top of page
Search
Conchie Associates

StrategicCHRO360: The Leadership Experiences That Matter

When it comes to selecting the right leader for your organization, look out for a candidate with these experiences under their belt.


In our work helping clients to redefine their selection criteria, we often ask whether it’s possible for a leadership candidate to be highly tenured but relatively inexperienced.


It’s common for job descriptions to specify a minimum number of years of experience that all candidates should possess. Instead, we advocate that you identify the specific experiences—and the expected outcomes—that more accurately reflect the work environment and help identify candidates with the greatest chance of success.


Experiences That Do Matter


We found that although some experiences were extremely common—like spending time in a marketing role—they rarely contributed much to a leader’s overall success and effectiveness and were little more than “pass-through” experiences that might have added knowledge about the company but little else. The following experiences, however, did seem to add value. Across all the organizations we studied, these were the experiences that helped multiply a person’s talents and capabilities.


We don’t have a list of specific experiences that leaders need to have accomplished in order to be the very best. Instead, we have defined a descriptive framework for analyzing experiences for their potential value. Risk is a consistent element in all the best leadership development and growth opportunities, and each of the following experiences should make that clear.


The full article and review of the experiences that matter can be found here: https://strategicchro360.com/the-leadership-experiences-that-matter/.


Recent Posts

See All

MIT Sloan Management Review

Why do so many executive hires fail to live up to expectations? It’s time to assess your selection process. Selecting the right candidate...

Comments


bottom of page