You’ve decided when to hire a CEO and what to look for in a CEO. The next step in the search process is deciding how to hire a CEO.

There are many ways to go about finding and interviewing a potential chief executive officer. Here are four tips to use when deciding how to hire a CEO for your company.

Advice & Best Practices on How to Hire a CEO

1. Use an executive search firm

If searching for a chief executive officer seems overwhelming, consider hiring an executive search firm. Since recruiters at an executive search firm already know how to hire a CEO, they can take care of the process while you focus on improving and expanding your business.

The staff at an executive search firm has lots of experience finding, interviewing, and hiring chief executive officers.

They may even know some potential candidates for the position right off the bat. The expertise offered at an executive search firm can be a huge help when you’re looking for a CEO.

2. Network

Talk to your professional connections and mention your search for a CEO. Someone in your network may know the perfect candidate, and they can establish a connection between the two of you.

The candidate gets a personal endorsement from someone you trust, and you potentially get a new CEO. If in-person networking doesn’t lead to any results, try using social networks such as LinkedIn to find potential candidates.

3. Don’t do it alone

Hiring a chief executive officer is a huge decision, and there is a lot of pressure to choose the perfect candidate. If you are the only person responsible for making this decision, the pressure intensifies.

In order to make hiring a chief executive officer a little less intimidating, seek out help from other leaders in your company.

Other executives, mentors, and trusted colleagues can all be a big help when you’re learning how to hire a CEO. Other people may have different insights on the search process and candidates, and their perspective can help you get a well-rounded view of the situation.

4. Plan Ahead

It takes time to compile a thorough list of places to look for a new leader. Plus, it takes time to pinpoint the qualities to look for in a new CEO and designing a method for how to seek out this candidate.

If executed improperly, a change in company leadership can be jarring. Make a plan for your company in order to help your new CEO adjust to the position. Work with your current staff to decide what course of action will be best for your company.

For example: should your new CEO jump into the position right away, or should you find him or her a mentor within the company to help ease the transition?

By making a plan before hiring a CEO, you can make the process comfortable for the employees and the company.

5. Create a CEO search committee

The committee has an important role. Thus, the first step is to ensure that those selected for the committee are truly invested and willing to dedicate their time, talents, and resources.

Make sure you have diversity on the committee—more specifically, diversity of thought.

The diversity of thought on a search committee can lead to a phenomenal outcome, where you have peers who might see things a little bit differently. The power often lies within the team’s differences.

You can build a much more holistic position profile, and a better-informed one, than if you were just taking the advice from one person.

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What to Look for in a CEO

How to Hire a CEO

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