A self-motivated CEO candidate will make themselves more valuable to their respective company in the long run, not just because of their passion but because they can work independently and stay active and focused. Dr. John Sullivan recently wrote about this important trait in a piece for ERE.net, where he asserts that self-motivated workers bring benefits to the entire organization because of their experience.
According to his article, good executive recruitment practices will focus on specific strategies for targeting individuals with personal drive. These can apply to CEO recruitment as well: By asking the candidate about their workplace philosophy directly and using other direct techniques, employers stand to get a better sense about how committed they have been in their various executive roles.
Sullivan says that self-motivation is a difficult thing to teach, and that once it has been identified in a person, it shows how they will learn all of the necessary skills and behaviors they need to serve at a higher level within the company.
"A self-motivated recruiting prospect, candidate, or employee is an individual with a track record of having the internal drive and motivation to begin and continue tasks without external prodding or extra rewards," he says. He adds that these individuals all share "something in their character, upbringing, training, or attitude that drives them to work without any external stimulus or threat."
Sullivan also points out that motivated people aren't always easy to find in a typical recruitment process because they don't always make this aspect of their personality available. It's up to the recruiter, instead, to discover them using a meticulous CEO search process.
Instead of working too hard to "motivate" an unhelpful executive, finding someone who is naturally motivated and hard-working will steer your business toward success and be a better fit for their position.
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