How to Improve Your Leadership Hiring Process

January 18, 2024

Leadership is one of the most critical factors for the success of any organization. Leaders set the vision, direction, and culture of the organization, and inspire, motivate, and empower their teams to achieve the goals. However, finding and hiring the right leaders can be a challenging and complex process, especially in today’s competitive and dynamic market.

Here’s the harsh reality: 47% of bad hires occur at the leadership level. Furthermore, hiring the wrong leaders can have serious consequences for the organization, such as low performance, high turnover, poor morale, and loss of reputation.

Hence, it is essential for organizations to improve their leadership hiring process, and to adopt best practices that can help them attract, assess, and onboard the right talent for their leadership roles. In this blog post, we will share some of the strategies that can help you improve your leadership hiring process and build a stronger management team.

Here, we’re presenting five game-changing tips to seamlessly and efficiently recruit top-tier candidates for leadership roles; these proven tips are making an impact in real-time recruitment success.

Tip 1. Define your leadership needs and expectations

Identify the skills, qualifications, and potential that you are looking for in your leaders, as well as the requirements, expectations, and culture of your organization. You should also consider the impact of organizational transitions, such as mergers, acquisitions, expansions, or restructurings, on your leadership needs and expectations, as these can create significant changes in your organizational culture, structure, strategy, and goals.

To define your leadership needs and expectations, you can use various tools and methods, such as job descriptions, competency models, leadership frameworks, and stakeholder interviews. 73% of hiring managers admitted their job descriptions lack clarity. You should also involve your current leaders and employees in the recruitment process, as they can provide valuable insights and feedback on the leadership roles and responsibilities, as well as the challenges and opportunities that they face.

Tip 2. Focus on the right fit, not the best fit

The right fit implies that there is a match between the skills, qualifications, and potential of the candidates, and the requirements, expectations, and culture of your organization. The right fit also implies that there is a mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation of the cultural differences that may exist between the candidates and your organization, and that there is a willingness to learn from and adapt to each other.

The best fit, on the other hand, implies that there is a single, objective, and universal standard of excellence that can be applied to all candidates, regardless of their cultural background. However, this approach can be problematic, as it can lead to overlooking the potential value of cultural diversity, and to imposing a dominant or preferred culture on the candidates, which can result in discrimination, exclusion, and resentment.

To focus on the right fit, you should use multiple and diverse criteria and methods to evaluate the candidates, such as tests, portfolios, references, and interviews, to get a comprehensive and balanced view of their skills, qualifications, and potential, as well as their cultural fit and adaptability. You should also seek feedback and input from other recruiters, managers, and colleagues, who may have different perspectives and insights on the candidates, and who may be affected by or involved in the hiring decision.

Tip 3. Communicate clearly and effectively

Communication is key to any successful hiring process, especially when it involves leadership roles, as it can help you build rapport and trust with the candidates, as well as inform and engage them about your organization and the role.

To communicate clearly and effectively, use simple and precise language, avoiding jargon, slang, and idioms that may cause confusion or misunderstanding. Also use multiple channels of communication, such as phone, email, video, and chat, to ensure that your messages are delivered and received accurately. Confirm and clarify your understanding and expectations with the candidates, asking questions and repeating information when necessary. Provide feedback and follow-up regularly, keeping the candidates informed and engaged throughout the hiring process.

Tip 4. Make critical decisions based on multiple criteria

Leadership hiring process requires you to make critical decisions based on multiple criteria, when you encounter a candidate who has the right skills that you need, but may not be a great cultural fit for your organization. This can be a dilemma, as you may have to balance the trade-offs between the short-term and long-term benefits and costs of hiring such a candidate.

There is no easy or definitive answer to this question, as it depends on various factors, such as the nature and importance of the skills, the degree and impact of the cultural mismatch, the availability and feasibility of alternative candidates, and the goals and priorities of your organization. However, some of the possible strategies that you can use to make a decision include:

Nurturing Potential

Exploring the possibility of providing training, coaching, mentoring, or other forms of support to the candidates, to help them develop or improve the skills that they may lack, or to help them adjust or adapt to the organizational culture that they may not fit.

Embracing Diversity

Considering the possibility of modifying or adapting the organizational culture, structure, or processes, to accommodate or leverage the cultural differences that the candidates may bring, and to create a more inclusive, diverse, and innovative organization.

Tip 5. Hire leaders for what they can do, not what they have done

Focusing on the potential business impact that the candidates can have on your organization, rather than on their past performance and competencies. This can help you identify and attract the candidates who have the vision, direction, and culture that align with the purpose of the role, and who can inspire, motivate, and empower their teams to achieve the goals.

To hire leaders for what they can do, not what they have done, you should use clear and consistent criteria and standards, based on the requirements and expectations of the role and the organization. You should also use multiple and diverse sources and methods of assessment, such as tests, portfolios, references, and interviews, to get a comprehensive and balanced view of the candidates’ potential business impact, as well as their skills, qualifications, and potential.