Stephen H Baum Leadership

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In a prior post, we described homework assignments given to candidates for the position of President and possible successor to the Founder of a company. The story has evolved in interesting ways.

Each of the candidates signed NDAs and received the equivalent of a board book with financials and a summary of the strategic plan. They met on several occasions with the founder/CEO, C-suite execs and board members. There were dinners with spouses as well.

Each candidate was asked to submit their own summary strategic plan and comments about the challenges and positives they see in working with the Founder if selected as President. All candidates submitted documents worth reading, but one stood above the others. Hers, yes hers, was more creative, more insightful.

They each also presented their documents orally. Again, the female candidate was the one who was “awesome” on her feet (a requirement for the position). Then there were conversations between the finalists and those who may have considered themselves passed over, extensive reference checks and a final round of conversations with board members and the Founder.

This organization does have women in some key positions, including one in the C-suite. But it has been described by some as a “guy culture,” for example, no-holds-barred arguments in meetings and no-holds-barred feedback for underperformance, often vocabulary and analogies not common in polite society I am told. With all of this, there is a great spirit in this demanding, hard-working culture. But some considered it a real risk to the “glue” and to performance to have a woman in the top job. This was expressed during the search. What did they decide?

They have offered the position to the woman. The Founder and the most senior participants in the decision say it was unanimous. No second guessing. She “leaned in” and won them over. They leaned in with the selection.

Would I have predicted this outcome? At the outset, it certainly seemed less than 50/50. The outcome reinforced my experience with more than 50 CEOs during my career: they care more about the future of the enterprise than anything else and, if they can get comfortable with a second in command, male or female, they will make a choice they believe meets that challenge.

A very few of my CEOs have been “accidental misogynists,” unaware of the subtle ways in which their behavior and those of others in their organizations dispirit (and worse) high performing women; more than a few are passive in leaving no stone unturned to recruit star women to the C-suite and among them potential successors. There is still work to be done in getting the topic out in the open, even where females occupy several of the seats at the top table.

But I am encouraged by instances like the one described above. I am so very proud of the Founder, his process and his choice.