You hate to admit it, but last year wasn't a very good year for your company. In fact, the last three years have not been profitable. The high dollar, the American recession and a multitude of other reasons have caused company profits to plummet. There is no way around it; today you are viewed as a "troubled company". You have had to lay off staff while, on the other hand, some very good employees have resigned and moved on to other opportunities. It is a challenging time, yet your optimism helps you to believe that, under the right circumstances, a successful turnaround is possible.

A successful turnaround won't just happen, even if the economic or marketplace circumstances are favourable. Rather, success depends on your ability to ensure you have the right leader in place. As well, it is my experience as an executive search professional that the leader who managed the long term, day to day operations in a stable environment will not be the leader who can bring your company back from the brink of failure.

You need a leader who can manage in a crisis environment; since there is no time to make mistakes your leader needs to take action fast. They need to be good at diagnosing problems, creating potential solutions and being decisive in their decision making. Crisis management leaders are the type that will get directly and personally involved. They will scrutinize every nook and cranny of your business in order to understand everything that goes on, how revenue is generated, where the "leaks" are and how to keep dollars coming in the door. They will expand certain areas of your business and shrink others where profit is no longer possible. Expect change and look for a leader who can make serious change happen.

While knowing what type of leader you need during a survival crisis is one thing, finding potential candidates and enticing them to enter into a risky situation is quite another. Therefore, you need to seek outside advice and work closely with an executive search professional to identify, recruit and select just the right change leader. The process will be challenging, but not impossible.

First of all, your search professional must clearly understand the nature of the problems your company is experiencing. You need to be bluntly honest so that the style of leadership needed in this situation is clear and agreed upon. You need to examine your current culture and business situation, as well as your future success goals. From this examination, a comprehensive list of skills and credentials will be created to serve as the basis for the search.

Turnaround specialists are few and far between and, in my experience, I would say that less than 20% of business professionals like to work in this environment. These individuals thrive on the challenge of changing things or fixing things, "saving" a company or saving jobs or in some cases, acquiring a lot of wealth from their turnaround success. Most will have experienced circumstances just like yours' and they know exactly how to deal with the issues you're facing.

This is where the value of an executive search professional comes in. Our consultants are in touch with hundreds of business professionals every year; we meet people, talk to people and we see people in action. We know who is in the marketplace, what industry expertise they offer and what type of challenging environments they thrive in. It is our job to bring your opportunity to these specialists and "sell" the benefits of leading your firm.

At the same time, you need to keep in mind that bringing in a new leader will have a significant ripple effect throughout your company. Change must happen quickly because time is your enemy.
Keep in mind as well that this new leader will be distinctly different than any you have known or worked with. They are tough and brazen but, as turnaround specialists, they know their business and it is their leadership skills rather than simply economic or marketplace circumstances that will create success.

Source: Paul Croteau link