How Executive Search Firms Can Build a Thought Leadership Strategy

Executive search firms are in a unique position, as they conduct and/or are privy to discussions many business leaders never hear.

Every day, executive recruiters talk with CEOs, senior executives, hiring leaders and candidates. They hear what companies are looking for in their next CFO or CMO, why an executive might be ready to leave a job, which skills are becoming more important and what candidates expect from employers.

These conversations are a great place to find ideas for a strong thought leadership program.

Listen for the patterns

Some of the best thought leadership ideas aren’t necessarily groundbreaking; rather they come from recognizing a pattern before everyone else is talking about it.

Maybe several companies have started asking for a skill that rarely came up in searches two years ago. Candidates may be asking different questions about where and how they work. A role that used to take three months to fill might suddenly be taking six. Companies may be looking outside their industries for certain roles.

Often these concerns from organizational leadership indicate larger trends throughout the industry. You don’t need to conduct a national survey or commission a research report to have something valuable to say. The experience gained through dozens of searches and hundreds of conversations can provide a perspective that most people don’t have.

The important part is being specific. “AI is changing hiring” doesn’t tell anyone much. Explaining how AI is changing what companies expect from a CFO, or which skills have
become more important in technology leadership searches, is much more useful.

Why reporters love executive recruiters

Executive recruiters also have an advantage because their expertise connects naturally to business news.

Executive compensation, succession planning, workplace expectations, layoffs, artificial intelligence and changing C-suite roles can be newsworthy stories. Reporters covering those stories often need experts who can explain what they’re seeing beyond a single company.

That’s where an executive recruiter’s experience can be particularly valuable.
For example, a longtime CEO unexpectedly steps down. What does a board need to consider when beginning a search for a successor? Or a company completes an acquisition. What typically happens to the leadership team when two organizations come together?

Over time, consistently providing useful insight can help turn an occasional media source into someone reporters know they can call when the next story develops.

Make one idea work harder

One of the biggest mistakes companies make with thought leadership is treating every communications channel as a separate assignment.

Someone needs an idea for the company blog. Then another idea for LinkedIn. Then something for the newsletter. Meanwhile, the PR team is looking for something to pitch to reporters.

It doesn’t have to work that way.

Start with one strong idea.

If you’re seeing companies change what they want from CFO candidates, that insight could become a pitch to a business reporter. It could also become an article explaining what has changed and why. An executive could discuss one piece of it in a short LinkedIn video. The next newsletter could explore what the shift means for companies preparing to launch a CFO search.

The format and audience change, but the expertise behind it doesn’t.

This also makes consistency much more manageable. You don’t need four great ideas every month. You need to recognize the strong angles emerging from the work you’re already doing, and determine the best ways to use them.

Importantly, the people consuming that content are often the same CEOs, board members, private equity professionals and senior executives who hire executive search firms.

A strong thought leadership strategy places your expertise in front of your relevant audience, consistently. They come to understand your value and seek you out for input.

The next time you finish a search, talk with a candidate or hear the same concern from several clients, ask yourself whether you’re seeing something bigger.

There may be a story in it.