Career Growth

Sometimes it’s worth taking the extra step to understand what’s really going on, rather than just trying to power through. Say you’re a new chief marketing officer or operational executive in a company with lofty goals to achieve. Building a new team, or reconfiguring an existing one requires really understanding all of the individual personalities/skills/experiences within the group and strengths/weaknesses with which to draw from and minimize to ensure success.

The short version of the story
A newly acquired company in the financial services industry brought in a new CEO and CMO and needed to build out a senior management team in short order. I had worked with the CMO in a previous capacity and we stayed in touch. We put our heads together on the business goals and people capabilities needed to ramp up quickly and achieve results for the Private Equity owner. The answer was a diverse team of marketing and product experts capable of developing the strategic pathway and closely managing the operational execution.  

Growing from one to many
Recruiting is a journey that should lead to strong relationships that stand the test of time.

A few years ago, a senior executive whom I had known for many years asked us to become a partner to build a new team. He needed to define the next level beneath the C-Suite, decide upon areas of responsibility, develop KPI’s, and marry all to the company goals and objectives. 

This group would become the foundation for the next several years. And there was no clarity around the exact mix of people needed to accomplish the results. 

You can probably appreciate how this is a critical moment in my client’s career: he needed to be on target with these hires. 

Team diversity
This leader was putting together a senior management team. He was also creating the foundation of a culture based on ethos and purpose, and he understood the value of diversity and inclusivity (before it was fashionable).

We collaborated on a team development approach. First, we worked backward from company goals to understand the competencies needed. Then, we mapped those roles/goals to possible titles and career stage experience. We set out to understand all the potential combinations of roles/titles/experiences before connecting with any candidates.

We weren’t looking just to individual contributors in isolation. The idea was to build a cohesive team: complementary skills, personalities, and viewpoints would be critical. And diversity of thought, background, and experience was paramount.

And one more thing
Given the nature of the organization, we needed people that truly embraced an ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’ So, all candidates needed to exude confidence, crave ownership, love risk-taking, and exhibit a comfort working closely with the executive team daily.

These are decisions you cannot afford to rush, even when you’re in a hurry. Each new hire had to count and hit the ground running. The approach we used to identify the right combination of skills, experience, and mindset was more critical than the simple goal of filling positions.

The journey was as important as the destination. We collaborated in a way that allowed a free exchange of information. We wanted deeper personal connections to emerge from the process. Observing the chemistry among candidates was part of it.

It was a unique experience for all involved.

Trust, the X factor
This was one of those projects that took a tremendous amount of trust. As the person who brought an outside perspective, I’m grateful for the trust the executive team placed in me. I had the opportunity to assist in building a team that would become the foundation of a truly successful company.

In turn, I trusted that senior management would listen and see me as a true partner. The candidates trusted that the hiring process was fair and true to the company’s vision and mission. Our goal was to identify the best team for company success.

Everyone’s onboarding was filled with excitement, conviction, and an understanding of the challenges ahead, the company’s goals, and their specific role and responsibility to make them happen. How we achieved the hiring goal was even more important than the actual goal.

You’ve probably experienced what it feels like to make a decision that strays from the way you’ve done things before. A knot in your stomach accompanied by a sense of excitement for what could come.

This is exactly what happens when companies are open to new ideas about roles in the organization. Every open position provides a great opportunity: to recalibrate responsibilities, upgrade talent, or make a dramatic pivot. It takes courage to do things differently than conventional wisdom dictates.

The short version of the story
The hardest decisions to make are those that change things. It takes courage to admit when you don’t’ know something and to ask for assistance. When you’re after results quickly, it’s tempting to reach for what’s familiar. But as my client learned, that would have been a big mistake.

Timing is everything: there’s such a thing as the right time
Relationships with recruiters rarely evolve into trusted partnerships. But that’s exactly what you need when you have a critical role to fill….yesterday.

Would your recruiter tell you the role you’re thinking about is dated, ill-defined, or completely misses the mark? What happens when you need someone right away and can’t afford to screen too many candidates? Does the last job description apply to the current situation? These scenarios come up more often than you think. It takes courage to pause, evaluate the situation, and accept assistance. 

