Two coaches, one club: leadership that fits the phase
On Sunday afternoon I was in the stands at the BUKO Stadion in Velsen-Zuid. Telstar were hosting FC Utrecht, and on either side of the pitch stood a coach who knows the club from the inside: Henk Brugge, Telstar’s head coach since this summer, and Anthony Correia, who held that same job last season and […]
A port for twenty years, a director for five
In selection interviews for project roles, I hear two statements that point in opposite directions. One candidate says, in these or similar words: “I’m a builder. Once it’s running, I’m gone.” Another says that what draws him is precisely the phase after completion, when the team needs to settle and the organisation has to become […]
Learning agility or sector experience: what predicts a good appointment?
Sector experience predicts less than most job profiles suggest. When you are looking for a director or manager for a role that is changing, someone who learns quickly and adapts will serve you better than someone who has known the industry for years. In the professional literature this capacity is sometimes called LQ (learning quotient) […]
Diversity in the boardroom, beyond the quota
When we search for a seat on a supervisory board, the profile usually emerges from the board itself. Its members look at who is leaving, at the committees that must remain staffed and at the expertise the board profile says cannot be missing. That is a sensible way to work. The consequence, however, is that […]
The first director from outside: what a family business in the IJmond settles before the appointment
At the moment I am searching for a managing director for a family business in the North Sea Canal Area. It is a supplier of metal components and assemblies, more than forty years old, with around 220 employees at two production sites and customers in machine building, energy and the maritime industry. The second generation […]
The silent rejection: why your best candidate drops out after the second interview
A selection process looks different from the inside than from the outside. Those on the committee know the reason behind every delay: a diary that will not line up, an extra stakeholder who wants to sit in after all, a decision that sits at a higher level. The candidate knows none of this. All he/she […]
Assessment or gut feeling: what a wrong appointment really costs
When an appointment goes wrong, I sometimes put the file back on the table. Almost always, it turns out the signs were already there. Not as a warning in red letters, but as a series of small signals that were noticed at the time and never spoken aloud: a responsibility that sounds bigger on the […]
At the gates of Amsterdam: why regional employers miss out on national talent
In one of my assignments, a candidate accepted the position of COO at an internationally operating manufacturer in the port area along the North Sea Canal. That was far from a given. She lived a considerable distance from the site, and the commute that came with it weighed heavily for her. What helped her over […]
Why family businesses start succession planning too late
A few years ago, I watched up close as the succession of a family business went wrong. A car dealership group, around ten locations, a well-known automotive brand. The owner-director could have stepped back long before he did. Instead, he stayed in place, doubting whether his daughters were capable of taking over. That doubt ended […]
The interview: why ‘tell me about yourself’ yields nothing
There is a pattern that repeats in almost every selection interview. Ask a management team to describe its own culture and you get policy language back: values, ambitions, three key words. Change the question to what it is like to work here and the jargon disappears. What takes its place is an example, usually a […]