Questions to Ask before a CEO Search

A CEO search should start with where the association needs to go and the kind of leader who can help it get there. The goal is the best candidate available, which means looking beyond familiar names and comfortable networks to people who have built the skills the role demands, wherever their careers have taken them. 

Established executive search firms bring valuable relationships. But if their networks overlap heavily, a board could miss strong leaders simply because they took a different career path or haven't moved in the usual circles. Boards should ask a straightforward question: Are we reaching a wider, more varied pool of candidates, or looking at many of the same people through different search firms? 

As boards pay more attention to how AI tools screen candidates, they should bring that same curiosity to the human relationships shaping executive searches. Both influence who gets considered for leadership. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.