Leading Principals

By: Dorian Merrill, Managing Director

Have you noticed the rash of quizzes and self-assessment tools that continue to make their way around the web these days? Not to mention all of the silly “Which superhero are you?” quizzes that inundate our social media feeds, it seems that every week there is another invitation to take this or that personality or skills assessment in professional settings too. What’s next, a “Which scion of industry are you based on your favorite color?” quiz?! Could it be that we are compelled to assess ourselves for some deeper purpose? Are we all trying to figure out how to get our professional “groove” back??

I remember once years ago, while working for a large corporation, participating in a “team building” exercise that was focused on the StrengthsFinder program. I have to say, my initial reaction was an internal eye roll. I felt confident that I already knew my strengths (and my weaknesses!) and couldn’t see how spending a day in the training room being shepherded through yet another program would add value to either my employee experience or to my team’s cohesion and productivity.

While my assumption was right in some ways, I missed the potential value in that experience because I didn’t realize what the results of that assessment had to tell me about my future in the organization and in my career. You see, I was working in a company where my strengths were not highly valued and where some of my “weaknesses” were. I guess you can imagine how that worked out in the long run!

Having long since moved on from that organization, I recently had another opportunity to assess my strengths, this time through the Via Institute’s free Character Strengths Survey, and I found the insights to be exceptionally helpful. I asked my co-workers to complete the assessment too, and when we reviewed each of our top five character strengths, we found there were some strong parallels amongst us. While that is great news, I was more concerned about some of the strengths that we all ranked low on and that could have an impact on our organization’s success.

Armed with this insight, we can now work to bolster these strengths within our team and engage external support in these areas when we need it. While it’s said that “knowledge is power”, I would say that it is ACTING on knowledge that creates lasting change.

Maybe you are a leader who is struggling with the dynamics of your team. Conducting a strengths assessment within your work group may be of big benefit. What about those of you who feel like something is “not quite right” in your current role, but can’t figure out what the issue is? I encourage you to assess your strengths and compare your results to the culture and values of both your company and the team that you work in. You may find that the disconnects are bigger than you realized and it might be time to consider a proactive transition to an organization that better suits you.

The first step is to gain the knowledge about yourself through a structured and balanced assessment (I have no affiliation with The Via Institute, though I suggest their offering) and compare your results to those of your team and your organization. With that information in hand, you will be poised to take action, making better decisions to “hit your stride” again professionally.

By: Dorian Merrill, Managing Director

In my line of work I spend a lot of time seeking candidates for opportunities that my firm is retained to conduct the searches for. I consider 500 or more people for every search, using a wide variety of resources including LinkedIn. In recent years LinkedIn has become THE platform on which to “see and be seen” in the professional world. According to statistics, there are now 500 million members, with professionals joining at a rate of two per second!

What does this mean to you if you are passively open to a new opportunity or actively seeking your next position? It means that setting yourself apart is increasingly important as membership continues to grow. Add to that LinkedIn’s progressive shift towards a more social media-inspired platform and you may find yourself just one of the millions lost “in the haystack” instead of being found like the “needle” on LinkedIn.

The good news is, most experts agree on what it takes to optimize your presence on LinkedIn and you don’t need to be an expert yourself to craft a profile that will significantly improve your chances of being noticed.

How do I know? Well, the members of my firm recently engaged in an interesting debate with each other about what really does impress when it comes to LinkedIn profiles. Our aim was to create a set of recommendations and guidelines for the clients who participate in our Executive Transition Services (ETS) program, and we all came armed with the latest research and insights from leaders in the fields of recruiting, marketing and personal branding.

While we didn’t agree with all of the experts’ opinions, we did come to a consensus among our team and honed in on three main points.

First and foremost, make an effort!

Your LinkedIn profile is a valuable way to represent yourself professionally, so make the effort to optimize it. To get noticed, you’ll need a profile that’s strong both visually and in content. Include a great headshot, dynamic headline and summary (hint: “keyword rich” is best), and full career history with highlights of your responsibilities and accomplishments.

While you are at it, pepper in some graphics to increase the attention grabbing impact of your profile, and make sure your contact information is visible to everyone, not just 1st-degree connections.

Next, your LinkedIn profile does you no good if…

…you don’t show up in search results. If someone doesn’t find you then they can’t reach out to you. You don’t have to be an SEO genius to optimize your standing, just make sure you have a fully completed and keyword rich profile, grow your network of 1st-degree connections and join groups to expand your broader network, and participate by publishing and/or sharing content through your LinkedIn feed.

