For those climbing the corporate ladder, you need to be prepared for what is ahead.  Being part of the “Executive Suite” is essentially a whole new game – not at all like you’ve experienced before.  Leaders in the organization would be ahead to spend some time with new executives, describing the lay of the land. 

For the new senior executive, the perks are great, the responsibilities critical to the success of your company, and you are making great money.  That’s the good part.  The challenge is to stay there and succeed in the new role!

An article on this topic by Jim Swanson, senior director for the American Bar Association and former CEO for USAF Legal Operations was published in the online news, December 2011, for the Society for Human Resource Management.  In it he outlines some of the differences as one assumes a leadership role.

One of the most significant differences might be obvious, but requires some thought.  The new Big Bosses are a very different group than those in middle management.  These people have a whole world of “bosses” to report to, including their board, shareholders, customers, and even Government.  Their work schedules are generally 24-7, and their time is always stretched.  Therefore a big part of your job is to communicate efficiently.  A quote from a former boss of mine – “Be brief, be bright, be gone.”  -might apply here.

Your attention and time will also be spent primarily on solutions to the overall company goals.  Your focus should be always on the results, without getting tangled in the details and processes of your internal organization.  Failing to deliver is a sure definition of failure in your boss’s eyes.  You also need to steer clear of turf wars or spending time on personal status issues.  These are NOT productive.

Don’t bring problems – bring solutions.  If you simply bump tough problems up to your boss, you are not providing value in the role.  If it is necessary to bring an issue to the Boss, be prepared with solutions and courses of action that are in line with the “big picture” as the Boss sees it.  This means that you have to be constantly aware of the current situation in the company so pay attention.

Executive suite language often requires interpretation.  The Boss doesn’t criticize in public, and speaks much like a diplomat – oblique and highly civil.  It is for you to understand underlying messages. In public settings, compliments are “diplomatic” and you shouldn’t read too much into them.  In one on one communications, compliments with a “but” in the conversation may be an expression of concern so listen carefully to the comments.  Also, any time the Big Boss makes a suggestion or mentions something more than once, take it as “Do it ASAP”. 

Finally, get used to NOT getting a lot of strokes from the CEO.  Also get used to criticism, as it is part of the territory.  There is usually not much time for coddling – the fact that you are still in the executive suite is reward enough.

For the “Big Boss” – help your new execs prepare for the role, and you will have a much more productive and stable group to support your success.  Good luck.

Tags: change management, Executive jobs, performance management

Entrepreneurs are unique individuals with (usually) visionary ideas they are trying to develop into a real business or product.  Many articles have been written about the personality that is the entrepreneur, including that they are loners and intensely focused, somewhat socially inept, stay up late…all not typical of the successful leader.  In reality, the entrepreneur had to be able to bring people together and get them to buy into the vision.  He/she has to be a great marketer, financially astute, and have well developed interpersonal communications skills.  Being a great networker is vital to success.

One of the most difficult tasks, other than actually getting a product to market, or at least funded, is pulling together the individuals (with the skills needed) to move the vision forward.  The team that comes together to work on the project needs to work collaboratively and yet the individual member needs to exert influence in their field of expertise.  These team members also have to be flexible and not afraid of risk.

A major decision for the entrepreneur is whether to add a co-founder.  An article on the blog site www.onstartups.com discusses why you want a co-founder and how to choose one.  The article “Choosing a Minimally Viable Co-founder” by Dharmesh Shaw, first outlines the reason for one.  It can be summed up in the African proverb:  “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”   Having someone to share the ups and downs, to bounce ideas off of, and to help get things done, is valuable in the startup world.   So, the author writes, while you are on your quest, keep a sharp eye out for the awesome candidate that can help you “go far”. 

The article provides some key guidelines to help you in this search.  They are ideas such as: you have to be able to trust them, they have to be brilliant at building or selling, they commit to the company and not just the current idea, they are likeable, and they do stuff (not just think about it).  Also important as characteristics are whether they crank and grind (as hard as you do) and they are reasonable and rational. 

The purpose of the list, and the caution of the article, is to not waste time looking for “perfect” but recognize someone with great skills that line up with your goals.  One issue that comes up with co-founders is the same issue that comes up when entrepreneurs go looking for funding -  that you have to give up some control.  The end result is the key in both cases, having a successful startup that creates wealth, and that you get your share.

