Why Great Executive Search Starts Before the Search

When organisations think about Executive Search, they often think about candidates. Who is available? Who works for a competitor? Who could we approach?

But the quality of an Executive Search is often determined before the first candidate is contacted.

It starts with the question behind the vacancy.

A job description is not yet a search strategy

Suppose a company needs a new CFO.

The obvious approach is to define years of experience, sector background, team size, languages and technical competencies.

All relevant.

But the more important questions come first.

Why does the organisation need a different CFO now?

Is the business internationalising? Preparing acquisitions? Professionalising governance? Introducing private equity? Transforming a finance department? Preparing for succession?

The answer fundamentally changes the profile.

The same applies to CEOs, Managing Directors, Operations Directors and other senior positions.

Two organisations can use exactly the same job title while needing completely different leaders.

Search requires calibration

One of the most valuable parts of an Executive Search process is therefore not searching at all.

It is calibration.

Understanding the strategy. The governance. The existing management team. The culture. The reason previous solutions did or did not work. And the expectations that different stakeholders may have of the role.

Only then can a search firm translate a vacancy into a meaningful target market.

Sometimes that process also challenges the original brief.

Perhaps industry experience turns out to be less important than transformation experience. Perhaps international exposure becomes non-negotiable. Or perhaps the organisation initially asks for a strategist while what it really needs is an operator.

A strong Executive Search process should be able to reveal that.

Search is not simply recruitment at a higher salary level

Executive Search is market mapping, judgement, assessment and continuous calibration.

The objective is not to find people who match a list.

It is to understand what leadership problem needs to be solved, and then identify the people capable of solving it.

That is a very different starting point.

Considering a critical leadership appointment? Mentorprise Executive Search works with organisations to define the mandate before approaching the market. For cross-border assignments, our International Search practice combines central coordination with the local expertise of the ENEX network.