5 Ways to Succeed in 2021 and Beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every part of the business world and accelerated and exacerbated, almost overnight, trends in the way we work, live, play and learn. Most leadership teams are optimized for “business as usual” but we won’t see that for many years ahead. Companies have a bigger need now to bring in new leadership expertise from outside, reorganize and make smarter promotions. There is much that can go wrong here and many opportunities to miss out on.
The approach to bringing in new leaders from inside or outside the organization and the traditional search model is outmoded because, surprisingly, it has not focused on the elements that are important: People, Results, Accountability, Speed, and GameChangers. These are the things that are badly needed to succeed in 2021 and the unpredictable and opportunistic markets ahead.
1. It’s about People
- Business success is not about the capital expenditures, marketplace dynamics, or technology implementation. It’s about having the right people in the right roles from the Board of Directors through the executive management of the company and every division or department. However, not nearly enough time is spent getting this most critical area right.
- The so-called experts of traditional search firms are a big part of this problem. In fact, some leaders and HR departments fall victim to this because “the experts said.”
- While leaders say that people are the most important part of the business they readily admit that only 20% of their know-how, professional credentials and time are spent here as opposed to 80% on Capital, Markets and Technology/Solutions.
- More than 60% of business failure and 80% of business underperformance is due to simply the wrong people in critical roles. Increasing your expertise and taking a fresh look at the people side of the business is a MUST DO for 2021.
2. It’s about driving business Results
- The past performance of a candidate is not the be all, and end all, in this area. What is needed in 2021 and beyond is the ability to predict the future performance of a given candidate, in a specific role, at a new company with its associated challenges.
- Candidates must be able to take the organization from its current state to the next level of growth regardless of market conditions or unexpected changes ahead. This takes a different kind of leader that the traditional search firms rarely talk to or have in their short list of candidates. In fact, their evaluation process often eliminates these kinds of leaders.
3. It’s about Accountability
- There is no reward for a good hire in the old paradigm and, there is no punishment for a bad hire. Someone needs to be accountable for a successful search. That accountability should be on the shoulders of the Executive Search firm.
- If a search firm is mindlessly doing what the hiring client thinks they “want” or have incorrectly asked they end up contributing to substandard results. What is really needed by the hiring client is guidance, direction and a completely different approach that will put the right person in that critical role and guarantee not merely longevity but will assure and guarantee results.
4. It’s about Speed
- All companies need to be more adaptable, creative and bolder, with more sense of urgency. In the unpredictable and opportunistic markets of 2021, new opportunities are emerging and need to be identified and seized fast, ahead of the competition and companies need to fix problems and adapt faster to the emerging norms. A critical position cannot be left open for 3, 6 or worse, 9 months while a traditional search firm comes up with good candidates. Important positions need to and can be filled within 4-8 weeks maximum and with the best candidates in the industry.
- Likewise, underperforming or poor fit leaders can no longer be left in their roles for an additional 6-12 months. Lost opportunity costs alone, in this fast moving, winner(s) takes all digital era, dictate more decisive moves, than that.
- Better organizational progress is made by filling latent leadership needs before they become urgent or even too late. Organizations and their Executive Search partners need to be proactive and tap into the leadership talent that is available, in real time, rather than be reactive, one critical search at a time.
5. It’s about GameChangers
- It’s all about having the right leaders with the right experience, the right capability, the right passion, and the right fit for the organizational culture, market dynamics and tasks ahead. This is the very definition of a GameChanger. A leader that can help their company to thrive in the unpredictable and opportunistic markets ahead, make a bigger difference for their customers business and increase market capitalization.
- A critical need for assimilating GameChanging leaders has been overlooked. Doing the hiring alone is not enough, what’s needed is the onboarding and assimilation of GameChangers into the organization. No matter how good a leader is, it won’t work if you get organ rejection. Helping the incumbent team understand why they need a GameChanging leader and how they can make an impact to a GameChanging team gives them a new purpose in life, the insights to team better together and the energy to align around the new leader and goals ahead.
Related Posts:
Comprehending The Impact Of A GameChanger
We All Worry About Making A Bad Hire
Peter is one of the founding managing partners of Top Gun Ventures with a focus on executive recruitment and development of GameChanging Leaders, Teams and Organizations and the IMPACT this has on making companies successful. Learn more about Peter.
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