The queries are delicate but are being asked: Would you hire a COO who has had extramarital affairs? How do you feel about sustainability, and can you support carbon-free initiatives? And regarding yourself, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?
处理曾经是礼貌的事情, 上流社会的事, directors at a growing number of companies are becoming more aggressive in how they interview and vet future CEOs—or any other C-suite candidate. 这种转变始于#metoo运动, but experts say a host of issues that gained steam during the pandemic, from racial equality to environmental planning, 游戏升级了吗. “Integrity is now at the top of the board’s list, alongside operational ability when hiring a CEO,查尔斯·埃尔森说, a professor of corporate governance at the University of Delaware.
Don’t misunderstand: boards have always investigated individuals and factored personal conduct into hiring decisions. 发生了什么变化?, 然而, is that now they are questioning CEOs directly as part of the interview process, asking them to attest on the record to past unethical behavior or posing hypothetical moral dilemmas to gain insight into their personality and thought process. 在这方面, boards are approaching CEO searches the same way political parties approach nominating candidates—prioritizing the protection of the company’s reputation, 延伸到财务表现, by putting any potentially embarrassing episodes on the table before moving forward.
这对导演来说是一种微妙的舞蹈, particularly since it could put a bad taste in the mouth of the candidate they end up hiring. That’s why boards have historically shied away from questioning candidates so directly, preferring instead to rely on background checks. 当然, there are still some boundaries in questioning that directors won’t cross, such as religious or political party affiliation. +, just because a question is asked doesn’t mean it will be answered— and honestly, “谁来为性骚扰作证?”问 约瑟夫Griesedieck, a 最新太阳城官网 vice chairman and managing director of the firm’s 董事会和首席执行官服务 实践.
在某种程度上, boards have become more accustomed to leaning in due to the #metoo movement, wherein dozens of CEOs their lost jobs over sexual harassment issues, 现在或过去. 阿雅拿帕森斯, a senior client partner in 最新太阳城官网's 董事会 and CEO services and 消费者 实践, says #metoo and Black Lives Matter helped put a CEO’s sense of right and wrong on the table more than ever. 今天，首席执行官们必须回答一个问题 更广泛的持份者 and address social and community issues that were previously taboo. “They made it more difficult for boards to look the other way,她说。, noting that her board clients are increasingly looking for CEOs with 包容性领导特质. According to one study of CEOs who lost their jobs in the past three years, some 39% did so over their misconduct—including fraud, 贿赂, or insider trading—a greater number than those asked to leave for financial performance.
仍然, Griesedieck says the best way for directors to get real insight into a candidate’s moral conscience is to question independently sourced third-party references. He recommends that directors find references beyond those supplied by the candidate or even the search firm, 最好是和他们有联系的人. “Those are the people who will be the most honest,” he says.
