Business Management Management Strategies
July 1, 2008
By: Jennifer Duell, Contributing Editor
When Birmingham, Ala.-based Corporate Realty Associates Inc. decided to add a COO to its management roster, the company’s four top managers knew that finding the right person was critical to maintaining a strong, effective team. But they also realized that choosing that person required a lot of evaluation—of the company, of themselves and of the potential. “We realized that the spirit and the style of the person we chose would have to work with ours,” recalled managing director Richard Campbell III. “Knowing where the rest of the team is weak and strong definitely helped.”
Too many managers believe that building the executive team is all about finding and selecting the person with the best qualifications for a given role, overlooking how the company has changed, how the position might continue to evolve or the type of person who would work best within the existing team. “When things go wrong, it’s usually because people don’t think enough about what they have and what they need,” said management consultant Rachelle Canter, author of Make the Right Career Move.
Just as people do, firms traverse life stages. A newer entity may be trucking through a growth spurt while an established company is working to maintain its position. A firm’s maturity informs the kind of people a management team should add, said Human Resource Solutions principal Roberta Chinsky Matuson, who previously served as human resources director for Weingarten Realty Trust. If a company seeks a transformational addition, it should look for candidates who feel comfortable asking questions and rocking the boat. Conversely, firms that have positive status quos should stick with people who believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as transformational candidates with ideas for new and truly better processes “will tire because their ideas aren’t embraced,” Matuson pointed out.
Building the right management team also involves a thorough inventory of its existing members to determine the best fit, as well as what is missing, said Matt Slepin, co-founder & managing partner of Terra Search Partners L.L.C., an executive recruiting firm that specializes in the commercial real estate industry.
Campbell, for instance, knows that he and Corporate Realty Associates president Robert Simon are “deal junkies.” He observed: “We can close the biggest deal of our lives and come in the next morning and act like it didn’t happen and be ready for the next thing. It would be hard for us to relate to someone who sits on their laurels.”
On the other hand, Glimcher Property Trust CEO Michael Glimcher sought variety when he decided to make changes within his REIT. He took a tough look at his team members’ skill sets, backgrounds, leadership styles and personalities. “I wanted to create a balanced team, and you can’t have a good team if everyone is the same. ... To do that, you have to have an understanding of what those people bring to the team,” he said.
A balance of work styles makes a group more effective. A real estate brokerage team, for example, requires different managers to focus on prospecting, due diligence and relationship building, noted Stebbins Consulting Group partner Greg Stebbins.
Finally, decisionmakers should consider an ideal candidate’s specific background and capabilities, such as experience, education and skills. All too often, a company expands its management team with an executive who has the same technical skills and education as do the rest of the team members. Or a firm replaces a manager with a candidate who possesses the same qualifications as did his or her predecessor. Known informally as “hiring in his image,” this practice can devastate a team, according to Sue Thompson, founder of Set Free Life Seminars and author of The Prodigal Brother. “The biggest mistake people can make is simply looking for education and experience,” she said. “Just looking at someone’s resume won’t tell you if they have the talent necessary to do the job.”
She added that talent is one of those words that people confuse with skill, especially technical skill. For example, a degree in accounting and several years of experience in a related role do not equal a talent for numbers. And a person’s ability to say and do all the right things does not necessarily mean he or she can soothe an angry customer.
The right combination of characteristics in a new hire should tailor-fit the needs of the company and the existing management team, explained Carl Robinson, managing principal for Advanced Leadership Consulting and author of 11 Steps for Selecting Top Management Talent. And while companies can also customize the search process, they should approach it systematically, not casually, he advised. “You really need to be disciplined and take your time.”
Find the Right Fit
1. Evaluate the company’s standing, its goals and the impact executives expect a new manager to make.
2. Consider existing management team members’ functional expertise, personalities, behavior and communication skills.
3. Determine the experience, education and skills that will round out the existing team.
4. Judge candidates based on a combination of these factors, not just education and experience.
Source: Rachelle Canter, author of Make the Right Career Move
Chemistry Counts
Perhaps the trickiest part of assembling a management team is determining the chemistry that either allows people to gel with the rest of the team or makes them outcasts. “The experience and the education are the science, but the chemistry is an art,” said Cushman & Wakefield Inc. CEO of the Americas Tony Marano.
According to Carl Robinson, managing principal for Advanced Leadership Consulting and author of 11 Steps for Selecting Top Management Talent, 30 to 50 percent of executives fail, and it is not because of technical incompetence. “They fail because it’s a poor match,” he said.
Management consultant and leadership expert Kevin Berchelmann recently helped an Internet technology firm build a management team from scratch. The company scoured the nation for the best and brightest executives. Every member chosen was brilliant and at the top of his or her respective game, he said. All came from intense, successful, team-driven environments, and they were all given incentives to work together as a cohesive group. Still, the cherry-picked team proved a disaster, as each member was accustomed to centering a team, Berchelmann reported.
For the Management Matters with Mike Myatt blog, click on “Management Matters” on the right. For more management stories, visit www.cpnonline.com/businessmanagement.
