In today’s fast-paced business environment, the demands of an executive leadership team are extremely fluid; hence, hiring the right person is critical for your organization. Recruiting an executive also means adding a new member to the leadership team,  a group responsible for organization strategy, which can be very complex for a large organization with multiple divisions, locations, or business units. Considering this, it’s especially important that the new team member is an effective internal negotiator, cheerleader, and decision-maker to empower operational groups to achieve company goals. They may be expected to be a company spokesperson for both the good results and the bad as well as instill the company’s vision for its path forward. 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the hiring of executives for operational management roles will outpace the hiring of chief executive officers by 15 percentage points this decade. While employment of operational managers will grow by 9% from 2020 to 2030, the employment of CEOs will decrease by 6%. This difference is due to organizations continuing to rely on operational managers for goal achievement, while improved office technology and modernized organizational structures have reduced the number of chief executives required to run a company.

In general, the employment of top executives of all types is expected to grow 8 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The three main causes for job openings for top executives are business growth, transfer of executives to other occupations, and retirement. 

Executive Job Descriptions Often Include

• Creating and achieving organizational and business goals
• Responsibility for setting budgets and delivering the target cost and revenue
• Manage operational process for making products or providing services
• Collaborate with stakeholders such as other executives, operational teams, and board members
• Negotiate, review and approve contracts and agreements with vendors and partners
• Delegate leadership within departments
• Analyze key performance indicators, financial statements, and sales reports

Some Leadership Traits Readily Apparent

Effective leadership requires strong communication skills, which are among the easiest of leadership traits to assess in executive recruiting. As a form of screening for candidate potential, those who demonstrate the best written and verbal communications skills will rise to the top for further evaluation. While communication skills are not directly addressed under John C. Maxwell’s irrefutable laws, they play a distinct role in several of them including the ones covering navigation, connection, and intuition.

Although not as easy to assess as communications, strategic thinking and complex problem-solving traits can also be identified during the executive search. When assessing these traits, we try to assess how a candidate conducts them in relation to the team. Do they delegate responsibilities, motivate other team members, meet challenges head-on, seek innovative solutions, and focus on positive developments rather than negative? Does the candidate share credit for successful initiatives, yet also acknowledge their own accountability when initiatives failed to achieve desired results?

A “yes” answer to all of these questions strongly suggests that the candidate has distinct leadership potential. Such potential is boosted when the candidate expresses a strong passion for their efforts, as well as a keen desire to expand their working knowledge of their field.

The Behavioral Interviewing Technique

Behavioral interviewing is a type of interview that focuses on past behavior to predict future behavior. This style of interview is used to determine how candidates will perform in the future, and it can be applied to a variety of positions across industries. 

Behavioral interviewing typically consists of two parts: situational questions and behavioral-based questions. Situational questions ask about how you would respond in a given situation (e.g., “How would you handle an angry customer?”). Behavioral-based questions ask about specific experiences or challenges you may have faced (e.g., “Describe a time when you successfully led a team”). These interviews tend to be longer than traditional interviews because they cover more information and allow the interviewer to get a deeper understanding of your ability to complete tasks at work.

Our direct hire recruiters use a simple tool to find the necessary skill set for any position. It’s a behavioral interview questions generator that can help you build a higher-performing team. 

Here’s how to use the Behavioral Interview Questions Generator:

• Select up to 10 competencies you’d like to see in your new team member.
• Drag the desired competency from the left column to the right column.
• Submit the form below and we’ll send you your custom guide including helpful questions and instructions on how to score your candidates.

10 Competencies We Seek When Recruiting Executive Management

Some competencies are easy to spot and measure, while others may prove to be more of a challenge to uncover. Here is an example of 10 of the 84 competencies available to select through the Behavioral Interview Questions generator.

1. Communication
2. Confidence
3. Decision Making
4. Vision
5. Motivation
6. Delegation
7. Innovation
8. Emotional Intelligence
9. Empowerment
10. Subject Matter/Leadership Expertise

Our interview guide will share the best questions to uncover the candidate’s level of competency, such as:

• Tell us about a complex business situation in which you worked. Describe the complexities involved and how you chose to deal with it.
• Can you describe a situation when you had to make a tough business decision? How did the organization’s goals and mission influence your decision? What were the factors involved with your decision?
• Describe a decision you had to make to protect the profitability of the company. What were the implications of your decision? How did you develop your strategy? How did you feel about the strategy you developed? What were the shortcomings and successes?

Direct hire recruiting to fill open positions

Direct hire recruiting to fill open positions is a popular trend among top executives. Direct hire recruiting is faster than traditional recruiting, more cost-effective and more effective in filling the position. When you have an open position, using our direct hire recruiters will help improve your organization’s performance while saving time and money on the recruitment process.  They can help you save time by narrowing down your search for qualified candidates. This is especially true when you’re recruiting a candidate who has specialized skills or experience in a particular field. Our executive recruiters have access to talent pools that might not otherwise be available, so they can help you find the right person for the job. If you would like to learn more about our recruitment process and how we uncover the best executive managers, contact us today.