Lastly, remember that your profile is dynamic, not static.

If you last updated your profile a year or more ago, that’s a problem. Like most social media applications, LinkedIn is a fluid platform and those professionals that keep their profiles current and actively participate in the networking process through messaging connections, joining groups, and contributing through status updates are the ones who shine like needles in the long run.

If you want customized guidance and support with your career transition, reach out to me and we at Leading Principals can help you. Either way, get out there and put these tips into action. Who knows, your next career opportunity may be a LinkedIn profile update away!

By: Greg Roche, Managing Director – Transition Services

Bad things happen. Cars crash. Houses burn. People get sick. Sometimes they die. All of these things have financial consequences. In most cases, people don’t have enough cash in the bank to pay for these consequences. But everyone knows these things happen. To protect themselves, people buy insurance.

Insurance exists to reimburse you if something bad happens to you. If you die early, your life insurance policy helps your family financially. If you get hurt and can’t work, disability insurance helps with your bills until you get better. If your house burns down, your homeowner’s policy gets you a new house. If your car is in an accident, auto insurance pays to have it repaired.

There are other bad things that happen. Losing your job is a bad thing. In the U.S., when you have a job, your employer pays for unemployment insurance. If you lose your job involuntarily, you can qualify for unemployment payments. These payments are intended to replace half of your income while you look for another job, but that’s not enough for people to maintain their current of standard of living. For most people, their job is their single biggest, and likely only, source of income. Income that pays for housing, food, and everything else. Like the car, house, or life insurance examples, most people don’t have enough cash in the bank to pay the bills if they don’t have a job. Yet, there is no insurance policy you can buy that would replace all of your income if you lost your job.

But there is a way to insure your income in the event you lose your job. You can’t get this policy from a broker or insurance company. You have to build this policy yourself, over time, in small, incremental steps.

Your professional network is your career insurance policy. 

It’s the quickest way to find your next job. Everyone has heard you need to network to find a job. Everyone also knows you need to have a will before you die. In both cases, it’s too easy to put it off until it’s too late. Some people who are currently employed tell themselves, “If I work hard and do my job, I won’t need to look for a job.” Others tell themselves, “I really need to get out and meet people, but I’m too busy. I don’t have time.”

These people are turkeys.

The turkey has the best job in the world. Everyday, the turkey is fed and sheltered. His life is good. He doesn’t have to do anything but get fat and stay happy. Up until the 4th week of November. Then, the turkey is taken away from all this comfort and put on the chopping block – literally. He never sees it coming. People with jobs usually don’t see it coming either. They work hard, do their jobs, and one day, they are on the chopping block – figuratively. (Turkey story courtesy of Nassim Taleb in Antifragile)

And like every other type of insurance, career insurance is difficult to get after you have already suffered the loss.

How prepared are you for the sudden loss of your biggest source of income? 

• Do you have a professional network that could quickly notify you of potential career opportunities?
• Would your network know what you are currently working on, what you are really good at, and how you could solve another employer’s problems?
• Would your professional network be willing to refer you to their connections or would they think to themselves, “I haven’t heard from this person in years, and he’s suddenly contacting me because he needs a job?”

How do you create a career insurance policy?

Build a vibrant professional network.

What does that mean?

Vibrant means full of energy and enthusiasm.

• Does that describe your professional network?
• Do you interact with your network on a daily basis.
• Do you add new connections every day.
• Do you contact existing connections everyday.
• Do you add value to the people in your network everyday.

It sounds time-consuming. It’s not. It can be 15 minutes out of your day, but it needs to be consistent, and it needs to be deliberate.

How do you make your professional network vibrant? 

• Get active on social media.
• Find the communities that have interests similar to yours and share your opinion and other interesting facts.
• Open yourself up to letting people contact you. We all get solicitations and offers from people we don’t know, but take some time to see what people are saying or selling. Maybe it doesn’t work for you, but it might be good for someone in your network. You don’t have to give your contact’s name to the vendor, just pass the question along to your contact.
• Write and share your opinions and views on LinkedIn, Medium, or Quora.
• Not confident in writing? Start commenting on posts. Do this constructively and meaningfully. People who publish online love to read thoughtful comments, and if they see you are active, they may connect with you.
• Think about all the people you have worked with in the past. Connect with them on LinkedIn.
• Make a target list of companies. Why? Because you want to see how many people in your network already work at these companies.
• Make sure your online profiles are up to date and you have a good profile pic. If you are commenting and connecting with people, you want them to look at your profile and see you as someone who is active and providing value.
• Finally, turn all of these online connections into offline, in person relationships. Coffee, lunch, or just a phone call. Make it real.