By: Jennifer Duell, Contributing Editor
When Birmingham, Ala.-based Corporate Realty Associates Inc. decided to add a COO to its management roster, the company’s four top managers knew that finding the right person was critical to maintaining a strong, effective team. But they also realized that choosing that person required a lot of evaluation—of the company, of themselves and of the potential. “We realized that the spirit and the style of the person we chose would have to work with ours,” recalled managing director Richard Campbell III. “Knowing where the rest of the team is weak and strong definitely helped.”
Too many managers believe that building the executive team is all about finding and selecting the person with the best qualifications for a given role, overlooking how the company has changed, how the position might continue to evolve or the type of person who would work best within the existing team. “When things go wrong, it’s usually because people don’t think enough about what they have and what they need,” said management consultant Rachelle Canter, author of Make the Right Career Move.
Just as people do, firms traverse life stages. A newer entity may be trucking through a growth spurt while an established company is working to maintain its position. A firm’s maturity informs the kind of people a management team should add, said Human Resource Solutions principal Roberta Chinsky Matuson, who previously served as human resources director for Weingarten Realty Trust. If a company seeks a transformational addition, it should look for candidates who feel comfortable asking questions and rocking the boat. Conversely, firms that have positive status quos should stick with people who believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as transformational candidates with ideas for new and truly better processes “will tire because their ideas aren’t embraced,” Matuson pointed out.
Building the right management team also involves a thorough inventory of its existing members to determine the best fit, as well as what is missing, said Matt Slepin, co-founder & managing partner of Terra Search Partners L.L.C., an executive recruiting firm that specializes in the commercial real estate industry.
Campbell, for instance, knows that he and Corporate Realty Associates president Robert Simon are “deal junkies.” He observed: “We can close the biggest deal of our lives and come in the next morning and act like it didn’t happen and be ready for the next thing. It would be hard for us to relate to someone who sits on their laurels.”
On the other hand, Glimcher Property Trust CEO Michael Glimcher sought variety when he decided to make changes within his REIT. He took a tough look at his team members’ skill sets, backgrounds, leadership styles and personalities. “I wanted to create a balanced team, and you can’t have a good team if everyone is the same. ... To do that, you have to have an understanding of what those people bring to the team,” he said.
A balance of work styles makes a group more effective. A real estate brokerage team, for example, requires different managers to focus on prospecting, due diligence and relationship building, noted Stebbins Consulting Group partner Greg Stebbins.
Finally, decisionmakers should consider an ideal candidate’s specific background and capabilities, such as experience, education and skills. All too often, a company expands its management team with an executive who has the same technical skills and education as do the rest of the team members. Or a firm replaces a manager with a candidate who possesses the same qualifications as did his or her predecessor. Known informally as “hiring in his image,” this practice can devastate a team, according to Sue Thompson, founder of Set Free Life Seminars and author of The Prodigal Brother. “The biggest mistake people can make is simply looking for education and experience,” she said. “Just looking at someone’s resume won’t tell you if they have the talent necessary to do the job.”
She added that talent is one of those words that people confuse with skill, especially technical skill. For example, a degree in accounting and several years of experience in a related role do not equal a talent for numbers. And a person’s ability to say and do all the right things does not necessarily mean he or she can soothe an angry customer.
The right combination of characteristics in a new hire should tailor-fit the needs of the company and the existing management team, explained Carl Robinson, managing principal for Advanced Leadership Consulting and author of 11 Steps for Selecting Top Management Talent. And while companies can also customize the search process, they should approach it systematically, not casually, he advised. “You really need to be disciplined and take your time.”
Find the Right Fit
1. Evaluate the company’s standing, its goals and the impact executives expect a new manager to make.
2. Consider existing management team members’ functional expertise, personalities, behavior and communication skills.
3. Determine the experience, education and skills that will round out the existing team.
4. Judge candidates based on a combination of these factors, not just education and experience.
Source: Rachelle Canter, author of Make the Right Career Move
Chemistry Counts
Perhaps the trickiest part of assembling a management team is determining the chemistry that either allows people to gel with the rest of the team or makes them outcasts. “The experience and the education are the science, but the chemistry is an art,” said Cushman & Wakefield Inc. CEO of the Americas Tony Marano.
According to Carl Robinson, managing principal for Advanced Leadership Consulting and author of 11 Steps for Selecting Top Management Talent, 30 to 50 percent of executives fail, and it is not because of technical incompetence. “They fail because it’s a poor match,” he said.
Management consultant and leadership expert Kevin Berchelmann recently helped an Internet technology firm build a management team from scratch. The company scoured the nation for the best and brightest executives. Every member chosen was brilliant and at the top of his or her respective game, he said. All came from intense, successful, team-driven environments, and they were all given incentives to work together as a cohesive group. Still, the cherry-picked team proved a disaster, as each member was accustomed to centering a team, Berchelmann reported.
For the Management Matters with Mike Myatt blog, click on “Management Matters” on the right. For more management stories, visit www.cpnonline.com/businessmanagement.
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