?

Curiosity and empathy are culture values, not culture uniformity. You can have a shared culture of curious, empathetic people who are radically different in background, experience, and perspective. In fact, that diversity makes the culture stronger because it constantly exposes people to different ways of thinking.

Key Takeaways

• Curiosity and empathy matter more than traditional credentials in predicting long-term success
• Curious people adapt to change, learn faster, and ask better questions
• Empathy creates psychological safety and stronger teams
• Interview for curiosity by observing how candidates ask questions and approach problems
• Building a culture of curiosity and empathy requires intentional decisions about structure, feedback, and leadership modeling
• Diversity of background combined with shared values of curiosity creates high-performing teams

Want to learn more about building organizations that combine human insight with technological capability? Explore Matt Britton's insights on leadership and innovation, read Generation AI: The Book, or discover how Suzy empowers curious teams with consumer insights. For speaking engagements on building high-performing teams in the age of AI, get in touch.