If you do these things each day, over time, you’ll have a vibrant professional network.

As your professional network grows, your career insurance policy becomes more ironclad.

The day you hit the chopping block, figuratively, your professional network will spring into action and help you find a job to replace your income. And you can rest easy knowing that you’ll always have a career insurance policy to protect you in the future.

My name is Greg Roche, and I sell career insurance. I help people build vibrant professional networks so they can be confident in their ability to find their next great career opportunity. You can follow me on LinkedIn and email me at groche@leadingprincipals.com to find out how I can help you today!

By: Martin Haider, Managing Partner

Even if your most recent career transition and job search was a few short years ago, the rules have changed and few have the new playbook. There are newly released job search engines, professional associations, job posting consolidators and networking sites seemingly introduced every month. Replying to job postings yields a mere fraction of the success that it once did and the career transition services market has become an increasingly cluttered path of endless pitches and solutions. While we may be in a strong job market currently, the average management level search can take several months or more.

Crafting a personal career transition plan takes time, whether you’re currently employed or have already hit the active market, go-it-alone job searchers can waste valuable time learning how to navigate this new landscape. Many are lured into using “career shrinks”, attending pink slip conferences, engaging overpriced employment recruiters, or entrusting high-volume outplacement agencies. At Leading Principals, we know there is a better approach.

Whether you’re thinking about a job change or actively searching for your next opportunity, you need a plan that will expedite results.

In today’s job search, your success will come down to three things:

1. Brand Identity – The most successful professionals have established a personal brand. If you lack confidence or consistency presenting yourself through all communication channels, you are likely to face challenges in conveying yourself well to the market.
2. Social Media Strategy – Yes, search professionals are looking at everything available online, professional AND personal. Are you certain your brand is aligned on all mediums?
3. Networking Approach – The single highest probability of landing the next great chapter in your professional life starts here. Engage it with intent to target elite companies. If you’re an early career professional this is highly important, and for those of you in leadership positions, it becomes vital.

After connecting with leaders on nearly a thousand successful engagements, I have some parting advice:

• Don’t accept average. Your job search should be approached individually with a distinct strategy that leverages your value and network to uncover great opportunities.
• Speed and delivery count. Your message must be exact and easy to consume or search professionals and business leaders will move on.
• Take care of your network. Building, expanding and engaging your network should be done with intent, but also with absolute respect. They are the most valuable resource you have in your current search and will help to position you well for future opportunities.

Do your homework before listening to the noise and find an expert who has the new playbook and can guide you through this journey. Reach out to us…we can help.

The good news is, your timing is great. It’s hard to imagine the current job market getting any better!

By: Greg Roche, Managing Director – Transition Services

In a field one summer’s day, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.”

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When the winter came, the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

-Aesop

———————————————————————————————————-

About 10 years ago, things were going well in the United States.

• Unemployment was under 5%
• Housing prices were hitting highs
• The stock market was hitting levels that had never been seen

If you were an Ant during this time, you knew the best thing you could do was make sure you weren’t over-leveraged on your house, add to your savings account, and outperform your colleagues at work.

Even though you weren’t looking for a new job, you were cultivating your professional network. You spent a few minutes each day, planting seeds by reaching out to old colleagues and friends. You watered those seeds by turning emails and phone calls into coffee or lunch meetings. Those informal, friendly conversations with your current network of connections bloomed and put you in touch with new people.

You learned which companies were doing exciting new things. You met the people in your industry who were difference makers and willing to help you. You weren’t asking them for anything, but you were sharing your thoughts and ideas. Your professional network was expanding with small amounts of effort every week.

As an Ant, you had a plan if you ever lost your job and needed to jump start your career search right away. Those new connections would be people you would talk to in hard times, and they would help you seek out new employment prospects. You were prepared for winter, even though you weren’t sure when the winds would turn cold, and the first snow would fall.

But most of us weren’t Ants. We were Grasshoppers.

