2 minutes
Picking directors who 'get' your company culture
Remember when the job of shaping company culture would be delegated?
The CEO would task HR or Marketing with writing a mission statement and values. Some employee perks would be added to encourage the right sort of behaviours. There’d perhaps be an annual staff appraisal. Then everyone would return to the business of making money.
Of course, those days are long gone.
Leaders have always been expected to set the direction of travel. But the transactional approaches of the 1980s and 1990s shifted towards authenticity in the 2000s. Leadership became about bringing people with you. About inspiring.
That means finding leaders who look beyond remuneration and appreciate culture. But how can that be achieved? And how can interviewers spot a good cultural fit?
Appreciating cultural leadership
It’s no longer enough for CEOs and MDs to delegate value-setting so they can get back to managing the bottom line. Modern leaders are expected to embody the purpose and mission of their organisation.
As Sir Roger Carr, the former Chair of BAE Systems put it: “Culture is about behaviour which reflects the values, beliefs and ethics of a business and ensures that it is understood that how a business makes money is as important as how much money it makes.”
That sentiment runs through many of the established companies we work alongside at ER Recruitment. They want the right type of person. But how can they identify someone to entrust with leading the cultural shape of their organisation?
Enhancing the recruitment process
At ER Recruitment our solution is to take leadership candidates through a three-stage process.
The CEO would task HR or Marketing with writing a mission statement and values. Some employee perks would be added to encourage the right sort of behaviours. There’d perhaps be an annual staff appraisal. Then everyone would return to the business of making money.
Of course, those days are long gone.
Leaders have always been expected to set the direction of travel. But the transactional approaches of the 1980s and 1990s shifted towards authenticity in the 2000s. Leadership became about bringing people with you. About inspiring.
That means finding leaders who look beyond remuneration and appreciate culture. But how can that be achieved? And how can interviewers spot a good cultural fit?
Appreciating cultural leadership
It’s no longer enough for CEOs and MDs to delegate value-setting so they can get back to managing the bottom line. Modern leaders are expected to embody the purpose and mission of their organisation.
As Sir Roger Carr, the former Chair of BAE Systems put it: “Culture is about behaviour which reflects the values, beliefs and ethics of a business and ensures that it is understood that how a business makes money is as important as how much money it makes.”
That sentiment runs through many of the established companies we work alongside at ER Recruitment. They want the right type of person. But how can they identify someone to entrust with leading the cultural shape of their organisation?
Enhancing the recruitment process
At ER Recruitment our solution is to take leadership candidates through a three-stage process.
- The first stage is framing the vacancy. Before going out to the market, we take time to clearly define your organisation's values, mission, and work environment. This is positioned clearly in the job description. It sends a clear signal to would-be candidates about what they can expect in terms of the intangibles. And this in itself will help screen out unsuitable candidates.
- We then shortlist for interview. By helping your panel shape targeted questions we draw out the candidate's work style, leadership approach, and personal values. Are they authentic, transformational, or (indeed) transactional?
- We introduce psychometric testing. We work with experts at our partner Breedon Consulting to measure candidate emotional suitability. By asking specific questions of your final 2-3 shortlisted candidates we can feed in emotional and problem-solving capabilities. This helps draw out personality traits and integrity signals that identify the best-fit person to lead your particular organisation.
Understanding personalities
The most culturally-aware of our clients recognise that, while experience is key, they must not underestimate the power of personality. They know that they are not looking for carbon copies of their existing team. That they will benefit from individuals who can complement and enhance their culture.
As such, successful candidates will likely have arrived at interview not only able to describe their own personal values and mission but to articulate how they would champion and amplify your culture.
Of course, it works both ways. Effectively communicating your company's ethos to potential candidates is vital. Afterall, they may learn something that makes them decide for themselves that they are not going to align with how you operate.
Therefore, be transparent about your expectations and the unique aspects of your culture. Answer questions. This clarity will attract directors who genuinely resonate with your vision.
