Assessing and Creating Trust for Sustainable Executive Team Performance, Part #2

Executive Team

Leaders Lead Leaders: Who is on your team?

By Dr. Susan L. Glover, FACHE, Vice President, Consultant

A critical responsibility of an executive leader is to build her or his leadership team for sustainable performance.  Daniel Ek, CEO & Founder of Spotify, sums this up when he says, “It all comes down to the quality of your executive team. Building this team is your number one priority. It just makes everything else easier.”

Leaders of successful executive teams know who contributes high value to their teams. They must continually strive to grow these valuable leaders and recruit leaders to their team who are better than those who leave. Building your team for sustainable performance is a mindful, iterative process.

Here are three steps to continually develop your sustainable team. (Adapted from John Maxwell).

Step One

Identify the starters on your team. These are the people that drive the mission, performance and culture of your organization forward. They are often highly respected and trusted by their peers and other leaders, and who could be key components of your succession plan. A good succession plan always has one or two people in line for the role that others in your organization would feel, “yes this makes sense” and there is seamless transition.

Step Two

Identify your bench. These individuals add value by supporting the starters. Some will have the drive and skill to eventually become starters. This is your leadership responsibility, to nurture and grow leaders for the future. The bench is often overlooked until there is a gap, and it becomes apparent there is no succession plan for a starter.

Step Three

This step is important because you have identified your entire team, starters and bench, revealing your whole leadership field. Next, identify those in the starter group you and your team can live without. The names that are left are your inner circle, sometimes known as your cabinet or personal board of directors. This group is essential because the levels of trust and expertise you develop in this leadership group will create resilience and excellent performance in your organization.

The selection process is the first and most important step in building a high-functioning executive team

The process of selecting executive leaders is a crucial step in developing and sustaining the culture of trust that is required for high-performing organizations. This is your opportunity to use the trust-enabling behaviors and the three-step process to build  your team during the interview and selection process.

HealthSearch Partners starts a search engagement with an organizational profile or assessment. This ensures the search for executive talent is tailored to specific cultural needs to maximize the opportunity for organizational excellence and performance.

Key Steps for a Successful Selection Process

There are many best practices for a successful selection process for a new executive leader. I would like to highlight some practices that I have found particularly important. (Source)

Communication

During the search process you cannot communicate enough to key stakeholders in the process and organization. When there is a vacuum in communication, the story evolves and can gain a life of its own.

Search Committee

A formal search committee should be established early in the process and the members should be known to other key stakeholders. The search committee members not only have a responsibility to vet and recommend a candidate, but they are also the eyes and ears of the organization, specifically for “fit”. My colleague Ed Fry authored this article on improving the effectiveness of a search committee.

Search Firm

A search firm will structure a process to ensure the organizational profile and requirements for the position are handled in an objective manner. This is important to maximize the field of available talent and ensure success. Selecting the right search firm is just as important as the search itself. A firm that “fits” the organization by thoroughly understanding its culture and needs is key. The process of selecting a search firm partner involves more than just getting search bids, it should be handled with a comprehensive view in a thoughtful manner, and in collaboration with Human Resources and the hiring executive or board. Neill Marshall, HSP’s Chairman, shares why choosing the right search partner matters to your organization’s future success in this article.

Antibias Training

Experiencing antibias training before writing the job description or at least before interviewing is very valuable.  In most cases this is an additional service beyond a search firms’ traditional scope of work. However, search firms on their own provide a third-party objective viewpoint which may help mitigate unconscious bias. Language and thought matter.

Criteria for the Role

Before writing the position description, you need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for in your new leader. Create three lists:  skills, experience, and personal characteristics. Then segment these into three more categories — traits that are “must haves;” those that are “like to haves;” and those that would be great additions.

Position Description

A search firm can work with you to write a position description that accurately reflects the skills and knowledge your organization needs for the position.  The description can then be circulated to the search committee for approval. This will provide the search committee with the opportunity to provide feedback and approve the position description. Using the approved position description the search firm will then begin sourcing candidates that are the appropriate “fit” for the organization.

Including Other Stakeholders

The members on the search committee should have knowledge of the organization and scope of the leadership role. The members should also have connectivity to a wide variety of stakeholders. This not only helps with the search, but this will also help during the on-boarding process of the new executive leader.

Recruiting a new executive leader is a key component of building executive leadership teams for sustainable high performance. Start with determining whether you need a starter, more bench, or is your inner circle lacking expertise? Then ask yourself the two critical questions:

  1. How will this person fit into a sustainable executive team?
  2. How will this person contribute to a trusting culture?

Finally engage search firm experts to conduct a process that will ensure your candidate selection will ensure success for you, your team, and your organization.

Dr. Susan Glover is Vice President, Consultant for HealthSearch Partners, susang@healthsearchpartners.com.

About HealthSearch Partners:

HealthSearch Partners is a nationally recognized healthcare executive search firm. We partner with mission-driven hospitals and health systems to find leaders who are focused on success. As a mid-sized firm, our senior search leaders work with clients throughout the engagement, accessing a larger pool of talent, to find the right candidate that is the right fit. www.healthsearchpartners.com.