Announcement to My Readers

I am pleased to announce that I have re-joined the "top five" retained executive recruiting firm, DHR International, and will be based in the firm's St. Louis, Missouri office.  Previously, I had spent 10 years with the firm and served as managing director in St. Louis. My new position at DHR is Global Practice Leader for Executive Integration and Development.  We are now offering as a value added service my proven New Leader Integration ("Pre-boarding") process at the conclusion of a senior executive search.  We will also provide executive coaching to senior executives.  I will be the primary leader integrator and coach for the firm and will be recruiting internally and externally for search consultants with a talent for, and interest in, providing this innovative leader integration process, as well as executive coaching to DHR's search clients.  We will be providing these services on a global basis.  As before, I will continue to serve as an executive recruiter for senior executives and focus my search work in these areas:

• Healthcare
• Nonprofit
• Aerospace & Defense
• Manufacturing and Other Industrial
• Life Sciences
• Universities

My contact information at DHR is mburroughs@dhrinternational.com and 314-727-2000 ext. 3002.

You can follow my developments at DHR via my personal website, http://www.michaelkburroughs.com.  DHR's website is at http://www.dhrinternational.com. 

The Four Functions of Leadership

In the early 1980s the Army was investing much time and attention to the development and teaching of a new leadership doctrine.  It was a blend of the best that the private sector had to offer along with tried and true military leadership principles.  I was fortunate then to be a leadership instructor at a school for mid-career officers and had previously been a company commander on two occasions.

The curriculum separated "management" from "leadership" while emphasizing that both were critical for military officers to understand and practice.  There were two private sector leadership guru's at the time who were freely quoted and taught.  They were, Blake and Mouton (The Managerial Grid) and Hersey and Blanchard (Situational Leadership).  Warren Bennis was also mentioned, especially his tome that "managers focus on doing things right; leaders focus on doing the right things."  That principle hit home with Army officers, as it was clear that to succeed as an officer one had to balance both, equally.  In other words, management and leadership were of equal importance.  That said, it was also the opinion of most students in our program that leadership was the skill that was most important to commanding troops.

We blended some purely military leadership principles with the best the private sector had to offer.  We taught that a military leader must exhibit four traits:  Courage, Competence, Candor and Commitment.  Courage was clearly aimed at behavior under fire, but it also pertained to moral courage, i.e., being willing to say what needed to be said, regardless of personal consequences.  Then there were the four functions of leadership.  They were that a leader is a Teacher, Counselor, Manager and Coach.  These functions were real eye openers for our students.  Until introduced to this concept, most military leaders focused on management. We taught that an officer manages resources and leads people; that leadership is an influencing process and management is a control process.  They understood the "control" principle, and appreciated the "influence" principle, but it was clear from their experience that the teaching points needed to focus on those other leadership principles.  The addition of teaching, counseling and coaching to the leadership equation drove home the teaching point that leadership is an influencing process.  Teachers, counselors and coaches are all about influencing.   The best of our students "got it."  They knew that the secret to their success to that point in their careers had been their leadership strengths.  Most had already served as unit commanders at the platoon and company level prior to attending our six-month course and understood that commanders do not inspire their soldiers through management; they inspire them through leadership.

When I left the military to join the private sector as a director of staff and organization development for a division of a Fortune 100 company, I brought these principles with me.  It came as a complete surprise to me that these values were not reinforced in the corporate world.  Management was (and remains) by far the greater emphasized function of leadership.  Yet when we examine what motivates and demotivates people, it often zeros in on workers' relationships with their bosses.  The majority of those being managed and led today look for authenticity and transparency in their bosses.  In short, most people want to be led; few people relish being managed. This has a bearing on employee retention and productivity (among other things).

I am encouraged that the better MBA programs are putting a renewed emphasis on leadership.  Its about time.

http:www.michaelkburroughs.com

Writing a Book on Leader Transitions

I have a friend and colleague who once said to me: "Mike. There is a book in every man.  What's yours?"  It was a very simple statement and question and I was never the same afterwards.  The fact is, that I did indeed have a book in me.  It drove me to act.  If you have read some of my earlier postings or read some of my articles at EzineArticles.com, or seen my personal website lately (http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/), you are aware that I have developed a niche in the past two decades of transitioning new leaders into their positions.   My book addresses in detail how to do a leader transition process.

