What is going through the minds of leaders, in charge of destinies impacting billions of people in the world of business, trade, commerce and entrepreneurship, both big and small? Is it something beyond the Survive-Revive-Thrive formula or is there more to it within the numbness that lingers after the shock? There really isn’t a comprehensive enough term that can adequately describe the continuing impact and havoc unleashed by the ‘pandemic’ that thus far only existed in the realm of fiction.
We can argue that the impact of the pandemic has not been even and smaller businesses have been far more affected than their larger cousins, but there is no denying the universal effect of the lethality of this scourge and the unpredictability of its next move.
To understand its deep psychological impact on leaders, which in turn will have a profound impact on decisions driving the direction of the days to follow, the world of Leadership Executive Search, which amorphously straddles the world of scientific thinking and artful human engagement, is uniquely positioned to provide a front-row, as well as a backstage view, of the lead characters as they prepare and perform, in a theatre like never seen before.
The 21st century has seen tremendous changes in the world of work. Industry 3.0, with the advent of computers and revolution in the IT & software sector, has changed the dimensions of the workforce. With systems becoming increasingly mechanised and, now, with Industry 4.0 upon us, with artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud & edge computing, big data analytics have paradoxically made it more important for organisations to identify and acknowledge their greatest resources – their people.
“Most resources are available to all companies,” informs a mid-20th century search pioneer. “The great variable is the quality of leadership — it determines why some companies fail and others succeed.”
One can trace the origins of the ‘executive search’ industry emerging as a distinct and specialised domain back to the large global management consultancies based in the West, from where it branched out early last century. The nucleus of action was the US and later Europe, especially around the time when organisations were looking for post-war industrialisation and prosperity.
There was demand for thought- and action-driven leaders, who had the foresight and fortitude to grow businesses. In a changing world full of opportunities, it was imperative for a business leader to exploit every possibility, which would give them an edge over the competition. The need became strong for a dedicated set of professionals, who had the experience to understand businesses, their diverse strategies and the quality of resources required for the success of an enterprise, especially where new leadership talent was concerned.
The capability to dive deep to identify problems at its roots and present solutions in a holistic manner was the turf of the management consultancies. But more often than not, the solution involved the hiring of a leader which could be the starting point or even the terminal point of the change cycle of the enterprise and thereon the roles between the management consultant and the search consultant became more distinguished.
With systems becoming increasingly mechanised and, now, with Industry 4.0 upon us, with artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud & edge computing, big data analytics have paradoxically made it more important for organisations to identify and acknowledge their greatest resources – their people
This growing demand was the catalyst for a specialised consultancy, which would focus on going beyond the walls of the company and even venture into international markets to find the right skill sets. The 1970s saw the demand for talent outpace a business’s ability to fulfil its talent requirements internally and thus began the boom, which would eventually serve as a foundation for the $12 billion search industry we have today.
Coming into the 1990s, as the maturity and momentum of the ‘retained executive search’ concept spread eastwards, organisations the world over including Asia, saw multinational corporations, family-owned businesses and start-up enterprises view this professional service for its distinct value and relevance for recruiting quality leadership and acceptance of its premium charges, though many were deterred by its ‘cost’.
Steadily the needle moved from an expense outlook to an investment outlook, when sagacious words began to whisper that the overall cost of a mis-hire could be scorchingly high in the medium and long run, if the right candidate wasn’t picked. The clear linkage between the search firm, its consultants and processes, leading to the identification of the right candidate and the creation or unlocking of the true value of the business, began to be better understood.
Whilst the financial impact of a mis-hire is easier to quantify, the impact on the soft underbelly and more sensitive dimensions of the organisation, such as its morale and productivity, has deeper and more complex implications. The penny-wise mindset began to ebb, as the value of a leader impacting the pound-rise became evident.