We believed in an endless summer. In the back of our minds, we knew it couldn’t last forever, but we wanted to enjoy it as long as we could.

Summer faded into fall. Banks failed. Houses went into foreclosure. Industries needed government bailouts. Stock markets tanked. Grasshoppers lost jobs.

As Grasshoppers, we started looking for new jobs, but we were just one of many Grasshoppers in the same situation: unprepared and under-networked. We applied for the same jobs the same way we had in the past: by applying online and emailing our resumes. We hadn’t met the influencers in our industry. The ones we did get in touch with were getting contacted by all the other Grasshoppers who were out of work.

What about the Ants?

They got laid off, too.

But the Ants had already built their professional networks. When they saw job openings online, they didn’t send their resume to the black hole of the applicant tracking system. They contacted the friends they had made during the summer. More importantly, as they talked with their friends, they found out about jobs that weren’t even posted.

The Ants quickly landed new jobs.

The Grasshoppers kept looking. Many of them took jobs that were temporary or paid them less than what they made before.

Some of them never returned to the workforce.

Almost a decade later, home prices have rebounded, unemployment is back to 2007 levels, and the stock market is reaching new highs. It’s summertime, and the livin’ is good.

We don’t know when winter is coming, but like the seasons, things will change.

Are you an Ant or a Grasshopper?

By: Dorian Merrill, Managing Director

Expert opinions about what the perfect resume looks like are just that, opinions. The truth is, there are no hard and fast rules for crafting the optimal resume, and that adds to the challenge for most professionals. At Leading Principals, we have reviewed many thousands of resumes and we are more aware of trends and pitfalls than most, but even we each have differing preferences when it comes to resume presentations and content.

It makes sense that professionals at all levels are concerned about how to best present themselves on paper for positions they are interested in. A recent CareerBuilder survey of  hiring and HR managers confirms that competition for positions is high and that the person who receives a resume will likely spend one minute or less reviewing it before making an initial judgment call regarding a candidate. Those who are lucky enough to have a referral into a company are at an advantage, but it is still vital to make the right first impression with your resume.

While I can’t give you a tidy checklist to follow to ensure that your resume hits the mark for everyone who sees it, I can offer some of the guidance that we share when we work with professionals, from mid-level to c-suite leaders, who are seeking a career transition. Here are some things to consider:

• Know your audience – If you are in a technical or conservative function or industry, stepping outside the box with the presentation and format of your resume is not in your best interest. Alternatively, if you are in a more creative role, or you are presenting yourself for a position with a firm that values innovation and creativity, then you’d be wise to consider a more visually dynamic presentation style. Do your research and make certain that the content and format of your resume seem well-aligned with the organization and the position you are submitting yourself for.
• Include a headline and skills summary – Given that you likely have a brief window of time to hit the mark with the person reviewing your resume, it is a good idea to include a direct headline statement at the top of your resume that specifically addresses your suitability for the position. In addition, consider including a succinct bulleted skills summary section that lists the skills that you possess that are most aligned with the role.
• Communicate clearly and concisely – If you have only a few minutes at most to make an impression, don’t you want to get as much information across as possible? Use language that is direct and incorporate achievements and simple action verbs (“achieved”, “improved”) instead of buzzwords and clichés (“team player”, “results-driven”). As far as length is concerned, mid- and senior-level professionals should target a two page maximum.
• Balance responsibilities and accomplishments – While it is important to include a summary of your responsibilities for each role you’ve held, you will make a more dynamic impression if you focus on meaningful accomplishments. What specifically have you done to improve the organization’s performance? You can include both measurable and less tangible accomplishments, but make sure they are relevant to your career path and the position you seek.
• Eliminate errors – This should go without saying, but you absolutely must make sure that your resume is perfect when it comes to spelling, grammar and formatting. Review it multiple times yourself and ask at least one other person (recruit the best proofreader you know!) to review it for accuracy.

While there is no magic formula for creating a perfect resume, if you incorporate these tips you will certainly be better positioned to make a solid first impression with potential employers and you may find that the chances of landing your ideal position greatly increase.

By: Dawn Smith, Partner

In today’s world there are so many challenges for senior leaders – new accounting standards, new controls, financial reporting transparency requirements and technology changes. While you likely have a plan to address these challenges and may have even secured the appropriate budgets, many organizations struggle because they are failing to effectively partner with their own internal teams as well as with business units directly. Companies often attempt to reconcile the gap by developing a plan, but ignore the most crucial element of the initiative, the people who are executing it. All of these challenges have one factor in common – having the right people in the right roles to move forward in the most successful manner.

