Each spring, Witt/Kieffer employees give back to their communities in a firm-wide “Day of Service.” This year, consultants and staff across the U.S. took time out of the office to honor and support military and veterans organizations for a day.
Fourteen groups at different Witt/Kieffer sites participated over the course of two weeks, dedicating time and resources to the following organizations:
Few people know college athletics better than Chris Plonsky, University of Texas Women’s Athletic Director, and Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA). Both Plonsky and Phillips have seen college sports change dramatically over the years and specifically in regards to women’s participation in leadership. Women are making inroads into top jobs in college athletics, they say, but this progress is inconsistent and not certain to continue. Women leaders, for example, will need opportunities to…
For Reggie Pearson, the climb to the executive suite in healthcare – and his current position of Vice President of Operations for MedStar Georgetown University Hospital – had its roots in military service. Since that time, Pearson has learned about the importance of vision in leadership. (“Nothing great has been achieved without vision,” he says.) He has also learned that the vision and skills of one person will not translate to success without the collective energy and skill of…
By Robin Mamlet
Women in higher education leadership roles often find themselves alone at the top with few, if any, female peers. The reasons for this are many and complex. Of the many factors that limit women from moving up in the ranks, two should be easy to resolve: how candidates present themselves in job interviews and how search committees interpret those interviews.
I sit in on a few dozen interviews for academic president, provost, or cabinet-level positions every month, and…
By Suzanne Teer
It is part of my job to give career advice to executives. While my ultimate responsibility is to employers – that is, our firm’s clients – I enjoy supporting professionals and connecting them with the right positions.
Many of the people I speak with are unfamiliar with the precise role of a search consultant in a recruitment. For this reason I recently wrote down some advice for job candidates on working with recruiters regarding the application, initial screening…
As a successful executive, you may not have interviewed in a competitive situation for some time. Your goal for any interview is to be sure that when you leave, those with whom you met are convinced that you are the ideal candidate for the position, whatever it may be. You want to be in the driver’s seat, getting the option to move forward to the next round, or the offer, dependent on where you are in the process.
For executives…
By Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D.
Through my many years in higher education, first as a campus administrator and now as an executive recruiter, I’ve observed and worked with hundreds of campus search committees. Some of these committees were extremely effective and efficient, while others moved at a less-than-optimal pace.
What does a search committee do to distinguish itself as one of the best, as compared to all the…
By Michelle Lee
The traditional career path – moving up the organizational ladder in a specific function within a single industry – is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Today’s most successful leaders tend to come from various educational backgrounds and their career paths weave through many industries and functional areas, positioning them to take on the constant changes in today’s competitive environment.
Industry “outsiders” are often just…
By Beth Nelson
Despite continuing speculation that the move toward population health is problematic for rural hospitals and healthcare systems (ie, those with small populations), the emergence of new and innovative programs by some providers indicates otherwise.
While disruptive change will continue, rural hospitals and health systems that embrace the right population health strategies, and recruit the right leaders to implement those strategies, can seize opportunities. This was…
Many career paths were open to Dr. Jabbar R. Bennett, Northwestern University’s first associate provost for diversity and inclusion. Rather than follow a more traditional route based in academic research and study, he heeded the voice inside his head to pursue a path that would give him to both purpose and peace of mind.
Dr. Bennett shares his thoughts on leadership, including the importance of career advice from his mother, in a recent Witt/Kieffer