Podcast Summary
Demystifying the Executive Recruiting Process: 16z's talent partners focus on intangibles and soft skills, spending 40% of their time advising and counseling, and bringing value beyond just filling a role.
When it comes to hiring executives for a scaling company, the process can seem mysterious to founders. In this conversation from the HR Heretics podcast, Matt Oberhart from 16z demystified the executive recruiting process. He emphasized that a venture talent partner's role is not just about recruiting but also advising and counseling. They focus on intangibles and soft skills, such as emotional intelligence, motivations, and leadership skills, which are not necessarily role-specific. Matt spends approximately 40% of his time on external succession planning and meeting new executives, 40% advising portives, and 20% on the veterans community. By taking a different approach, 16z's talent partners aim to bring value beyond just filling a role.
Measuring Success in Executive Search: Successful firms allocate resources to relationship building, search calls, and counseling. They measure success through metrics like new executive interactions and value added to search programs. The mock framework, focusing on mission, outcomes, and competencies, helps ensure new hires understand priorities and contribute effectively.
Successful executive search firms prioritize measuring their time and energy allocation towards various aspects of their work, such as building and sustaining relationships, being present on search update calls, and providing counsel or introductions. They also measure success through various metrics, including the number of new executives interacted with, the number of councils provided, and the value added to search programs. The mock framework, a mission outcome competency tool used by the firm, stands out as an effective method for executive hiring. It focuses on the mission or elevator pitch, desired outcomes, and necessary competencies, rather than a list of day-to-day responsibilities. This approach helps ensure that new hires understand their priorities and can effectively contribute to the team from the start. The mock process also aids in tracking the energy generated through daily work and maintaining a balance in various aspects of the search firm's operations.
Layers of Executive Roles and Responsibilities: To hire effective executives, entrepreneurs need to understand the layers of executive roles, engage experts, consider fit beyond skills, observe behavior in real-world situations, and involve the entire team in the hiring process.
When it comes to hiring key executives, particularly in functional areas like finance, legal, or operations, entrepreneurs often lack a clear understanding of the role and its priorities. To help clarify this, it's useful to think of the roles and responsibilities of an executive as having layers, with the entrepreneur having the most familiarity with the product or end goal, followed by go-to-market strategies, and then the more operationally focused areas like finance, legal, manufacturing, and supply chain. To flesh out these roles further and assess fit, it's essential to engage subject matter experts and conduct interviews. However, assessing fit goes beyond technical skills and requires consideration of personality, values, and disposition. This can be a challenge for entrepreneurs, as assessing fit often relies on intuition rather than a systematic approach. To improve this process, it's crucial to step outside of traditional interview formats and put candidates in real-world working situations to observe their behavior and gauge fit more accurately. Additionally, involving the entire executive team in the hiring process can provide valuable insights and help ensure a strong cultural fit.
The Importance of Reference Checking in Hiring: Conducting thorough reference checks can help ensure a successful hire by assessing a candidate's fit with the team and business issues, using both front sheet and back channel references, and maintaining confidentiality.
The reference checking process is a crucial aspect of the hiring process that should not be overlooked. It's important to provide candidates with relevant data and resources to prepare for a presentation on how they would address specific business issues. During the working session, entrepreneurs can assess a candidate's fit not only with themselves but also with the team. The reference checking process should be ongoing, with a balance of front sheet and back channel references. Being precise and targeted in referencing strategy, reaching out only to trusted contacts, and respecting confidentiality are essential. Candidates should be informed if references may be contacted without their knowledge to avoid surprises and potential issues. Overall, a thorough and thoughtful reference checking process can help ensure a successful hire.
Effective communication and relationship-building: Assess potential negative references, evaluate situational and inherent factors, and establish open communication channels for constructive dialogue during hiring process.
Effective communication and building relationships are crucial elements in both personal and professional contexts. While backchannel conversations can seem appealing for quick information, they can also lead to friction and misunderstandings. Instead, it's essential to establish open communication channels and create opportunities for constructive dialogue. When it comes to negative references, it's important to evaluate the situation and the individual's traits to determine their relevance to the new role. Weaknesses can stem from situational factors or inherent traits, and it's essential to assess whether they pose a risk or development opportunity for your team. Founders should feel empowered to discuss potential issues with candidates during the interview process, as these conversations can provide valuable context and help inform hiring decisions. Ultimately, hiring involves nuance and careful consideration, and effective communication and relationship-building are key to navigating these complexities.