Start with Defining and Providing a Vision to Your Team

In order for your team to execute in a way that supports the organization’s overall purpose and strategy, a clear vision of the finance function has to be in place and be consistently supported by senior leaders. This is not just a how-to plan, this is a future view of what a successful outcome looks like. By giving your team a common vision they will be able to focus on what is most important and make sound decisions going forward.

Reconsider Technology To Promote Successful Execution

Having the right technology in place will be an important part of the equation. Many companies face challenges with poor integration between IT systems, lack of access to key data and poor quality data. In addition, data and data analytics are most effective when in real time. Unfortunately, even the best technology has the ability to disrupt how business operates in both areas of strategy and the ways in which the finance team works with the business units.  A key to success will be involving people with the skills and aptitude to work with technological innovations and the ability to adjust to rapid change and new approaches when necessary.

Bridging the Partnership Gap

Recent Ernst & Young research shows that 67 percent of CFOs worldwide believe that “improving business partnering between finance and the business” is a major priority of the finance function. It is imperative that the finance function have a team of highly credible and knowledgeable finance executives capable of interfacing with its internal business units. Value can be added by being able to challenge the business units’ strategies, not just their budgets. This will take a combination of subject-matter expertise as well as strong communication skills to negotiate with the business units.

Capitalize on Your Team

The finance function has evolved and so has the need to build teams with the skills and attributes to adapt. Now more than ever people continue to be one of the most important, if not the most important, factor in the success of your organization. Investing in the right people, which begins by determining the new skills and capabilities your organization will require, will be a top priority. The vision needs to include how smart technology and smart people should work together to create value as well as how new technologies will allow people to use their strengths to succeed. The right mix of people, technology and internal partnerships will allow you to respond quickly to changing business needs and solidify finance’s role in driving the business forward.

By: Martin Haider, Managing Partner

A senior executive recently contacted me for networking advice. I receive calls like this frequently and they are typically predicated by someone motivated to begin a job search or to obtain a board position.  Interestingly, in this case the executive who called me explained that his CEO had mandated that he improve his proactive networking efforts. It seems that the CEO had just returned from a planning meeting with the C-suite team where it came up that two critical positions were expected to be vacant in the near term and that neither role had a viable internal candidate. The CEO was rightly troubled by this news, but was more concerned that no one in the room could think of an external candidate they would recommend for either role. From the CEOs point of view, this gap suggested two systemic issues: first, the leadership team should be prioritizing the development of internal successors for next level opportunities, and second, the busy, tenured team seemed to have lost connection with the talent pool outside of their organization.

It’s a given that promoting leaders from within will mostly likely yield the best long-term performance in your organization. It’s also arguable that the next best candidate will be an internal referral.  That said, most companies will at some point need to hire a leadership level position externally. The question is, what are YOU doing to create relationships now with top talent in your industry so that you are prepared? My advice to this executive was firm and unwavering. You MUST make time to actively network. If nothing else, it keeps you fresh through an exchange of ideas and innovations with rising talent in your field. Recommending a future star in your organization also provides a forward thinking example of your leadership and commitment to your firm’s success. Strong leaders are well prepared and well networked.

A trend that we are seeing more of in our work at Leading Principals is engaging with our clients to provide networking services. For this organization, we were able to identify a targeted group of high achievers for both of their at risk positions and we facilitated introductions well in advance of launching a formal search. The best professionals are strong networkers and often respond well to casual dialogues not tied directly to an immediate opportunity.

Finding time to network is often the biggest challenge. Whether you are networking for a personal career change, to improve your industry knowledge, or to identify potential candidates for a future position in your organization, there are ways to incorporate it into your schedule without it becoming a part-time job itself.

