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Leadership changes are surprisingly common in most companies. We recently brought on board several new leaders in key executive-level roles, including the heads of our revenue, finance, technology and product teams.
Hiring experienced talent to lead a team is a pivotal moment in a company's history and evolution, and it's important to get this move right. As a leader, you want to hire someone who is deeply connected to your mission and vision and shares your company's values. Misalignment in these critical elements can damage company culture and employee retention in ways that are difficult to reverse.
We follow a hiring process that helps us find, screen and select the right leaders for BambooHR: we need to keep coming back to the mission, not rush the process and use the power of references. At the end of this process, I have a real understanding of who our candidates are, what strengths they bring to the role and how I can help them be successful. I really enjoy interviewing and hiring leaders.
Whether you need to hire experienced talent now or gather insights for the future, it's important to be prepared for a gap in a critical leadership position. Here are three key concepts from our hiring pattern that can help you find your next leader.
Related topics: 7 empowerment strategies for leaders as they transition into new roles
Talk about your mission
I start every interview with a discussion of our company's mission, vision and values. This is a great screening mechanism because if they signal disinterest, I know immediately that they are not a good fit for our company. The right candidate will embrace who we are and want to be a part of it.
Leaders act as ambassadors of your mission to their teams. As a company grows, the CEO's ability to bring everyone together for shared experiences diminishes. A small startup may have a culture built on the energy of face-to-face interaction, but that's simply not possible with hundreds or thousands of people.
For better or worse, the employee experience is inevitably departmental and driven by the leaders of each group. If those leaders don't buy into the culture and mission, your employees' experience can suffer.
A “B-minus” leader may be good enough to pass, but not good enough to succeed. Companies cannot succeed with mediocre management. Only by nurturing candidates who demonstrate interest and energy for your mission, vision and values will you have opportunities to raise the bar.
Related: I hire one new employee every week. Here's what I've learned about hiring and recruiting through this process.
Make a good decision, not a quick decision
Company leaders often face situations that require them to act quickly. For example, if there are known issues with your products or challenges in your sales funnel, you need to resolve those issues immediately.
However, hiring the right leader is definitely not a rush job. I trust the concept of “going slow to go fast” to find the right leaders. The cost of waiting for the right hire is much less than hiring the wrong person.
It's always tempting to hire the first person who makes the right impression, especially if it's an important, high-influence position. But being intentional about the pace of the process gives you time to really get to know people and find the person who will best support their team.
The slow approach doesn't always work for everyone, and sometimes a candidate tells me they're considering other offers. I always suggest they take it if their schedule requires it, because I'm not willing to shortcut our process.
It's worth going slow and taking the time to get to know your candidates to find the leaders your company needs. It can't be done in a tight time frame and it's not worth compromising your company's culture.
Related: How to hire your first operations manager and increase your success
Use the power of references
An executive search generally starts the same way: you begin with a list of high-caliber candidates. However, the way you screen those candidates and understand how they work can make all the difference in how you make your offers.
In my experience, personal contact with references works magic.
The candidate will usually provide references, but this step is so important that you should also check additional references and backchannel contacts. Your team members probably know a few, and it's generally easy to find a few more within an industry.
Then call the contacts themselves and ask meaningful questions. One of my best questions is, “How can I help this candidate do their best and make a big impact here?” This turns the conversation around to, “How can I help this person rather than disqualify them?” Most of what you need to know will be revealed by the answers. What I really want to understand is how they present themselves as a leader, what to expect from them, how they operate and how they react under pressure or when things go wrong.
If I'm hiring for a key position and I outsource these calls, I'm missing a huge opportunity to gain insight into the person. As the person responsible for making the decision, I'm not going to make an offer to someone without spending hours on personal references myself.
It is so important for a leadership team to ensure that their employees have a positive experience and can perform at their best every day. As a company grows, leaders become responsible for maintaining this positive environment.
Hiring the best candidates for leadership positions is central to your success. By establishing the value of your mission from the beginning, thoroughly understanding your candidates, and taking the time necessary to make the right decision, you can ensure you hire the right leaders to advance your company's mission and success.
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