“When recruiting chief executives for not-for-profit organizations,” writes Witt/Kieffer’s Julie Rosen, “I pose one key question for each candidate: Are you truly passionate and committed to the organization’s mission and its work?”
Mission alignment is critical, Rosen says. As a not-for-profit CEO, “you will be eating and breathing this work, 24/7.” Beyond this, however, Rosen believes there are several fundamental questions…
It’s lonely and tough at the top of the higher education administrative ladder. College and university presidents have more on their plates, and with greater consequences, than ever before. Many presidents are now turning to leadership coaches for support.
Witt/Kieffer recently conducted an online survey of more than 60 presidents on their experience with and thoughts about leadership coaching. More than half of these had experienced coaching at some point in their…
Witt/Kieffer senior partner Adriane Willig has conducted hundreds of searches for healthcare executives since joining the firm in 2008, meaning that she has conducted thousands of interviews. In a recent webinar, “How to Ace Your Next Executive Interview,” Willig joined other executive recruiting experts on a panel advising thousands of global executives on the topic. The online event was hosted by BlueSteps, the career support…
Like many prominent leaders in healthcare, Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, has been driven by a desire to help others, which he channels into a clear passion for his work as a chief
executive. Leaders, Pullin believes, don’t have to be perfect as long as they exhibit a genuine, unwavering commitment to peers, patients, and communities and pledge
to learn and grow. Pullin is currently president and CEO of New Jersey-based Virtua Health, a…
When a new college or university president is hired, it is a time of hope and excitement on campus. It can be a time of uncertainty for campus administrators, who must gauge how they will fit in and fare with the new leader. For a variety of reasons, some administrators will find themselves left out of the new administration’s plans – in other words, “off the team” and unemployed.
Witt/Kieffer senior partner Lucy Leske spoke recently with…
Healthcare CEOs and CFOs tend to lose sleep over many of the same issues: shrinking reimbursement, payer uncertainty, and moving the needle on population health, value-based care and consumer engagement and experience. Indeed, according to a recent Advisory Board survey, the primary concerns of CEOs are dominated by finance-related issues. Every healthcare organization, for example, seems eager to boost outpatient access and market share, reduce expenses, control utilization, and investigate new revenue streams.
Healthcare CFOs increasingly possess…
By Christopher L. Neumann
Even experienced executives can stumble during a job search – especially during an initial conversation which typically occurs over the phone. This important stage of the executive recruiting process is a candidate’s first impression to a potential employer. If the employer is represented by an executive recruiting firm, it is critical to remember that the firm has been hired to represent its client. Knowing this, you should treat…
Video interviewing is increasingly common in executive recruiting, especially in the early stages of connecting with candidates. While many executives are comfortable being on camera, they can benefit from additional preparation prior to remote interviews.
In a recent issue of Training Magazine, Witt/Kieffer senior associate Andrew Trechsel laid out best practices for video interview preparation. His advice includes the following:
Test your technology. At least an hour…
By Beth A. Nelson and James U. King III
“Rural hospitals and health systems often face a leadership catch-22. They need strong leaders to overcome the well-documented challenges facing rural healthcare – limited resources and dwindling populations, for example – but struggle to recruit strong leaders because of these challenges.”
This is how our recent article in Trustee Magazine begins. It is never easy to recruit CEOs and other executives for rural hospitals and health systems. Trustees, we have found,…
By Donna Padilla
Consolidation in healthcare does not seem to be slowing, which will mean continued disruption for many executives who must navigate new organizational frameworks or transition to realigned roles or even new positions. In some cases, executives are laid off or transitioned out.
Change is never easy, especially in the short term. Yet as we all know, change in the long term can be good for executive careers. It can provide new…