Appointing the wrong leader to an important executive position leads a company down a dangerous path. With an unqualified person at the helm, a business is at risk of losing its competitive edge in the marketplace and being perceived negatively by rivals and clients alike. Within the company itself, ineffective leaders can leave employees feeling uninspired and stagnant.
An article in Inc.com reports that "just about 60 percent of all businesses" currently do not have the type of performers they need in head roles. Contributor Peter Economy lists some of the generic traits that good leaders will show, including a tendency to appeal to all employees and be mindful of the way they interact with others. Ideally, he writes, good bosses are honest, lead by example and are both generous and supportive to employees.
These are rather broad habits for successful people to have, but looking for them helps boards decide whether or not they have the right chief executive working for them. If they don't see the right attitudes or behaviors in their current leader, they should start considering what they need from a new executive candidate to change this trend.
A person who has the ability to truly inspire employees and actively drive a business may not currently be looking for a job and could be considered more of a "passive" candidate. Responding to this means turning to a retained executive search firm, which focuses largely on targeting the passive candidates, who would otherwise remain undiscovered in an unfocused search strategy.
Retained recruiters won't begin assessing candidates until they have a thorough understanding of the business, including specific requirements for a new executive candidate. Once they do, you'll be one step closer to finding an inspiring leader.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people – for all company functions, across many industries and globally.