The process is called, New Leader Integration.  I call it "pre-boarding" in order to distinguish it from a common practice in organizations called, "on-boarding."  On-boarding ensures minimal downtime when a new employ starts work.  All administrative tasks are done quickly and efficiently and every effort is made to orient the new employee to the organization as well.  Pre-boarding is all about results.  Why is that important?

The statistics surrounding the transition of new leaders are dire.  There are several recent studies that suggest anywhere from 30 to 50% of outside hired new leaders will fail within two years.  The statistics are a bit better for inside promotions, but not by much.  Another finding is that the first 90 days a new leader is on the job will more often than not determine ultimate success or failure. I have seen this happen, repeatedly.  So the logical conclusion is that everything must be done as quickly as possible to ensure that new leaders arrive with a blueprint in hand for what needs to be accomplished and avoided.  That is what my process does.  It begins when an offer is accepted (for outside hires) or when the decision has been made to promote an individual from within the organization, and reaches critical mass the morning of the first day when I facilitate a kick-off meeting with the new leader and direct reports.  It tapers off over the first 90 days with a series of meetings I facilitate with the new leader and his/her boss.

I developed this process while an organization development executive and introduced it into the executive recruiting field while at DHR International, a "top five" search firm.  On April 1, 2011, I will be returning to DHR to serve as Global Practice Leader for Executive Integration and Development.  We will be offering pre-boarding as an optional feature for clients to consider as searches are conducted around the world.

The book is called, Before On-boarding:  How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results. It is a step-by-step process for how organizations can implement New Leader Integration into the way they do business.  It requires an experienced Organization Development consultant (internal or external) or an equally experienced executive recruiter to conduct this process.  It is my hope that by providing the world with this book, savvy change management specialists will put it to good use.  It is my goal to significantly minimize failure on the part of new leaders.  The potential cost savings to organizations, which I will outline in a future posting, would be substantial.

We are still working on its release date, and I am told that it will be sometime in May. You will be able to order the book through Amazon.  It will also be available as an e-book for downloading to Kindle.  I would welcome your feedback once you have read it.

What Do Executive Recruiters Look For In a Client Relationship?

Much is said by clients about executive recruiters.  A common topic is, how to select and manage them.  There is a flip side of that coin.  There is an assumption that recruiters are circling around potential clients like hungry fish.  Perhaps in our current economic crisis, that may appear to be accurate.  I suggest in this posting that the best executive recruiters choose their clients wisely.  What may appear to be a win in gaining a new client, may turn into a catastrophe down the road, if all the recruiter was thinking about was quick access to a fee.  Those of us who wear the hats of executive recruiters all have our stories to tell.

If you are a senior manager who occasionally retains executive recruiters, here is what we are looking for in our relationship with you.

• An open line of communication at all times
• Access to all stakeholders in the specification development stage
• Read and be thoroughly familiar with the contract
• Pay a reasonable fee for our services (and in a timely manner)
• Look for value in the process.  Don't treat your recruiters as a commodity.
• Maintain a collaborative relationship throughout the process
• Keep in mind that half of the search is selling your organization. It's not all about sourcing.
• Know that we have to believe in your organization and culture to sell you accurately and honestly
• Avoid putting recruiters in a position where they begin to doubt the value of the opportunity
• Have a realistic attitude as to how long a good executive search project will last
• Keep in mind that the timeliness of project completion is more often tied to client responsiveness
• Demonstrate a sense of urgency when candidates have been presented
• Timely scheduling of interviews and in short succession once candidates have been presented
• Timely and detailed feedback to the recruiter regarding the candidates interviewed
• Honesty at all times with candidates (don't keep candidates in the dark)
• Don't put the recruiter in a tough spot with candidates 
• Provide details regarding extra selection process criteria such as management assessments
• Commit not to drag out the process (good candidates don't get better with age)
• Prompt payment of candidate and recruiter expenses
• Keep a realistic view that there is no such thing as the perfect candidate
• A collaborative relationship with the recruiter (listen to our advice)
• Involve the recruiter in closing the deal (e.g., negotiations).  We have a relationship with the candidate.
• Invest in a viable new leader integration process for all hired executives (not just on-boarding)
• Encourage the recruiter to stay in touch with the hired executive for at least three months
• Be willing to listen and respond positively to feedback from the recruiter "post hire"

We value our relationships with our clients and strive to do a good job for you.  While it is you who are paying us, we do have an obligation with our candidates to be open and honest with them at all times. Don't put us in a position with our candidates that can compromise our integrity.