Double Diamond Leadership Authority, LLC offers an Executive Level Recruitment Process for any type of organization.
As a business owner and taxpayer, I also realize how precious tax dollars are. I also realize that hiring an outside consultant related to succession planning can also be very costly.
As someone who is well-versed in the process of succession planning, educated in the discipline of leadership, and sympathetic to taxpayers that have to pay exorbitant amounts of dollars for such a service, I believe there is not only a better methodology to determine the best candidates for executive positions, but also one which is also more cost effective.
After years of research, trial and error, and decades of observation, I have developed a series of leadership profile decision matrices, one for hiring entry-level personnel, one for lower-level promotional processes, and one specifically designed for top executive-level promotions.
Such a tool adds a great deal of objectivity and science into the ultra-important task of selecting the most qualified candidate. My leadership profile decision matrix includes up to 16 different variables that are analyzed in order to determine the most qualified candidate. The executive-level process used is similar to those used for subordinate positions within an organization, albeit at a higher level. I call the process a ‘leadership crucible’, as a candidate must successfully navigate through a series of intense interviews, a role-playing exercise to determine emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills, an oral presentation to determine oratory skill, a writing exercise to determine writing skill, and in-out box exercise to determine organizational and priority setting skill. This portion of the overall process is an assessment center. The exact number and type of stations used are determined through a collaborative effort between my organization and the community’s/organization’s decision-makers. These decision-makers, with assistance from the Human Resources Director, would establish the minimum criteria for the position advertised, the application materials required, pre-screen applications, and identify the Top 5 candidates. Although five is a number typically used during such a process, the exact number of final candidates is the decision of the community/organization.
A highlight of the leadership crucible, which utilizes up to16 different variables, is a leadership survey I have developed and copyrighted. This tool, which is also the most heavily weighted in the decision matrix, is based upon decades of research from the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) study which has identified the Top 5 universal attributes of an effective leader no matter the field of endeavor. I have also added my Top 10 leadership characteristics to the questionnaire after years of education, experience, and observation. While the scenario-based questionnaire is somewhat similar to the Myers-Briggs assessment, this leadership tool provides key insight into a candidate’s potential and the requisite skill sets necessary to handle the job advertised. Half of the questionnaire is sent to each of the final candidates to provide them time to contemplate their responses, and then this tool would subsequently be returned to my organization for analysis. The second portion of this questionnaire is given during the assessment center so the responses are more spontaneous and require more mental agility. The overall results of this questionnaire would be added into the executive level leadership decision matrix. Overall results of the decision matrix would be presented to the community’s/organization’s decision-makers after all results were tabulated.
In addition, several other categories within the leadership profile decision matrix also offer a more comprehensive depiction of each candidate over a period of several years, versus the typical snapshot in time during a one-day event such as an assessment center or face-to-face interview. Such methodology takes into account a candidate’s career and preparation in totality, versus a single snap shot in time, thus making it more comprehensive, and a more fair and accurate depiction of each candidate.
Unlike many similar services, I am not in the business for the money as I already draw two pension checks (one from my fire service career and one from my military career) and I am still adjunct faculty for several universities and instruct such topics as leadership and organizational effectiveness to graduate students. I do this because I have a true passion for leadership and love to help communities/organizations identify their best and most qualified no matter the level of leadership, no matter the type of organization. I also hate to see communities/organizations spend so much of the taxpayer’s/stakeholder’s money on such critical events when there are better and more cost effective methodologies available. My methodology also involves a collaborative effort between my organization and the community/organization seeking a qualified candidate, thereby further reducing overall costs.
For more information concerning the DDLA leadership program or executive-level recruitment, visit doublediamondleadership.org, or call 715-712-0819, or email . DDLA now accepting contracts for fall 2018.
