Before an Executive Says Yes
Companies spend a lot of time evaluating executive candidates throughout the search process. Do they have the right experience? Can they lead the team? Have they worked in a similar environment? Are they equipped to take the business where it needs to go?
Candidates are doing their own evaluation along the way. By the time an executive gets serious about an opportunity, they usually want to understand much more than the title, compensation, and responsibilities. They want a realistic picture of the business, what they would be walking into, and what will actually be expected of them.
In our conversations with executives, a few questions tend to come up again and again.
What am I actually being hired to accomplish?
A job description can give someone a good sense of their responsibilities. It doesn’t always tell them what the company really needs from its next leader.
Maybe the priority is accelerating growth or improving margins. The company may need to build out a leadership team, prepare for an exit, improve a struggling function, or bring more structure to an organization that has grown quickly.
The title might be the same in each of those situations, but the job certainly isn’t.
For an executive considering a move, understanding those expectations early matters. What are the two or three things that really need to be different a year from now? And are those expectations realistic given the resources, team, and timeline?
How aligned are the people involved?
It’s possible for everyone to agree that a new executive is needed without completely agreeing on what that person should do.
A CEO may be ready to move quickly while the board prefers a more measured approach. Ownership may have specific expectations around growth, investment, or timing. Other members of the leadership team may have their own view of what needs attention first.
Some differences are to be expected. What matters is understanding where they exist. For a candidate, this is often less about expecting complete agreement and more about getting a sense of how the organization works through those differences and ultimately makes decisions.
What am I walking into?
This is where the reality of the role starts to come into focus.
Who is already on the team? Where are the gaps? Are the systems and processes keeping up with the business? What has already been tried? Which initiatives are underway, and which ones have stalled?
There is also history that won’t necessarily show up in a presentation or job description. A team may have been through several leadership changes. A major initiative may have failed before. There may be long-tenured employees who hold a great deal of institutional knowledge.
Executives don’t need everything to be perfect. Often, the work that needs to be done is exactly what makes an opportunity interesting. They do need enough context to understand the starting point.
Will I have the authority to do what I’m being asked to do?
This can be particularly important when the mandate involves significant change.
If an executive is expected to rebuild a team, introduce new systems, change processes, make investments, or rethink part of the strategy, it’s worth having a candid conversation about how those decisions will actually get made.
Every senior leader has stakeholders to answer to, and major decisions should involve the right people. The potential disconnect comes when someone is held responsible for an outcome but has less authority than they expected to influence it.
That can be difficult to uncover once someone is already in the role.
Why is the position open?
There can be a tendency to give candidates the polished version of this answer. In most cases, a straightforward one is more useful.
A role created because the company is growing comes with one set of circumstances. Replacing a long-tenured executive, following a difficult departure, or bringing in a different type of leader for the company’s next stage comes with its own set of challenges.
None of those automatically makes an opportunity more or less attractive. They simply tell the candidate something about what they may encounter when they arrive.
They also open the door to more useful conversations. What worked with the previous leader? What didn’t? What does the organization want to do differently this time?
Before the offer
By the end of a good executive search, both sides should know considerably more than they did at the beginning.
The company has had time to understand the executive’s experience, leadership style, and ability to take on the role. The candidate should have had the same opportunity to understand the business, the people involved, and the work ahead.
Not every challenge needs to be solved before an executive accepts an offer. But the important ones shouldn’t come as a surprise after they start.
The goal isn’t to make the opportunity look perfect. It’s to make sure everyone has a clear picture of the opportunity they’re saying yes to.