Unlocking Global Leadership Potential
Unlocking Global Leadership Potential
Michael Pieters, Associate Partner at Alumni discusses some new tendencies that he sees in the landscape of Executive Search. What is the business potential and how can organisations make the most of a broader pool of C-suite and board level candidates? An increasingly international approach to organisational structure and executive search provides great opportunities to level-up leadership capabilities, enabling us to look for leadership in a much broader scope.
Broadening horizons
Organisations operating out of disparate locations and countries are being structured in new and more coherent ways. Whether it is through acquisition, or a planned new set-up, our clients are much more likely today, to build teams supporting operations that encompass international borders. This is having a visible impact on the search criteria they are applying to candidate profiles.
A global strategy in your hiring process to include a wider candidate market, helps to navigate several business hurdles. Widening the scope of a candidate profile can help overcome issues such as talent shortages, economic fluctuations, poor retention and engagement. Sourcing and attracting leadership from a global market can boost your competitive edge and leverage unique competencies to help you grow and scale your business.
With an increasingly interconnected global landscape it naturally follows that the workforce of businesses should reflect this diverse market, including at management-and board level.
Associate Partner, Alumni
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“As an executive search firm, we can help clients map out the global candidate market, work to attract sought after leadership and we have the relevant networks.”
It is not uncommon in our industry, that clients approach us when having difficulty filling niche roles or requiring unique skills and experiences. Being able to engage with candidates on a global market creates more opportunity for success, with a bigger pool of available candidates to approach. Being able to engage with leadership candidates across a global market increases the likelihood that we can find a match with someone previously experienced in: leading diverse teams, leading organisations that are dispersed across different geographies, heading-up companies that have a mix of cultural backgrounds and experiences and having the ability to unify and lead these teams towards the same goal and vision. Leveraging the potential of a global search, we can ensure that our clients are not merely filling a vacancy but strategically acquiring the best competence available to upskill and contribute to the business’ success.
“Based in Denmark, I often work with clients who have their headquarters in the Nordics but are looking for help to find leadership across their different locations and production sites. Having an understanding of the Nordic company culture that our clients often wish to nurture in their wider organisations, across the world is very beneficial. It is a must for us to understand differences in expectations and cultures between geographies, so that we can quickly address these and help ensure a good match.”
Introducing new leadership is often crucial to access particular competence, gain competitive edge and business growth, and it doesn’t matter so much where in the world the leader spends their time. When it comes to finding future leadership, executive search has moved away from leaning heavily on local market presence and now based on solid client understanding, looks for desired leadership skills within a global market.
Technological advancements
The ability to source leadership talent globally has been made easier through digital ways of working. A development in part fuelled by the pandemic but now popularised by not only the efficiency and cost-saving gains it can deliver and environmental considerations, but also the desire for a better work-life balance. Moreover, remote work offers you the opportunity to attract sought after competence and skills from a global market that could be key to building your competitive advantage as a business. Today, onboarding a C-Suite candidate primarily based in another country is a real possibility.
Admittedly, there has been much discussion about the pitfalls of digital interactions and their particular impact on collaboration and innovation, but in our opinion much of this has fallen away as leadership has acquired the soft-skills and targeted approaches that are breaking down these particular barriers even more over the last years. We have certainly witnessed this within our leadership development team, working with our clients to help leaders develop the skills they need to be successful in today’s context.
Transferrable skills
Not only are our clients more often open to approach the right profile of leadership candidate across a wider geographical scope, but also in another sector or industry. Skills are increasingly transferrable, for example – the experience of taking a business on a digital transformation journey is something that can be successfully translated into another organisation. With the geographical reach of our search networks, the right candidates can be encouraged across sectors and locations to work. This is beneficial, not only for young companies at the start of a growth journey but also more traditional ones who really need a push and a steer to reap the benefits of that transformation.
Of course, everything is a balance. Not least when leaders are tasked with setting the tone and culture for their organisations and some regions will undoubtedly have unique considerations that must be taken into account. Overall, with great leaders being a highly valuable resource – broadening leadership candidate profiles into new regions, sectors and depths of diversity can only be a good thing and search criteria reflect this.
Alumni Global
We have more than 30 years’ experience sourcing and developing leaders that make a difference to the businesses they work in. Our long-term approach to building our extensive networks containing diverse, deeply talented and highly experienced leadership candidates is a much-valued asset in our client engagements.
If we can help you with any area of leadership acquisition or development please do reach out.
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