12 Steps to a Successful Search: Part I of III

Considering a search for a new CEO or Executive Director? In response to many requests, we have prepared a template to guide you through the 12 Steps to a Successful Search. In this, the first of our three-part series on the topic, we will walk you through the critical steps to success, whether you do it yourself or hire a search firm.

1. The Impetus
2. The Committee
3. The Ground Rules
4. The Resources

Next month (June), we'll tackle questions relating to the core of the search process itself, from scoping out the key aspects of the leadership role to creating a compelling candidate pool from which finalists will be chosen for interviews.

In the final segment in August, we'll address the committee interview process as well as the follow-on steps critical to a successful hiring.

1. The Impetus. Whether the search is planned or sudden, there are immediate issues of transition management and communications that have to be handled with special care.

In devising an exit strategy, absent blatant malfeasance or a precipitous departure by the outgoing CEO, the board should carefully balance respect for the outgoing CEO with respect for the ongoing needs of the team, the mission and the organization. Of special concern to all is the role the departing CEO will have in three critical areas:

• The ongoing management of the enterprise during the search
• The selection and integration of a successor, and
• The management of communications to constituencies and stakeholders about the impending change.

2. The Committee. The selection of a search committee is often second in importance only to the actual selection of the next CEO.

• The committee chair should be someone other than the board chair--a buffer is useful for tactical purposes, the appearance of an inside job is minimized, and a future board leader benefits from a wonderful developmental opportunity.
• Committee size will affect the quality and pace of deliberations. Most experienced trustees suggest a committee of 5 to 7 members. A smaller committee can inhibit the free flow of ideas, whereas a larger one will add real complexity to issues of process management. Usually, availability of a candidate is not a problem in a well-crafted search, but availability of search committee members often is!
• The committee should have a formal mandate from the full board; we encourage boards to request a specific hiring recommendation from the search committee. The board can always reject the committee's recommendation, but requiring the committee to present a slate of candidates for the full board's evaluation will add at least a month or two to the process--and very little to the outcome.
• Staff members deserve a voice but rarely a vote. Staff input on the direction of the search and the selection criteria for hiring can be enormously helpful, but we respectfully disagree with those who say staff should have a vote on the selection itself. The opportunities for conflict are rife when a subordinate is asked to choose his or her future boss, and the prospect for real candor among search committee members is thereby diminished. There are exceptions, of course--academe comes to mind--but on the whole we counsel against giving subordinates a formal vote on the selection committee.
• Committee members should be willing to serve as mentors to the new CEO, since they will have had more contact with (and therefore more investment in) the selected candidate than other board members will have had. Accordingly, search committee service should not be the final act of a departing board member but rather a statement of commitment to ongoing involvement in the enterprise. Candidates will expect such commitment, and your new CEO deserves it.

3. The Ground Rules. The primary ground rules for a search revolve around the common courtesies of respect and confidentiality. That deliberations of the search committee must be in strictest confidence is sacrosanct; there is simply no faster way to kill a good search than through leaks of private information. If sunshine laws in your area require disclosure of certain information at certain stages, then publish the rules for all to see and stick with them.

Respect shows up in numerous ways: Answering every inquiry promptly, managing an efficient process, providing appropriate feedback on a regular and timely basis to all players (prospects, candidates, and internal and external stakeholders). The key, we think, is to approach the process with an attitude of gratitude rather than one of entitlement--"Thanks for your interest," "Thanks for your time," "Thanks for your counsel," even "Thanks for your patience!"

4. The Resources. As in so many other cases, time, not money, will be your scarcest commodity, and thus we counsel clients to be realistic in setting a budget for the project schedule. Unrealistic expectations can torpedo even the most careful CEO recruitment exercises, and leadership change has a way of promoting unrealistic expectations (the new CEO will not make up for all the foibles of the predecessor and can be counted on to arrive with a whole new set of baggage!). Money is important, of course, to offset costs of any interim leadership you may need and to pay recruitment expenses, whether or not you retain a search firm. One cost can be surprisingly large: relocation.

We find that the biggest costs in a search are often hidden: Impatience and modest aspirations. A deliberate sense of urgency is fine, but impatience gives rise to a tough question: "Why did we not have enough time to do it right but plenty of time to do it over?" Modest aspirations may cause you to overlook a far better candidate, thereby creating opportunity costs all their own.

Dynamic regional foundation launches CEO search

The Foundation for the Mid South has earned a national reputation for its work in promoting community development, social equity, and progressive philanthropy in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, home to the largest concentration of chronic poverty in all of America.

George Penick, the Foundation's dynamic leader since its founding in 1990, recently announced his plans to retire. After a national vetting process, BoardWalk Consulting was honored to have been chosen by the board to assist in the search for the next CEO.

We have had initial meetings with the search committee and are now crafting a specification and search strategy for the committee's approval. We encourage preliminary indications of interest, especially from experienced leaders with strong ties to the region and a deep commitment to the foundation's mission. We will publish the position mandate as soon as it has been approved.

Quick links to featured clients and initiatives:

	American Marketing Association		American Marketing Association Foundation
	American Running Association		BoardWalk Consulting
	Cbeyond Communications		Foundation for the Mid South
	Georgia Center for Nonprofits		Hands On Network
	Public Broadcasting Service