Why not take a holistic approach to leadership?
When it comes to talent, we all know it’s hard to acquire, develop and retain. Organisations have realised they can’t address all their leadership needs solely by hiring. It’s a significant investment, and, without proper on-boarding and coaching, a number of senior executives underperform or will leave within two years.
Of course, executive search will always be needed to address leadership gaps. There may be a need for fresh talent to invigorate a business, address an unexpected loss or you may be expanding offshore, launching a start-up, or going through a time of cultural change or business transformation.
By taking a holistic approach to addressing your leadership needs, we are able to advise on which strategy is most effective. It might be an external hire or internal appointment today, a mix of new blood and development of high potentials to ensure business sustainability.
Our capability includes organisational design, team dynamics and culture, on-boarding your incoming talent and helping those within adjust to the new leader. We can advise on diversity, Board refreshment and due diligence in assessing leadership teams in merger and acquisition.
Irrespective of where the client is on their leadership journey we can design and offer a range of solutions, including: search (executive, partner and board), both local, regional and global; on-boarding & coaching; succession planning; leadership assessment; due diligence and diversity planning. These services cover each business phase from start-up through transformation to renewal.
Even in the best-run organisations, the need for an executive, a partner or board director can be urgent. Through our proprietary SEARCH methodology we can complete most assignments in twelve weeks.
While an organisation might have a binder full of names, when a “succession event” occurs, it is often unplanned. But when done properly, passing on the baton causes barely a ripple. Prudent leaders begin the process almost from day one, starting with an assessment of their teams. The process coincidentally helps them better to lead the company.
On-boarding is designed to provide an expeditious return on the investment made in an incoming executive. The result is that teams perform better and, more importantly, their new leader stays. Coaching is a key part of the transition as the newcomer works out the culture, management styles of key stakeholders, and above all, how to deliver on the mission. This is the ideal, but often it's a case of sink or swim.
The board can only feel confident that they have the right team in place to execute their corporate strategy if they regularly evaluate their leadership team.
The difference between a smooth merger or a stumble is leadership. And the difference between good leadership and under-performing leadership is due diligence. During critical business change, we partner with clients to manage unforeseen risks involving incumbent executives as well as prospective appointments.
All the studies say diverse organisations perform better, so why is progress glacial? We understand the issues inhibiting diversity, and through our networks, we are able to offer diverse candidates in each shortlist we present.