Thanksgiving. The word alone conjures up so many homey feelings. Food. Family. More food. Warmth. Laughter. And more food. The spread of abundant food is the star of Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the holiday, let’s consider how your Thanksgiving feast is similar to your executive search strategy. Farfetched? Keep reading.
Surprisingly, there are some strong parallels between your organization’s search for top talent and the Thanksgiving dinner you will enjoy. We’ve listed three, but get your creativity flowing and let us know what other similarities you see.
3 Parallels of a Successful Thanksgiving Feast and Executive Search
- Planned for
- Diverse
- The right fit
Planned for –
Your Thanksgiving Dinner and Your Executive Search Should Have at Least 3 Things in Common.
Obviously, you need a well-timed plan for the food prep to come together for Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey alone can take days if you buy a frozen one!
Not all guests will fully appreciate the immense effort needed to provide the variety of choices that will adorn the table. However, the happy smiles and satisfied appetites are a clear win for those who planned ahead.
Similarly, an executive search process requires upfront planning. This first step is absolutely critical to having everything come together. In fact, ignoring the planning stage can lead to costly mistakes that you can read more about that here.
Put succinctly, you need everyone on the hiring committee to be in alignment and working diligently to get the right leader hired. That doesn’t happen by accident; it takes planning.
And like the Thanksgiving food, not everyone will understand the necessity and time commitment of planning, but the end results depend on the forethought.
Diverse –
One of the fabulous things about Thanksgiving is the variety of food. You have the savory, the sweet; the creamy, the crunchy; the hot and the cold. All together it’s amazing. The diversity on everyone’s plate enhances the experience.
Likewise, our organizations need diversity. Different ages, races, backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, personalities. All of these differences enhance the organization’s ability to succeed.
Practically speaking, don’t hire people just like you. It’s a natural tendency and a terrible practice. You don’t want a table with 7 dishes of green bean casserole and nothing else, and you don’t want a leadership team full of a carbon copy of you.
The right fit –
Don’t bring grilled hot dogs to a Thanksgiving get-together. While grilled hot dogs are certainly a treat at a summer picnic, they don’t really have a place on a typical Thanksgiving menu. There are other dishes that are more complimentary and more fitting for this special dinner.
Likewise, there are personalities that are going to be a better fit for your organization. There are many amazing people that you can appreciate in other context, but to help lead your organization to greater success, you need the right people. That’s why Centennial is committed to our 4C Recruiting Process®. You have to evaluate the character, culture, chemistry and competencies of each individual to ensure you’re bringing the right talent to the right organization.
Make Your Organization and Your Holiday Guests Thankful
So as you look forward to the amazing food ahead, both this month and next, remember your executive search needs. Be sure it includes planning, diversity and the right fit. Your organization and your holiday guests will be all-the-more thankful when you take these seriously.
And when you realize you need help, we’re here: 888-366-3760 or by email. We’re more the talent experts than food experts, but we’re willing to offer advice on both!