New Gen Executive

NewGen – Charting the Future of the Modern Executive

One of the most significantcharacteristics that distinguish Handler & Associates in the search industry is our ability to understand and place the newest generation of executives. This “NewGen” individual not only has the tangible skills to meet the challenges of the position, but the "intangibilities" needed to excel in the environment of the twenty-first century.

More than 100 chief executive officers and senior human resource executives in large and small corporations nationwide were interviewed and insights regarding the valuable qualities of the future ideal executive were described. Collectively, a competency model for this new type of individual was created.

The NewGen Executive is:

Adaptable Change in today’s business climate is unprecedented. Companies like Sears & Roebuck (1886), John Deere (1837) and General Electric (1857) took more then 100 years to grow from inception to their glory days. In today’s economy, companies such as Home Depot (1978), AGCO (1990) and Intel (1968) are born and in a few short years have revenues comparable to their much older counterparts. Whether a company grows from zero to $10 billion in revenue in a decade or so--or is simply competing in the same changing environment—its managers must be equipped to adapt.

Self-Managed Many Managers have less contact on a daily basis with the people to whom they report. This is because organizations are flatter, management ranks are thinning, and group leaders are more entrepreneurial and empowered. Unfortunately, there are many employees who will perform at inadequate levels waiting for direction from superiors that might have been given to them just a few years ago. The “NewGen” Manager is self directed.

Knowledge-Seeking Modern managers will have a high learning capacity and the desire to enhance their knowledge through self-guided education such as reading, attending seminars and various other activities both within and outside their corporate training department.

Results-Oriented As group leaders busily operate small internal businesses, they are judged almost exclusively on results. As long as the means to obtain these results are within the confines of the ethics and principles of the company, micro management will most likely be non-existent.

Challenge-Motivated The “NewGen” Manager thrives on challenge. The rapidly changing business world requires not only someone who can adapt to change itself, but someone who is motivated by learning new skills and the challenge of seeking new opportunities.

Ethical In order to create an empowered environment, companies must trust the managers to whom authority is given. For this reason, honesty and trustworthiness rank high among the skills attributed to the “NewGen” Manager. Although this is the hardest trait to measure, in our study most CEOs placed ethics at the top of their list of desirable characteristics.

Entrepreneurial In short, companies will need managers who take ownership of their segment of the business. They exhibit strong entrepreneurial skills and vision, with a mission motivated, proprietary mentality.

A Team Leader Modern managers must be leaders and mentors, with the ability to expand their own capabilities and be willing and eager to share their knowledge and experience with others for the good of the total organization.

Reward-Motivated The ratio of compensation attributable to bonuses versus salary is greater than ever before...and growing. Incentive opportunities and profit and revenue sharing continue to grow. Tomorrow’s long-term employee will thrive on a generous bonus paid for success—once the success is accomplished – compared to salary or even routine yearend bonuses.

Culturally Adept In just 50 years, the American workforce has changed from predominantly white male to one that mirrors the diversity of our population. More than ever, females and minorities comprise a significant and growing percentage of the managerial workforce. The “NewGen” Manager acknowledges and appreciates cultural differences while understanding how to effectively manage in this diverse environment.

Finding the NewGen Executive
We have created a search methodology that leads us to those people who fit the model and a comprehensive interviewing process that allows us to determine the relative strength of every NewGen characteristic. In addition, during our reference checking process, we assess each of these characteristics in-depth ensuring the NewGen executive we refer to our clients consistently meets and exceeds the criteria required for key managers and executives.