Finding, Retaining and Evaluating Finding, Retaining and Evaluating Great Senior ExecutivesGreat Senior Executives

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FOR LEADERS AND LEADING ORGANIZATIONSSeattle | Spokane | Sacramento

Dr. De HicksPresident and CEOdehicks@dehicks.com

SCGI

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Start Here

Effective Board/Executive Relationships starts with the Board

The Board’s most important work is Executive Relationship Management Strategic Engagement (as a Board, not

as individuals) Board: Make sure you do the hard

work of creating clarity

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Create Clarity

What is our mission? What are the core competencies

that we expect in our Executive? Core competencies Skills

What are our Expectations?

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The Power of Expectations

Clarify Expectations focusing on Results or Outcomes, not on Processes or Tasks

Write them Talk them Make Expectations Measurable

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Recruitment of a New Executive

Recruit for tomorrow rather than today

Recruit based on Core Competencies rather than skills (example: self-awareness or presentation abilities)

Be careful: don’t rely on interviews Listen to the staff regarding “fit”

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Caution: Recruitment Mistakes

Working without a Succession Plan Hurrying Recruiting for today rather than tomorrow Recruiting for skills rather than core

competencies Relying on the interview Not conducting deep reference interviews Moving too slowly Ignoring the advice of previous Senior

Leaders

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Retaining Your Executive

What do Executives tell me? My Board micro-manages My Board is made up of 12 individual bosses My Board doesn’t know what’s going on so

they can’t make strategic decisions My Board thinks they hired me and my whole

family, but pays for me I’m good at what I do, so I make it look easy My Board goes around me My Board doesn’t know what they expect of

me (as a group)

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Retaining Your Executive

Pay your Executive what he/she is worth Board conflict about this issue is like an MRI for

the organization; pay close attention to it Compare to private industry and non-profits

Make sure he/she takes vacations Agree and insist on measurements Carefully consider the role of support staff

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Evaluation of Your Executive

Create a Strategic Plan that allows for flexibility and entrepreneurship Consider a flexible approach like Strategic

Positioning (see Lynn Harsh, SPN) Use it

Create clear, measurable expectations Consider written SMART Goal models Focus on outcomes not inputs Simplify, simplify, simplify

Work from on a yearly work plan for the Executive Create a smaller group within the Board for

quarterly progress conversations and for formal evaluations

Evaluate the Executive according to the T-3 Model

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The T-3 Model for Professional Evaluations

Technical Proficiency

Training

Team Leadership

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Leverage

What one thing will you do to What one thing will you do to improve your Board/Executive improve your Board/Executive Relationship?Relationship?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FOR LEADERS AND LEADING ORGANIZATIONSSeattle | Spokane | Sacramento

Dr. De HicksPresident and CEOdehicks@dehicks.com

SCGI