Due to an abrupt departure, my client was looking to backfill a critical, C-level role. The backstory was intriguing. The former executive was no leader. He had left people, process, and technology destruction in his wake for systems critical to the success of the company. This client needed someone to come in and repair the damage quickly. 

Typically, there’s a rush to identify, interview, and select from a broad range of candidates. But, this client knew the role was ill-defined, which would make selecting the right person challenging.

Open minds open opportunities
The COO did a remarkable thing: she was completely transparent with me. She acknowledged the executive team didn’t quite understand the type of person the company needed. They had talked about several options but had not settled on any.

But she went further by asking for my advice. How would I assess the role and approach the situation? This was a company in dire straits that needed someone quickly, yet agreed to wait a few days while I thought about their situation. And that took courage on both parts.

I suggested the best approach was to bring in a senior consultant I knew from a previous successful collaboration to do a current state analysis. The COO agreed to take this step for guidance on the framework for the position.

After a quick analysis, the consultant explained the situation and what the role required to fix it to the C-Suite. That made framing the new role possible and afforded the COO a deeper understanding of the key attributes needed for success. Finding the right person at that point became much easier. The new employee found a less frantic environment: onboarding became a much more productive process and positioned the new leader for long term success. 

This all worked because the COO had the courage to acknowledge the challenges, ask for assistance… and listened to the advice. If she had insisted on maintaining the status quo, filling the position with a copy of the former employee, the company would be in a challenging position today.

The courage to rise above the status quo made an exceptional hire possible.

You’ve probably noticed how when relationships are truly personal conducting business is much simpler and productive. There comes a time when you need to make that phone call or get the meeting, and it happens because of the goodwill you’ve built over time.

In recruitment this is invaluable. I meet everyone we support and represent. And I stay in touch with those I’ve met, especially when there is no immediate opportunity. This allows for the relationship to meaningfully evolve.

The short version of the story
A strong relationship with executives helps me appreciate their higher-order goals and ambition for the company they lead. I understand their business and want their success as much they do.

That’s how we connect great candidates with the right companies at the right time.

This is how it went in a mid-sized business that needed a push to overcome a challenge
A client needed to upgrade leadership in one of his company’s business units. This group had been neglected and it was impacting their client relationships. I was working closely with the CEO, and I knew he had a vision of the ‘type’ of person he wanted to hire…. the career progression, hard skills, industry experience, leadership capabilities, and compensation range. But this client puts a high premium on having an ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’ He gravitates towards people who have a knack for getting things done, with minimal direction, and by building consensus within senior management. 

After speaking with a few dozen candidates who fit the ‘profile’ and meeting 7 of the most promising, I felt only one candidate would connect with the CEO and the rest of the senior team. There was a shared vision towards the value of people and a transparent leadership style they all embraced. And the candidate had the “it” factor. But he had much more experience than the job description called for: he’d held executive leadership positions within teams, managed significantly larger budgets and his compensation was well above the intended target range. 

It’s what you’re listening for that helps you find a better solution
After several meetings with this candidate, I knew he was the only solution to my client’s challenges. Would my client see it that way? Could the CEO and his team accept a candidate that was more experienced? Or would they hold tight to the job description and ask me to help them hire a less experienced, less expensive candidate?

I’m pleased to say they agreed to go with the candidate and it’s paid off big time. Their new employee has exceeded expectations. He over delivered on rebalancing the department, bolstering client confidence, and becoming a valued member of the senior management team.

Trust from overdelivering on expectations
The CEO relied on our relationship as a guide to listen to the opinion of a person he values. Because I’d provided value to his company before, he was open to thinking differently and accepting another opinion.  This is one of the hallmarks of a growth mindset.

If the CEO had simply viewed the hire as a series of skill sets and experiences, without seeing the potential of the candidate and valuing my relationship, it would have been a missed opportunity to make a significant leap forward. 

Being in it for the long haul
The interview process for this position was incredibly long. But strong relationship built over time allowed us to manage it successfully. Deep connection with all parties involved was critical through successful hiring and onboarding processes.

Relationships made it all possible.