• Start with your first-degree network. The people you know who are making strides in their fields and whom you trust. They can help recommend worthy targets to contact.
• Leverage your internal business partners. Work with your HR/Talent teams to broaden your network of high achievers (including those outside of your organization).
• Maintain contact with former colleagues. When appropriate, offer to introduce existing members of your team to others in your network. Reconnect with former co-workers from previous employers. You’ll be surprised to learn how your former peers’ careers have taken shape and by who they know that you should know.
• Mentor junior professionals in your field. Connect with one or two rising stars and have lunch with them twice a year. The “pay it forward” concept works both ways.
• Participate in a professional association. Attend at least one event a year. Your minimal investment of time can pay huge dividends for your career.
• Take that call! Make yourself available on occasion to talk with someone who has reached out to get acquainted. Keep it brief, but share your experience and learn about theirs. You’ll probably learn something and will keep your networking skills honed.
• Keep it brief. Skip the time consuming lunches and commit to meeting someone in your network once a month for 30 minutes. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn about someone when there is not a job, product or contract on the line.

By: Dorian Merrill, Managing Director

At Leading Principals, we focus on management and executive level positions and our clients entrust us with presenting the very best candidates for critical roles within their organizations. In order to do that, we seek out individuals through a wide array of sources, including LinkedIn. Our emphasis is on “passive” candidates, or professionals whom are not actively seeking employment. If you are open to new opportunities, whether you are an active or passive candidate, then your LinkedIn profile matters more than you may realize.

If you hope to be contacted by a recruiter about the opportunity of your dreams, then now is the time to improve your LinkedIn profile so that you are well-positioned to receive that call. Here are our top tips, based on reviewing thousands of profiles and knowing what works in gaining attention and interest:

• Photo – Your photo gains immediate attention from anyone looking at your profile. If you don’t have an image, get one! Your profile photo should be of high quality and should represent you professionally.

• Header – The header section adjacent to your photo is a driver for if, and where, you show up in search results. Make sure that your professional headline either reflects your current (or most recent) position, or that it very clearly describes what you do. Also, make sure that your selected industry is the best fit, as recruiters often times search specifically by industry.

• Contact Information – Including your contact information is of course key to a recruiter’s ability to reach you. Make sure your information is current at all times. And remember, no one will have access to this information unless they are a first degree connection of yours, but more to come on that later…

• Summary – Your profile summary should be indicative of what makes you an outstanding candidate. Much like the heading of your resume, sell yourself well here. Speaking of resumes, consider including yours as a link in the summary section of your profile.

• Complete Profile – Don’t miss out on opportunities because your profile is incomplete. Include all aspects of your work history, with detail for each position. HINT: You can easily copy this information to your profile from your resume. Also include your applicable skills (these also drive your position in search results), education and affiliations.

• Extra credit – at the bottom of your profile, we highly suggest that you include your email address and/or phone number in the “Advice for Contacting…” section. For individuals that are not first degree connections of yours, this could be the difference in them reaching out or ignoring you.

There are many more ways that you can improve your LinkedIn profile, but these are our top tips for making your profile one that will grab the attention of recruiters.Following these suggestions will improve your networking opportunities and may just lead you to a new opportunity! 

By: Dawn Smith, Partner

If you are searching for new executives, consider this:

• As much as 80% of employee turnover can be attributed to bad hiring decisions.
• The cost of replacing a bad hire can possibly cost you two and one-half times (or more!) of the person’s salary.

These statistics from The Harvard Business Review illustrate the importance of matching skill sets and culture fit when hiring. Finding highly qualified and fully verified candidates is essential to a company’s continued growth and success.

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) reports that the more senior the person’s position and the longer they remain in that position, the more it will cost to replace him or her. And, more importantly, there is an impact to your team’s morale, efficiency and productivity. Team dynamic disruption has the potential to cause a 32 percent decrease in morale, according to Undercover Recruiter. This translates directly to your bottom line and performance results. A bad hire can also negatively influence your single-most important asset, your reputation.

So, how do organizations hire the best leaders? Many companies use internal recruiters to support their executive search needs. However, these teams are primarily designed to hire from an active job market and often lack the time necessary to thoroughly assess senior level talent for leadership roles. Selecting a proven search partner is your best defense against the bad hire. Executive search firms have the knowledge, contacts and tools in the industry to find the best talent for you. Truly great recruiters will invest many hours of time up front to fully understand your culture, role expectations and current business challenges and opportunities. Equally important is time spent with potential candidates to deliver the best options the market has to offer. This trusted partnership approach will produce unparalleled results by recruiting and hiring an outstanding candidate for your team.

If you are conducting a search for top talent, consider enlisting our support. We partner with organizations to identify, attract and retain key leaders at all levels. Using a proven, network-based approach to search, we expertly evaluate and confirm high performers for our clients. The candidates we place produce consistently exceptional results for our clients.