Making ‘lateral entry’ work

Making ‘lateral entry’ work

Article:

1.  Egon Zehnder, leader global leadership advisory, discussed How India can tap into new sources of leadership talent.

Important facts:

1. Governments as well as most CEOs are facing the talented leadership challenge.
2. Indian government has responded to this challenge by taking the initiative to invite executives from beyond the ranks of the civil service for the Joint Secretary posts.
3.  At Egon Zehnder(Egon Zehnder is the world’s largest privately held executive search firm and the third largest executive search and talent strategy firm globally), author has worked extensively with governments around the world on similar initiatives, and has identified five elements that increase the chance of success.

4 Establish objective criteria:

• This gives decision makers confidence that their appointments will be able to stand up to public scrutiny.

5. Target the talent you need:

Public announcements inviting lateral entry applicants for open government positions preserve transparency.

• Government must proactively identify and approach executives with the desired skills and experience.
• This is necessary to fight the country’s urgent economic and social challenges.
• In addition to the right motivation, there are three key personal traits that predict success of lateral hires in such roles.

a. Resilience: It is essential on the part of government bureaucracy to have the ability to preserve in the face of constant pulls and pressures and aligning multiple stakeholders.

b. Successful lateral hires also have a high level of curiosity.

c. The ability to build consensus among stakeholders is essential.

6. Less is more when it comes to selection panels:

• The government screening process traditionally includes appearing before section panel interviewers.
• This approach often results in only a surface-level understanding of the candidate.
• More focussed interviews should be supplemented with extensive referencing with finalist candidates.
• This will provide insight into a candidate’s character, integrity and moral compass, all critical qualities for government roles.

7. Accelerate the new hire’s integration:

• India’s lateral entry programme has the potential to introduce new thinking and new expertise into key ministries.
• Leveraging on lessons learned elsewhere will allow India to more completely draw from the country’s rich array of talent while maintaining the objectivity necessary to preserve the public trust.