Hiring for Proximity is a Trap

There was a time when I believed that building a great team meant having everyone under one roof.

Spoiler: I was wrong.

I had just moved to a quieter region of France — a peaceful environment to balance the chaos of entrepreneurship. I bought a small office space, excited by the vision: a tight-knit team, gathered daily, working side by side.

Looking back, that move felt bold.

In reality, it was driven by fear.

I didn’t fear growth, or risk, or the usual startup chaos.

What I feared was distance. Remote management. Losing grip.

I wanted "control".

So I chose proximity over performance.

I hired locally. Trained from scratch. Taught digital marketing fundamentals, hoping that skill-building would eventually lead to team chemistry and momentum.

But here’s the problem no one tells you:

• You can teach tools.

• You can teach process.

You can’t teach genuine curiosity.

And that’s where things fell apart.

No matter how much time or energy I invested, I couldn’t replicate the spark that comes from someone who lives and breathes the work.

These hires just didn’t care about digital marketing.

Not really.

I had to let some team members go — and with them, all the time, energy, and hope I had poured into their growth.

It was not a fun moment.

Once the mistake was made — and it hurt — I decided to change the way I hired.

I stopped filtering for location.

I started hiring for competence — and passion.

Suddenly, the whole game shifted.

I brought on a remote hire who had years of experience, a deep curiosity, and zero need for hand-holding.

That’s the energy I want to scale.

Not presence.

Not “face time.”

Ownership.

Now, our office isn’t a control center. It’s a human touchpoint — we meet there twice a month, we connect, we bond. But the work happens wherever the best people are.

This pivot hasn’t just changed my team. It’s changed me.

I’m more focused. Less drained.

More in tune with what actually matters: surrounding myself with people who care about their craft more than they care about geography.

So here’s my question to you:

Are you still hiring for proximity — or are you building for performance?

🌩️ This Week’s 5 Takeaways

• Fear-based decisions often disguise themselves as strategic ones.

• Local hiring isn’t wrong — but it’s not a shortcut to trust or motivation.

• You can train skills, not curiosity or ownership.

• A physical office should support people — not control them.

• The best hires take work off your plate, not add to it.