We need to hire our first true external executive to run our finance and administrative department, but our leadership team has only ever promoted internally or hired tactical doers. How do we screen candidates to ensure they can actually lead strategically instead of just managing tasks?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To hire your first true executive, you must stop looking for a super-doer and start looking for someone who can lead, manage, and hold people accountable. Your current team is likely used to hiring people who put their heads down and execute. An executive must do the opposite; they need to elevate and delegate. First, use your Accountability Chart to define the exact outcomes this seat must deliver, not a laundry list of daily tasks. If you are preparing for a clean exit, this person must own the financial metrics that buyers care about. During the interview process, test for GWC™. Does this candidate truly get the strategic landscape of your business? Do they want the intense accountability of a leadership seat? Do they have the capacity to build systems rather than just run them? Second, run candidates through your core values. Do not compromise on culture fit for technical brilliance. Third, ask behavioral questions that force them to explain how they built teams and solved problems in their past roles. If their answers are all about what they did personally rather than what their team achieved under their leadership, they are a doer, not an executive. Finally, have them review your V/TO® so they understand your long-term vision. If they cannot describe how they would align their department to support those goals, they are the wrong fit. Build the seat first, screen ruthlessly for GWC™, and do not settle.