Recruiting a chief executive officer or executive director is a high-impact decision. When a board of directors is involved, the process can be complex. Recently, HR Full Circle helped several corporate and nonprofit boards recruit their next leaders. Here’s how we navigated the searches with clarity, alignment and trust.
1. Meet the whole board
Before anything else, it’s important to establish trust. Ensure the entire board is familiar with the recruitment process and the recruiter. A face-to-face introduction helps board members connect with the recruiter, understand their qualifications and feel confident in the decision to bring in outside support. Familiarity fosters trust, and it’s important to me and to the board to be able to match a name with a face.
2. Align on the job profile
With the board’s approval of the recruitment partner, the next step is alignment of the job profile. The full board should agree on:
•Key responsibilities
•Required qualifications
•Leadership style
•Personality traits
You can’t find what you’re not looking for, so establishing agreement and resolving differences regarding “the work to be done” early on is absolutely essential. This alignment sets the foundation for a focused and effective search. I like using the Predictive Index Job Assessment to collect objective input from all board members. The Job Assessment will confirm areas of board member alignment and provide a visual for discussion for personality traits that don’t align. Does the next leader need to be a big-picture thinker who is people-oriented and quick to connect with others, or task-focused and analytical, protecting the organization from risky moves? Understanding these characteristics up front is key. There’s nothing worse than getting close to the finish line with a top candidate, only to have a change of opinion about qualifications, which means going back to the drawing board and starting over. Doing so wastes time for the recruitment partner, the board and the candidates.
3. Form a search committee
Once the job profile is set, it’s time to focus on efficiency. Aligning calendars and trying to conduct candidate interviews with all members of a board is highly inefficient. It’s important to move quickly and keep top candidates engaged. A smaller search committee, typically three to five board members, can take the lead on reviewing resumes, conducting initial interviews and narrowing down the candidate pool. This search committee should represent diverse perspectives while remaining nimble enough to move efficiently.
4. Document everything
Transparency is critical. I recommend documenting: screening criteria for resumes, initial phone screens and preliminary assessments as well as interview notes and decision-making rationale. This not only supports compliance and audit requirements but also ensures accountability and clarity if questions arise from the full board.
5. Introduce finalists to the full board
Once top candidates are identified, introduce them to the full board. This gives all members a chance to ask questions, share impressions, foster dialogue and get to know the candidate as well as participate in the final decision. This step reinforces collective ownership of the hiring decision.
6.Vote to confirm
The final step is formal: a nomination and board vote to confirm the new leader. With a well-run process, this vote should feel like a celebration, not a surprise.
These steps can be tailored to incorporate internal candidates, the use of candidate assessments such as The Predictive Index and either virtual or on-site interviews. Some boards like to keep things casual at the final step, inviting the finalists out to lunch for a more informal setting. The steps can also be tailored for candidates who might need to relocate for their new position. However, the steps above will provide the keys to success – clarity up front and balancing inclusivity with efficiency at every step.
This article appears in November SBJ 2025.