21 results for author: WittKieffer

The DEI Question in Administrative Job Interviews

Candidates interviewing for administrative positions this year at colleges and universities will almost certainly be asked some version of the “DEI question”: What accomplishments have you achieved to advance your values of diversity, equity, and inclus...
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In Your Job Hunt, Borrow the Secrets of Search Firms

If you want to grow professionally, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Virtually every high-achieving professional would agree with that statement. Yet too often, executive recruiters see top-level talent stuck well within their comfort zone when ...
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Video Interviews: Guidelines for Leadership Candidates

As COVID-19, at least for the near term, changes the way recruiting takes place, it is important for hiring organizations and candidates alike to recognize that the medium of getting to know one another is changing. How one makes a first and lasting impress...
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CEO Onboarding: How the Leadership Team and Board Can Help

When a new CEO or other top executive is hired, there is a natural tendency for the leaders of an organization to exhale, relax and coast a little, knowing that help is on the way. This is understandable, given that hiring for such a key position is a ...
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Get What You Deserve: Steps Toward Equitable Pay

Women and people of color have made strides toward pay equity in leadership roles, but more progress is needed. While some employers believe that pay imbalances will sort themselves out as more women and underrepresented groups ascend to top executive ...
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Leaving the Ladder: Rethinking the Traditional Healthcare Career Path

Between a global pandemic, social change, and the proliferation of mergers and acquisitions, executives are rethinking the traditional path of career advancement. Moving slowly but steadily up the ladder has gone out of fashion. The Bureau of Labor ...
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Are We Talking too Much in Video Interviews?

Prolix is a great word. It's one of those words that you never hear used, and yet it is so apt in so many circumstances in higher education. It means using too many words to tedious effect. In my work as an executive search consultant, I encounter the ...
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Selecting a Search Committee

Search committees carry a sacred duty to identify, evaluate and help select an institution's leaders. The process of assembling each committee, therefore, should be done with seriousness and intentionality. From the composition of the members to the clarity ...
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Profiling a New Executive Role: VP for Accountable Communities

As population health and value-based healthcare models have gained traction, there has been a realization in the healthcare field that a more community-based approach to healthcare could not only help to control and reduce the cost of care, but could also ...
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What Governing Boards Need Next

COVID-19 and the recent social unrest and protests in the U.S. caught boards of directors by surprise just as much as it did CEOs and their executive teams. The challenge for boards has become supporting management’s ability to cope and address these issues ...
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Building Your Executive Brand

Frequently, when I speak with younger executives about advancing their careers, we inevitably discuss their career aspirations and the importance of a strong personal brand. Senior executives and CEOs, too, must be conscious of their brands. A strong, ...
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When to Consider a More Nimble Search

Colleges and universities are known for their love of traditions, whether school songs, commencement robes, or Friday night bonfires. There are times, however, when it makes sense to change some of those traditions and do things a new way. This thinking can ...
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