Making ‘lateral entry’ work

Making ‘lateral entry’ work

• CEOs and Governments face the challenge of getting the right leadership.
• The Indian government has responded to this challenge by taking the initiative to invite executives from beyond the ranks of the civil service to apply for certain Joint Secretary posts, which is a dubious idea.
• At Egon Zehnder extensive work has been carried out in this regard and five elements have been identified that increases the chances of success.

1. Establish objective criteria:

• There in uncertainity about the skills, qualities and experiences the role required and there is no guarantee that the requirements agreed to are the ones that are actually needed to be successful.
• This is why the process must begin with a real probing of the position and its larger context.
• Having objective criteria also gives decision makers confidence that their appointments will be able to stand up to public scrutiny without fear of seeming biased towards or against candidates for caste, geography, political affiliation or other considerations.

2. Target the talent you need:

• As the public announcements proved ineffective in making suitable recruitments, the Government must proactively identify and approach executives with the desired skills and experience.
• But very often governments are reluctant to follow this suit so as to not appear to favour candidates.

3. Look for potential to succeed in this environment:

Working with the governments around the world suggests that in addition to the right motivation there are three key personal traits that predict success of lateral hires in such roles.

I. Resilience - it is essential to have the ability to persevere in the face of constant pulls and pressures and aligning multiple stakeholders.

II. High level of curiosity -  They acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers, are eager to learn and model their behaviour accordingly.

III. Ability to engage others - The ability to build consensus among stakeholders is essential.

4. Less is more when it comes to selection panels:
 

• The traditional screening process of appearing before a section panel of three to five interviewers, who each take their turn investigating topics they have divided between themselves often results in only a surface-level understanding of the candidate.
• It is found that one-on-one or two-on-one interviews allow for a much more meaningful exploration of key points of a candidate’s career, their mindset and approach.
• More focussed interviews should be supplemented with extensive referencing with finalist candidates.
• This combination of data will provide insight into a candidate’s character, integrity and moral compass — all critical qualities for government roles.

5. Accelerate the new hire’s integration:

The selected lateral hire must also be primed for success in his or her new organisation.

There should be an extensive playbook with detailed profiles of the management team outlining each person’s priorities and concerns, and provided coaching to help the executive best position himself with his new peers.

India’s lateral entry programme has the potential to introduce new thinking and new expertise into key ministries by completely drawing from the country’s rich array of talent while maintaining the objectivity necessary to preserve the public trust.

Source : The Hindu