Objective Leadership Reviews Help Merger Transition

By Christian Kofoed, Partner

Region: Denmark

Sector focus: Public Sector

WHEN THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL TAX AUTHORITIES IN DENMARK MERGED, THE NEWLY FORMED ORGANISATION NEEDED TO REVIEW 1,000 EXISTING EMPLOYEES IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS. WHILE THEY NEEDED TO REDUCE THEIR LEADERSHIP TEAM TO 650, THEY DID NOT WANT TO LOSE ANY EMPLOYEES, AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY RECOGNISED THEIR TOP PERFORMERS. THEY DECIDED TO BRING IN MY TEAM TO PROVIDE AN OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF EACH LEADER.
ORDINARILY, I RUN LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS THAT INCLUDE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEOPLE THE LEADER WORKS WITH. HOWEVER, IN THE CASE OF A MERGER LIKE THIS, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE ALL BIASED BASED ON THE ORGANISATION THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BELONGED TO. INSTEAD, DEVELOPED A LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT BASED ON A STRUCTURED COMPETENCY PROFILE TO EVALUATE EACH LEADER.
TO DEVELOP THE COMPETENCY PROFILE, I BEGAN BY MEETING WITH THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNANCE BOARD. EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER HAD DIFFERENT THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT MADE A SUCCESSFUL LEADER. TAKING THOSE OPINIONS INTO CONSIDERATION, I ALSO RELIED ON MERCURI URVAL’S LIBRARY OF SCIENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERED TECHNICAL SKILLS CORE CRITERIA FOR LEADERSHIP, YET IN THE CONTEXT OF LEADING THE ORGANISATION THROUGH A MAJOR MERGER, MORE IMPORTANT CRITERIA TURNED OUT TO BE THE CANDIDATE’S ABILITY TO HANDLE COMPLEX INFORMATION.
ONCE WE BUILT THE LEADERSHIP PROFILE, MY TEAM AND I SET ABOUT ADMINISTERING IT. THE CLIENT BEGAN WITH A POOL OF 1,000 LEADERS AND WANTED US TO EVALUATE EACH INDIVIDUAL WITHIN THE SPAN OF SIX MONTHS.
THIS REQUIRED ME TO ASSEMBLE A TEAM OF 15 CONSULTANTS. WE EACH CONDUCTED THE LEADERSHIP REVIEWS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT AT CRUCIAL TIMES, WE ALSO CAME TOGETHER AS A TEAM TO MAKE SURE THE PROJECT WAS SUCCESSFUL.
TO DEVELOP THE COMPETENCY PROFILE, I BEGAN BY MEETING WITH THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNANCE BOARD. EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER HAD DIFFERENT THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT MADE A SUCCESSFUL LEADER. TAKING THOSE OPINIONS INTO CONSIDERATION, I ALSO RELIED ON MERCURI URVAL’S LIBRARY OF SCIENCE-BASED LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERED TECHNICAL SKILLS CORE CRITERIA FOR LEADERSHIP, YET IN THE CONTEXT OF LEADING THE ORGANISATION THROUGH A MAJOR MERGER, MORE IMPORTANT CRITERIA TURNED OUT TO BE THE CANDIDATE’S ABILITY TO HANDLE COMPLEX INFORMATION.