We all love a good checklist.
There’s something deeply satisfying about checking off those boxes—it reassures us that we’re covering all the bases and making progress in a structured, predictable way.
☑️ Doesn't this just
☑️ look and feel
☑️ better than
🔲 these daunting,
🔲 empty
🔲 checkboxes?
But what if this conventional way of thinking doesn’t deliver the results you truly need? What if it’s just a formality, or wanting to go through the motions? Worse yet, what if the boxes themselves aren’t even the things that matter most?
When it comes to hiring, this mindset of creating a conventional checklist of qualities to look for and building a hiring strategy based solely on this can hold you back more than you realize.
Hiring a transformational leader isn’t as simple as matching résumés to job descriptions, yet many organizations still default to this approach.
The world of business is anything but usual these days.
From macroeconomic turbulence to evolving market demands, it seems like clarity and straightforward paths to success have become increasingly rare. As a result, companies need transformational, visionary leaders more than ever—leaders who can adapt, innovate, and drive change to actively keep up and spar with today’s challenges.
While a detailed and thorough job description is a valuable starting point, the right transformational leader can’t always be identified by adhering strictly to a traditional checklist of qualities or skills. Finding the right fit requires a more nuanced and flexible approach.
One that challenges the conventional ways of thinking about talent and what qualities are most valuable, which will depend on your organization’s unique goals and makeup.
To get transformational talent, you need to think outside of the (check)box
While this is true, many companies still prioritize and rely on traditional hiring metrics that feel safe and familiar.
According to our recent market survey, experience steering a company through a pivotal change ranks last in a list of ideal qualities. Instead (and perhaps unsurprisingly), experience working in a particular industry consistently comes out on top—a marker that, while familiar, often falls short of identifying game-changing talent.
In fact, the same market survey found that 61% of organizations feel that they do NOT have the right leader in seat to drive growth and transformation. Does that tell us that we are looking at and prioritizing the wrong things in our leadership candidates?
And at a broader level, ask yourself: Is our hiring strategy/process truly set up to help us identify and hire transformational leaders? Or are we following a conventional status quo, creating more obstacles to growth than we’re aware of?
To win in today’s market, you can’t just fill a role. You must find your leader.
A role-filler maintains the status quo; a leader transforms it.
Hiring for comfort or familiarity may keep the wheels turning, but at the same time, it might not exactly propel your organization forward the way you need it to.
Think about it this way.
Your next leader may not look like your last. And that’s okay. That may even be a sign that things are moving in the right direction. In a fast-changing market, clinging to outdated/stringent criteria or past success profiles isn’t always the right way to get to the right leader for where you need to go. This is why you must find your leader, not just fill a role.
Here are some ways how:
1. Don’t over-index on industry experience
While industry experience is undeniably valuable and brings with it an important level of context and knowledge, it’s not always the best (or shouldn’t be the only) indicator of a candidate’s ability to lead transformational change. Transformational leaders excel in environments of uncertainty and are adept at navigating complexities—skills that go beyond industry-specific knowledge.
In some situations and for some businesses, the right leaders will actually come from outside the industry, bringing fresh perspectives and innovative approaches that push the envelope, problem-solve, and provide a lost piece of the puzzle.
By narrowing your focus to industry experience, you may inadvertently limit the creativity and vision needed to drive your organization’s next evolution that you were setting out to accomplish.
2. Assess via archetypes
Instead of solely evaluating candidates against a checklist of qualifications, assess them through the lens of leadership/executive archetypes. Think about the qualities and mindsets that make someone truly capable of driving growth and company transformation.
This might be things like resilience/grit, strategic foresight, or creative agility.
By considering archetypes like "The 0-1 Serial Entrepreneur," or "The Rising Star," you can identify potential leaders who embody the traits needed for long-term success, even if they don’t tick every box traditionally associated with the role. This approach allows for a more nuanced and holistic assessment of a candidate’s fit.
3. Leverage the power of a network
Instead of relying solely on résumés or inbound cold applicants, use a trusted network to surface unconventional talent by asking trusted advisors, industry peers, and even competitors a bold question: “Who is the best person you’ve ever worked with—and what makes you vouch for them?”
This approach taps into a much broader talent pool of exceptional leaders and passive candidates who might not be actively looking for a new opportunity but are the right fit to push your org where it needs to go.
Transformational leaders often stand out in their networks and come with vetted recommendations. At the same time, they may not appear in traditional hiring channels. This strategy brings forward high-impact candidates based on reputation, performance, and legacy rather than self-promotion—or the small chance they're looking/will apply.
Conventional wisdom about recruitment has failed businesses looking to reach their next stage of growth.
Hunt Club data has revealed that now, 77% of hiring managers avoid traditional recruitment firms because they underperform and use outdated methods.
Many of these methods or mindsets can often rely on rigid checklists and industry-specific experience rather than identifying the dynamic, transformational leaders capable of propelling companies into the future.
Need help rethinking how you approach recruitment? Hunt Club can help.
