The financial and cultural risk of hiring a C-suite executive is huge. Stats show that it could cost anywhere from 1-3 times their salary if it doesn’t work out. Today’s episode is all about what you can do to ensure the highest probability of long-term success when onboarding new executives. Steve Moss is the founder and president of Executive Springboard, which helps companies integrate C-suite executives into new roles. 72% of CEOs claim onboarding is critical, yet only 47% of their onboarding programs last more than a week. Steve shares how pairing C-suite executives with external mentors who have sat in their functional chairs increase the retention rate of new executives to 95%. Newly hired executives can lean on a mentor to navigate the minefield of culture, politics, relationships and unmet expectations that can derail even the most talented executive. Listen in to hear how you can make sure the next rock star you hire works out over the long term.

What You Will Learn In Today's Podcast Interview

• The five top reasons executives leave and what to do about them
• How trust plays a factor in hiring and onboarding
• Why highly talented — and highly paid — executives need and deserve time to integrate into a company
• The true cost of turnover if you hire the wrong executive
• Why a C-suite candidate should come to an interview with a 90-day plan, even if it’s completely wrong
• When to look internally versus externally for your next hire
• Why an outside mentor can increase executive retention to 95%
• What questions you should ask during an interview to get a better feel for a candidate’s fit, and what questions you can’t resolve until they’re hired
• The difference between a mentor and a coach
• The best ways to match executives with a mentor, and what qualities, experiences and attributes that mentor should have
• Why managing change is like managing grief, and how recognizing that helps integrate a new C-suite executive
• How important it is to have trust and confidentiality with your mentor
• Culture is more than a feeling employees get; it’s about all the small goings-on and what the business is driving for
• Why the most successful onboarding lasts eight months (and the stats to back this up)
• How to measure the impact of mentorship, especially if your mentor is outside the company

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About the Guest:

Steve Moss is founder and president of Executive Springboard, a network of current and former C-suite executives who mentor leaders to help them excel in new roles that gets clients a 95% retention rate over 18 months. Steve is passionate about building people and helping them with their careers.

Quotes:

09:06 - “Companies are facing high risk, and the costs of that risk are high at the same time.” – Steve Moss 

10:29 - “The hard costs are probably closer to three times salary.” – Steve Moss

13:00 - “It’s people issues that are getting them, 90%+ of the time.” – Steve Moss

14:33 - “How are you going to work well and play well with other people” – Steve Moss 

14:58 - “When you’re coming in from the outside, almost nobody says, ‘We want you to keep doing the same thing your predecessor did.’” – Steve Moss

16:29 - “If you put a drop of milk in a gallon of gasoline, nothing happens. But if you put a drop of gasoline in a gallon of milk, the whole thing sours.” - Ryan Tansom

17:12 - “If the answer is inside an organization, and somebody has succeeded in that culture, consider them first before you go outside.” – Steve Moss 

18:36 - “People will struggle early on. They need to get their footing.” – Steve Moss

19:00 - “Even this very senior person is a work in progress, and they need help.” – Steve Moss 

24:20 - “It helps to have someone who has been there, done that, in the situation that you’re facing.” – Steve Moss

26:37 - “The owner can’t be that functional coach or mentor, because they’re the one full of all the complexities that the executive was hired to solve.” – Ryan Tansom 

29:34 - “Everyone can almost brain-wash themselves into thinking something will work.” – Ryan Tansom 

32:26 - “There was a new tune I needed to dance to.” – Scott Moss 

33:31 - “It takes about eight months to build a relationship with someone.” – Ryan Tansom 

34:17 - “How long does your onboarding last? 53% say a week or shorter.” – Steve Moss

36:29 - “After an eight month process, people feel like they’re in their groove.” – Steve Moss

40:39 - “I think a lot of the time, coaches unfairly have a stigma that the work is remedial.” – Steve Moss

43:27 - “There are so many things that can go wrong in a long-distance commute.” – Steve Moss

50:52 - “There does seem to be something that’s magic about the first 90 days.” – Steve Moss 

51:23 - “It’s good council for someone to be quieter; to use the two ears instead of the one mouth.” – Steve Moss 

54:03 - “When you catch somebody in an authentic moment, is that something that works with what your organization is?” – Steve Moss

Links and Resources:

Executive Springboard

Mastering Your Cash Flow Digital Course

ARKONA Boot Camp

Reach out to me if you have questions about the boot camp!

You can also reach out to me via email at rtansom@arkona.io, or on my LinkedIn.