Leadership Strength for the Future: How Well Will the New Team Drive the Company Forward?
Leadership Advisory: Beyond Intuition
To navigate complex economic dynamics and ensure future success on par with past achievements, advanced leadership skills are essential. The hiring and development processes required to build a new top team are often long-term and resource-intensive endeavors.
In order to effectively align the operational performance and ROI of portfolio companies, partners with special hiring and leadership advisory expertise are needed to provide targeted support to senior management in order to leverage the partially unstructured topic of leadership effectiveness as a value creation driver. With this goal in mind, DLA digital leaders advisory and MANA Leadership Advisory are joining forces with immediate effect.
1. What business case do your integrated search and leadership advisory services address?
DERAKHCHAN: The market for capable, high-performing leaders is limited, so ideally, we come into the picture when it’s time to strengthen the existing leadership team with a top player or to enhance the team’s overall performance.
WEBER: Exactly, because at these levels, no one can afford mis-hires. Through dla’s executive search, combined with our proven and objective individual or top-team assessments, we can verifiably minimize the risk of a mis-hire. This is a top priority for our contacts, such as investors or CEOs, who understand that the wrong person on the top team can quickly cause the entire team to collapse.
2. What does this look like in practical terms?
DERAKHCHAN: In our search process, we typically identify up to three candidates for the leadership mandate, who are then qualified holistically and successively for the role. At this stage, we work closely together and can clearly see if and when it’s necessary to bring in additional candidates. DLA and MANA have extensive experience with C-suite demands and expectations, which eliminates lengthy and time-intensive onboarding. We get straight to the point.
WEBER: My work then consists of qualifying the role mandate together with the investor and CEO again based on the context. For example, on the basis of the existing value creation plan and what targets are to be delivered for the mandate. For this purpose, I develop a customised role scorecard (mandate) together with all relevant stakeholders (e.g. CHRO). It defines role-specific objectives and organisational dynamics. This scorecard serves as a benchmark for our assessment work. We evaluate the candidate specifically via in-depth interviews, reference checks or 360-degree feedback. The result gives an exact statement of the candidate’s likelihood of success in the role in question and provides detailed recommendations on how this success can be increased. The scorecard also serves as a roadmap for the new manager when starting the new job. All of this never happens in detachment from the rest of the management team or the team that the leader is taking over. And of course, this work requires absolute sensitivity and a deep understanding of the individual in question, as well as the goals of the mandate and how these can be achieved.
3. That sounds complex and time-consuming.
DERAKHCHAN: We should not forget that this always concerns leadership personalities who are expected to create optimal conditions for their team and the entire organization. In doing so, we aim to put an end to cherished practices from the past. The goal is to integrate new members of the leadership team (e.g., CFOs or CTOs) based on objective and proven criteria, rather than relying on gut feeling during casual coffee chats.
WEBER: Unfortunately, it is still the case that top executives are often assessed to a far lesser extent regarding their skills and suitability compared to individuals in middle management. Yet, these leaders bear significantly greater responsibilities.
4. Let’s assume all stakeholders agree to invest in new top talent. However, there are differing views on what constitutes good leadership. In private equity firms, dealmakers are often present, while the portfolio companies typically have specialists focused on operations. How can you help in this situation?
DERAKHCHAN: No one can afford to hire a new leader only to find out after six months that they do not connect with the team or embody the culture. Our approach specifically protects decision-makers from this scenario. On the other hand, it provides the opportunity to understand in detail the business and team dynamics for which a particular individual is best suited, or under what conditions they might fail. This insight is crucial in the leadership advisory process.
WEBER: I completely agree! C-suite performance should be ensured through an objective and data-driven assessment approach. The stakes are simply too high. Large and renowned private equity firms have long understood this and act accordingly. Depending on the situation, leadership roles require different competencies. Each mandate brings new challenges, which is why there are no universal leadership requirements. We distinguish between evaluative and development-based assessments, always focusing on enhancing the performance of leaders and organizations.
MARCEL RAMIN DERAKHCHAN
is the founder of dla digital leaders advisory and is responsible for filling top management positions in business professional services companies as well as software and high-tech companies. In particular, he advises global strategy consultancies, IT-service providers, software companies and hidden champions.
KRISHAN WEBER
is the founder and managing director of MANA Leadership Advisory GmbH. Previously, he worked as a leadership advisor at ghSMART, where he advised leading private equity investors on their most pressing leadership challenges in their portfolio companies and investment teams. As an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, he focused on implementing transformative changes. During his eight years at Volkswagen, he served as director of corporate strategy and secretary general for VW North America.
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Leadership Strength for the Future: How Well Will the New Team Drive the Company Forward?
MARC DAVID ROMPF
specializes in staffing top management positions in business and professional services companies. As co-founder of dla, he is responsible for assessment and succession. As co-founder of dla, he is responsible for the areas of assessment and succession.
MARCEL RAMIN DERAKHCHAN is the founder of dla digital leaders advisory and is responsible for filling top management positions in business professional services companies as well as software and high-tech companies. In particular, he advises global strategy consultancies, IT service providers, software companies and hidden champions.
MARC DAVID ROMPF
specializes in staffing top management positions in business and professional services companies. As co-founder of dla, he is responsible for assessment and succession. As co-founder of dla, he is responsible for the areas of assessment and succession.
MARCEL RAMIN DERAKHCHAN is the founder of dla digital leaders advisory and is responsible for filling top management positions in business professional services companies as well as software and high-tech companies. In particular, he advises global strategy consultancies, IT service providers, software companies and hidden champions.