Plans change. The free market for executive talent guarantees that every organization at some point will face the need to replace a key leader in the organization.
“Ideally, companies have career and succession plans that provide for a talented player to ‘come off the bench’ and accept a new challenge,” says Craig Neidhart, a founding partner of TNS Partners and a recognized expert in executive search and human capital management. “Of course, with organizations having become leaner and spans of control greater, the gap often is too great to bridge with an internal asset. When this happens, the best organizations have a proven system to follow.”
Not surprisingly, many companies do not have a system in place to handle these executive transitions. Smart Business spoke with Neidhart regarding these processes, their importance and how they can be implemented.
When an unexpected opening occurs in the executive suite, what are the critical first steps the management team should take?
Before any moves are made, a road map should be developed. The best organizations have a defined process by which they first and foremost seize the opportunity to define and ‘refine’ the needs of the organization, being sure to assess how it impacts the critical executive vacancy. It is not enough to look back at what the position has been responsible for, but to look forward as well. Remember, business dynamics are constantly changing and the positionmay require a different set of attributes to respond to new challenges.
By bringing in the key players and reviewing the future market drivers, the organization is better able to define what it needs in the next executive. As with any other project, it is impossible to reach the objective if you don’t first clearly define it.
Can you talk a little more about this initial process?
Certainly. The first step in the process is to clearly and completely define the goals and then responsibilities of the future executive. Ideally, this process is independent of the particular functional area and can therefore be applied somewhat universally: what needs to be accomplished in the next six months, one year or three years. As this definition takes shape, the critical competencies and behaviors that are required become apparent. From this attribute base, we then can discuss specific experiential benchmarks by which we will evaluate potential candidates, both internally and externally.
This process applies to internal candidates as well?
It absolutely should. Once the assignment has been clarified and its related deliverables identified, the search process itself is initiated.
Internal candidates should be evaluated by a process that is consistently applied for both internal and external candidates. By having participated in this detailed and balanced evaluation process, internal executives respect the ‘level playing field’ and appreciate the company’s objective approach.
In the end, if an external candidate is selected, internal teammates are more likely to respect and welcome an executive who competed fairly for the position. For those internal candidates who were not selected, this process creates an optimum platform for career-planning dialogue and preparation for future opportunities.
How do you make the leap from experiential benchmarks to identifying external candidates?
Good question. By defining what an individual ideally has experienced, your search can target backgrounds and organizations to be penetrated. In other words, by knowing what you want the person to be good at, you can make other conclusions as to what they have already done and where they were likely to have done it. Through this understanding, a target organizational list can be developed. Further discussion regarding this target list produces discussion regarding more ideal experiential backgrounds and further refines the research process.
Are there areas where companies need more help than others in defining the need?
Yes, without question. The further the opportunity is away from the core competency of the organization, the more likely that the departing executive was a functional knowledge expert of the company.
Additionally, areas in which dramatic change has occurred often require more attention than others. For instance, if a company has just launched a new software platform, the resignation of a CIO also means the loss of the key figure in the rollout. Clearly, external experts may be required to even define what competencies the new executive must possess. Similarly, disciplines such as human resources, finance, quality, supply-chain management and others that involve significant outsourcing agreements may require more external expertise to execute.
It all sounds so logical. Why don’t more companies do it?
Time. When the opening occurs, the reaction is often to ‘just get it done.’ Remember, this is a critical position and likely is dramatically impacting the business. Taking time out to plan is difficult. In reality, a premature launch, without proper planning, usually either results in failure or — at the very least — delays success.
CRAIG NEIDHART can be reached at TNS Partners at (214) 369-3565 or [email protected].