Considering Personal and Professional Growth in Talent Evaluation: Build trust, provide data-backed advice, and consider full continuum of someone's growth when evaluating their professional capabilities in talent partnership roles.
People grow and change over time, and it's essential to consider their recent growth when evaluating their professional capabilities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining relationships with executives, as these relationships provide valuable insights into their personal and professional development. The speaker also highlights the need for trust and data-backed advice when attempting to influence an executive's decisions. In the context of talent partnership roles, the speaker advises approaching founders with a foundation of trust and providing data-backed advice to have any impact on their decisions. Overall, the discussion underscores the importance of considering the full continuum of someone's personal and professional growth when assessing their capabilities and potential.
Trust and Data are Key in Advisory Role: Advisors need to build trust and use data to inform entrepreneurs, but ultimately, founders make the decisions. EQ is crucial for entrepreneurs, and advisors should work with open-minded founders to make informed decisions. Advisors face pressure to succeed based on the success of their clients.
Trust and objective data are essential in the advisory role for entrepreneurs. Founders need to trust the advisor's role and the data provided, but ultimately, the decision is theirs. Advisors should use data to back up their opinions but also understand that entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes. EQ is crucial for entrepreneurs, and advisors should work with those who are open to feedback and diverse information to make informed decisions. The advisory role comes with pressure, as success is measured by the success of the entrepreneurs, and advisors operate by influence rather than control.
Military veterans' skills make them ideal fits for startups: Veterans' leadership abilities and adaptability make them valuable assets for startups, despite the challenge of translating military experience to civilian jobs.
The military background of veterans makes them excellent fits for startups due to their ability to handle dynamic, chaotic, and resource-constrained environments. Their leadership skills and experience in bringing disparate groups together to accomplish a common mission are highly valuable in the startup world. However, the challenge lies in the translation of military skills to civilian jobs and the lack of understanding of military experience by recruiters. Entrepreneurs need to understand that when hiring veterans, they are betting on their ability to learn the business, rather than their technical skills or experience in a specific role. The potential lies in their leadership abilities and their capacity to adapt and excel in a new environment.
Leveraging Networks for Job Search and Company Growth: Networking can boost job prospects for veterans and increase a company's chances of success by building strong connections and advocacy. Prioritize essential hires, adapt to market realities, and consider creative solutions to attract top talent.
Building a strong network before job searching can significantly increase your chances of getting hired, especially if you're an out-of-the-box candidate. Reach out to contacts at companies you're interested in and let them act as advocates for your candidacy. Networking can be informal or formal, and organizations like Commit Foundation and Honor Foundation offer opportunities for veterans to connect with industry professionals. In the current economic climate, founders should focus on profitable growth and building core leadership teams for early-stage companies. For growth and later-stage companies, the hiring plan should prioritize essential hires, and companies need to recognize the reality of the market and adjust their strategies accordingly. Some companies are offering creative solutions like offering more equity to attract top talent or focusing on remote work to expand their talent pool.
Retaining top talent through equity adjustments: Honestly reevaluate employee equity based on market valuations to retain talent and attract new hires, but consider financial situation first.
In today's economic climate, retaining top talent becomes crucial, and one effective way to do so is by reevaluating and potentially readjusting employee equity based on current market valuations. This honest approach not only helps keep top talent but also makes the company more attractive to potential new hires. However, it's essential to consider the company's financial situation and runway before making such decisions. The best hires are those who become operational glue, and one of the most insightful interview questions is asking candidates about the toughest feedback they've received and how they responded, as it reveals their emotional intelligence, critical thinking, organizational skills, and growth mindset.
Assessing authenticity in executive recruiting: Focus on genuine interactions to assess an individual's authentic growth and development during the recruitment process. Everyone learns at their own pace, so stay patient and persistent.
Authenticity is key in executive recruiting. During the recruitment process, it's essential to not only understand an individual's areas of improvement but also their ability to learn from feedback and turn weaknesses into strengths. However, some individuals may present themselves in a way that comes off as insincere or self-deprecating, making it challenging to assess their true potential. Instead, it's crucial to focus on genuine interactions and assess an individual's authentic growth and development. Despite the challenges, staying authentic and committed to finding the right fit is vital for successful executive recruiting. Additionally, it's important to remember that everyone learns at their own pace, and being patient and persistent in the process can lead to valuable discoveries. Overall, the insights shared in this episode offer valuable perspectives on the complexities of executive recruiting and the importance of authenticity in the hiring process.
