Most executive searches are run from the top down. Candidates are tested on strategy, board presence and financial fluency. Those things matter. But a strategy is only as good as the people executing it at 6 a.m. on a Monday, and the shop floor rarely gets a say in who leads it.
For the past eight years I have built front-line teams: customer service and financial services teams for a global manufacturer, and engineers and field service technicians for a technical equipment company. That work changed how I look at leadership hires.
Why it matters more in PE-backed companies
A value creation plan almost always asks people to work differently: new KPIs, new systems, new expectations. That kind of change does not happen by memo. It happens when the people doing the work believe it will help them, not just the dashboard.
Not long ago, we placed a VP of Sales into a company that was already highly profitable. On paper, the job was to build on a strong base. In practice, the job was to change how people worked, including introducing KPIs to a team that had been succeeding without them. He earned the team's buy-in, the changes stuck, and the company is now growing fast.
Five ways to apply the front-line test
Ask about the floor, not the boardroom. "Tell me about the last time you spent a full day with the front line. What did you change afterwards?" Vague answers are revealing.
Look at what their systems did for the people using them. Did the processes they built make the front line's job easier, or just make the reporting look better?
Test their understanding of the work. Do they know how the work actually gets done in the teams they will lead, or only how it appears in a report?
Ask who pushed back last time. Every real change meets resistance. Strong leaders can name it and explain how they won people over.
Take a reference from below. Speak to someone who reported to the candidate, not only to their former boss.
Build it into the final round
For operating roles, consider adding a site visit to the final stage: time on the floor, in the service bay or in the lab, and a short conversation with team leads afterwards. It costs a day and tells you more than another panel interview.
When we assess leaders at Hunter Sheppard, the board presentation is only half the picture. To talk about a VP or C-suite search, contact Alexander Giannone at alexander.giannone@huntersheppard.com or (416) 920-8765.