Tags: candidates, entrepreneurs, Executive jobs, hiring talent

Studies show that high-performing executives add millions of dollars to their firms’ bottom lines. Here is an overview of the executive search process and some recommendations for success. 
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) wrote a report on the recruiting process for executives based on surveys conducted with member companies.  One of the main points of the report was the need for preparation as you begin to search.  If you have clear goals for the position you are much more effective in the search and in the candidate evaluation part of the hiring process.  It also helps combat the tendency to hire someone “like yourself” or just because you are comfortable with them. 

So, one of the main requirements for success was understanding your business as it exists and what type of leadership you need for the future.  For example a startup company is going to need a leader who is comfortable “working without a net” in that they will be establishing processes and building a team as they progress.  In a more established business, the candidate will need to be able to work within the goals and processes already established and to be able to motivate the team to work within these goals, as well as looking for new opportunities for growth.  Finally a company in a rapidly changing market will need a good strategic planner to keep the company in the game and growing.

Once the company has defined their leadership needs, then they need to look at the types of managerial skills the job will require.  The SHRM report defined three broad sets of skills, technical, interpersonal and conceptual.  The perception is that technical skills are most important at the middle management level; interpersonal skills are important at all levels, and conceptual skills are important at the executive level.  A more recent approach added another factor – business acumen – to the mix, and there are many different opinions on which skills are most important. 

Within these broad categories each company can define specific factors that are important for their organization.  Once that is done, building a job listing, interview questions and a set of criteria to evaluate the candidates becomes easier and more effective. 

Successful hiring of executive talent is one way companies can survive and beat their competition.  In the market today there is a lot of talent that can help your company be successful.  Good luck!

Tags: change management, Executive jobs, hiring talent, recruiting

The third virtual online job fair had a great list of New Mexico technology companies and over 80 high tech jobs.  Tech2, held from September 20-24 allowed companies to bring attention to their opportunities in a unique way.  Many of these companies are small and haven’t enough staff to host booths at multiple job fairs, but they do have time to review the resumes they get through our job fair site, www.nmvritualjobfair.com. 

This venue also gave job seekers access to the most current opportunities in the tech industry, without having to stand in line to reach the recruiters.  They could review company profiles and job descriptions at their leisure, and submit their information to hiring entities they were interested in.  It was a good opportunity for both employers and job seekers to reach new audiences and tell about themselves and their talents.

The event  was sponsored by Technology Ventures Corporation and the New Mexico Wired Project as part of their effort to support technology career development in the state.  The job site, www.nmtechjobs.org, is also sponsored by this group, and many of the same companies that were in the job fair post jobs on this site.Be sure to watch for our next event in November.

Tags: applications, Executive jobs, hiring talent, job fair, job seeker

We live in interesting times!  Not necessarily fun, but interesting.  One of the casualties of the economic downturn seems to be a lack of opportunities for C-level candidates.  As companies downsize they also eliminate leadership positions, and so there are many very experienced executives looking for opportunities.
There is also an increase in CEO turnover as some take early retirement, some are removed by their boards and some are casualties of the economic times.  According to an article in Staffing Management magazine the government/non-profit sector led all industries in May with 19 CEO departures.  The budget shortfalls being experienced by this industry means it continues to struggle, even as job losses in the private sector have slowed.  The largest turnover for the year was experienced in health care with 98 executives leaving so far this year. 
In the technology industry, and particularly in companies just starting out, the CEO has a major impact on success.  One of the problems in this area is that many of the new companies are cutting edge and there is no established market, or the business has a disruptive technology that requires a new approach.  Tech companies with new ideas need leadership that can apply new tools to grow the company. 
So, there is opportunity for leaders to find positions in these tech startups – but they may have a very small office and no secretary!  They also may not be able to pay much of a salary up front.    Ownership in the company is sometimes offered in lieu of salary, but to collect, CEO’s have to get the company into the profit mode, and this could take awhile.  We need the talent that these executives possess, and our challenge is to provide an opportunity that  these leaders will find attractive. 

Tags: candidates, Executive jobs, For Employers, industry news