World wide Views of Leadership Attraction

Organisations that assume they can attract wonderful executive leaders are commonly the ones that cannot make their own business case to potential recruits and who fail to attract the highest calibre management prospects in the first place. Making those good decisions is about appealing to the right field of talent in the first place.

Oleh Butchatsky, a partner in Watermark Search, the TRANSEARCH International office in Sydney, says "It is critical that the business has a reputable, attractive and distinct "corporate personality". Standing out from the ruck is vital – and regularly this is a direct reflection of the leader/CEO/founder. A complete understanding of the hot buttons that may well appeal to contenders to a particular company is essential and they comprise corporate story telling around the organisation's culture, view on work/life balance, remuneration and other rewards, values, ethics and importantly in today's world, environmental considerations. "

Gregory Dohnt, partner in the TRANSEARCH International Sydney Office – Watermark Search – says excellent leaders are driven by the potential reputation enhancement, recognition from peers and opportunities for genuine wealth creation that may be promised in a career move. "Executives seek escalation of challenge. They want to see that what they undertake today on behalf of an organisation will assist them to meet even greater, more complex challenges in times to come, " Dohnt says. "Good leaders consider the legacy of people they leave behind them when their time is through. Top executives seek to balance tomorrow's results with futureproofing sustainability. And most importantly of all, they want to work with other people just like themselves. "

Uday Chawla, managing partner, and Rahul Mathur, senior partner, with TRANSEARCH International in India, believe that executive search systems to captivate world-class management talent must factor in the linkage between top executives' work and sense of self. "Certainly, jobs have become a part of self expression, " Chawla and Mathur agree. "It is the possibility to work with something close to one's heart and in one's own style which is of key importance. " This alone shows a very personalised engagement with top management candidates.

Mario Ceretti, managing partner of TRANSEARCH Italia in Milan, says an organisation's recruitment brand ought to be an extension of its consumer brand. Even further, he says, it has to speak to the kind of opportunity great business leaders might find there. "Executives in Europe and around the world, for example, want to see the business referred to in a way that clearly spells out its long-term strategy, " Ceretti says. "The best management candidates also expect to be held accountable for their general performance and have the tools to hold others accountable for general performance as well.

The laws of leadership attraction will often move top-quality executives to gravitate to your business or force them to take a look for better alternatives elsewhere. Highly competent executives want a realistic challenge and they want to help make a difference. Leaders often like 'the game' and have something to prove to themselves and from time to time to the general public. When and how employers consider that and whether they stay or get in the game are issues that will surely redraw the competitive business landscape for years to come.

Note to Editors: About TRANSEARCH International
Executive search firm TRANSEARCH International has representation in most of the major economic centres of the world with 59 offices in 37 countries. TRANSEARCH International was founded in 1982 and is a leading international executive search firm.