Recruitment of a Chief Executive Officer

The role requires someone who is able to direct others in order to get the job done. They need to have a ‘big picture’ eye for detail and ensuring that the job is done thoroughly and according to the process. They will however, need to have people working with them who are thorough and will complete the detailed part of the job.

A predominant requirement for this role is that the person holding it needs to be able to focus objectively on the task and achieving goals and not be overly concerned with offending people in the process. That is not to say that the person is unfriendly but rather should be able to work objectively without being influenced by the social pressure of being popular. They may well be a genuinely friendly person but they are unlikely to be an egotistical, extrovert, bubbly sort individual.

Whereas they may be socially confident and enjoy the company of strangers they are unlikely to participate in idle chatter. To perform their job they would use their powers of persuasion and they are likely to be comfortable with confrontational situations where they have to assert themselves.

The behavioural style best suited to this type of job is a person who is comfortable with dynamic change in the working environment, and is able to adapt as required. Furthermore, the role will require a person who is goal focused whilst being motivated to achieve the desired outcomes without significant management intervention, or the guidance of rules and procedures.

They would need to have a resilient character, such that they can cope with the challenging aspects of the role, which would require them to use their strength of character and skill to adapt to complete job.

One characteristic of the behaviour required for this position is that the person needs to be comfortable with responding quickly to work demands and to be adaptable and comfortable with change. There will be times when deadlines need to be met with little warning and the person will need to adapt themselves to these tight deadlines.

The person needs to be enthusiastic, energetic and confident with adapting to the changing environment and not being able to rigidly follow a process or procedure.

This role is does not have a rigid structured set of rules determining what the individual is to perform on a daily basis. The role will require an individual who is capable of thinking on their feet and adjusting to the changing dynamics of the job in order to meet the requirements. The type of person in the role will have to rely on experience and skill rather than process and will need to be confident of what they do in spite of the lack of guidance.