Yogi Berra was a player who coached using high talent standards - as do high performing business leaders. “CEOs are the business world’s Major League Baseball General Managers,“ notes Eric Gustafson, Founder and President/CEO of Access Point Partners.
In reviewing 2024, our clients’ hiring standards brought about exceptional finalist candidate slates. Clients didn’t rush to hire, rather waited for the best and often specified, "Our culture demands executives be a Player/Coach, not a corner office type."
A few credentials required:
- INDUSTRY FAMILIARITY: Attract direct competitor or highly relevant adjacent industry backgrounds. Not as bankable? The learning curve risks of hires out of dissimilar industries.
- MANAGING COMPLEXITY: Find proven leaders who have driven change management amid alignment across complex organizational conditions. Can they bridge that past success to a new employer's future-state objectives?
- OVERHIRES AND BEST ATHLETES: It is crucial to land finalists who, during interviewing rounds and upon hire, are seen by passed-over internal candidates and others internally as the beneficial and clear justification for going outside to elevate learning, careers, and company results.
- OBVIOUS SUCCESSORS: Every candidate offers one or two five-to-ten-year-horizon promotions in level, missions, or authorities. Candidates who don't assess well will not proceed onto the search short list.
For 2025, high performing organizations will continue to pursue proven, well-vetted, and multi-dimensional talent whether sourced internally or externally.
As the Yankees’ Yogi Berra said, “If you can get someone who can play a couple positions, it helps you out a real lot.”
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