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Turnover on leadership teams is surprisingly common in most companies, and we recently welcomed several new leaders into key C-level roles, including leaders of our revenue, finance, technology, and product teams.
Hiring senior talent to run your team is a pivotal moment in your company’s story and trajectory. It’s a critical step to get right. As a leader, you want to hire people who are deeply connected to your mission and vision and who align with your company’s values. Misalignment on these key elements can irreparably and negatively impact your company culture and employee retention.
We have a recruiting process that helps us find, vet, and select the right leaders for BambooHR. We always come back to our mission, don’t rush the process, and leverage the power of recommenders. At the end of this process, I feel like I have a true understanding of who the candidate is, what strengths they bring to the role, and how I can help them succeed. I truly enjoy interviewing and recruiting leaders.
Whether you need to hire senior talent now or are looking to gather insight for the future, it’s important to be prepared when key leadership positions become vacant. Here are three key concepts from our hiring patterns to help you find your next leader:
Related: 7 Empowerment Strategies for Leaders Transitioning into New Roles
Tell us about your mission
I start every executive interview by discussing our company’s mission, vision, and values. This is a great first screening method because if the candidate isn’t interested, you’ll know right away that they’re not a good fit for our organization. The right candidate will understand what we’re all about and want to be a part of it.
Leaders act as emissaries who communicate the mission to their teams. As a business grows, the CEO’s ability to bring everyone together and provide a common experience decreases. A small startup may have a culture that relies on the energy of face-to-face interactions, but that’s not possible when you have hundreds or thousands of employees.
For better or worse, employee experience will inevitably be department-specific, depending on who leads each group. If leaders don’t own the culture and mission, employee experience can suffer.
A “B minus” leader may pass the test, but they’re nowhere near successful. Companies don’t thrive with mediocre management. Only candidates for promotion who demonstrate interest and enthusiasm for your mission, vision and values ​​create an opportunity to raise the bar.
Related: I hire new employees every week. Here’s what this experience taught me about hiring and recruiting.
Make the right decisions, not the quick ones
Company leaders are often faced with situations that require a quick response: if there are known issues with your product or challenges in your sales funnel, those issues need to be resolved immediately.
But hiring the right executive is never a “move fast” situation. I rely on the concept of “move slow, move fast” to find the right leader. The cost of waiting to hire the right person is much lower than the cost of hiring the wrong person.
It’s tempting to hire the person who makes the first good impression, especially when filling an important, high-impact position, but being mindful of the pace of your hiring process gives you time to really get to know people and find those who will add value to your team.
The slow approach doesn’t necessarily work for everyone and sometimes candidates tell me they are considering other offers. I’m not looking to short-circuit the process so I always suggest they accept it if the timing allows.
It’s worth taking the time to get to know your candidates and find the leadership your company needs. You can’t do it on a tight timeline, and it’s not worth compromising your organization’s culture.
Related: How to hire your first business operations manager to boost your success
Harness the power of references
Finding a leader generally starts the same way: You compile a list of great candidates. But how you vet them and understand how they work can make a big difference when it comes time to make an offer.
In my experience, reaching out to your recommenders personally works magic.
Typically, candidates will provide references, but this step is so important that you should also vet additional backchannel references and connections. Your team members probably know a few, and it’s generally easy to find a few more within the industry.
Then, I call my contacts myself and ask meaningful questions. One of the best questions I ask is, “How can I help this candidate perform at their best and have a big impact here?” This question shifts the conversation to how I can help this person instead of disqualifying them. The answer tells me most of what I need to know. What I really want to understand is how they show up as a leader, what I expect from them, how they operate, and how they handle themselves under pressure or when things aren’t going well.
When you outsource your phone calls for a critical recruiting position, you miss out on a huge opportunity to gain insight into the person. As a decision maker, I would never make an offer to someone without spending hours writing a personal reference myself.
Few things are more important to a leadership team than ensuring that their employees have a fulfilling experience and are able to perform at their best every day. As a business grows, organizational leaders become more responsible for maintaining a positive environment.
Hiring the best candidates for leadership roles is key to your success. By establishing the values ​​of your mission from the start, taking the time necessary to deeply understand your candidates, and making the right decisions, you can ensure you hire the right leaders who will accelerate your company’s mission and success.
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