The right leader.
The right company.
A match built to last.

A leadership hire is one relationship with two owners. The company is not simply a buyer, and the candidate is not a product on a shelf. Both are deciding, and both can be wrong. Our work is to represent the truth of the opportunity to each of them.

For the company

We explain what the candidate has demonstrated and what still needs to be tested.

For the candidate

We explain the real work, the team and the conditions that could affect the decision to move.

Seven dimensions.

Fit is not one judgment. It is seven, and they are not interchangeable. A candidate strong on one dimension and weak on three is not a hire. A candidate moderately strong on all seven usually is.

  1. Functional fit

    Can they do the work?

    Technical ability, project experience, and familiarity with the tools and workflows the company actually uses. The test is not whether the resume claims the skill. It is whether the candidate can walk through the work out loud and sound like someone who has done it.

  2. Contextual fit

    Can they succeed here?

    Context changes everything. A star at a large ENR-ranked general contractor may struggle in a boutique firm. A strong operator in a mature division may flounder opening a new market. Company size, pace, and stage decide whether a proven skill set travels.

  3. Cultural fit

    Do their values match how the company behaves when no one is watching?

    Culture is what people do under pressure, not whether everyone would enjoy the same dinner. The useful questions are the high-tension ones: how someone delivered bad news to a superior, or held a line that cost them something.

  4. Relational fit

    How will they connect with the specific people they must work with?

    Work only goes as far as the team is good. This is about the actual personalities, management styles, and working rhythms of the people surrounding the role, not an abstract profile of a good colleague.

  5. Motivational fit

    Does the daily reality of the role feed what drives them?

    People do their most durable work when the job maps to what they are genuinely good at and drawn to. A role that runs against someone’s grain will wear them down no matter how capable they are.

  6. Developmental fit

    Can the role stretch them without breaking them?

    Every hire needs to fit the person they are today and leave room for who the company needs next year. The question runs both directions: can the company support the development this person will need?

  7. Leadership fit

    What kind of leadership will they need, and can you provide it?

    Every hire comes with a leadership bill. Some people need structure and close oversight; others need autonomy and trust. A leader who travels for weeks at a time cannot hire someone who needs weekly direction.

What each side is owed.

To the hiring company
  • A written scorecard before anyone is interviewed, so the standard exists before the candidates do.
  • An honest read on what is uncertain about each person, including what we are not sure of.
  • Candidates who have heard the difficult parts of the job and are still interested.
  • A recommendation we will defend, including the recommendation not to hire.
  • References that test the doubts, not references that confirm the enthusiasm.
To the candidate
  • Confidentiality by default. Nothing moves to a company without your explicit say so.
  • An honest brief on the opportunity, including the parts that would give a reasonable person pause.
  • Evaluation against all seven dimensions, not screening against a keyword list.
  • Straight guidance through the offer, including when the honest answer is to stay where you are.
  • Someone who is still reachable after you accept, when the questions get real.

We are paid by the hiring company. We say so plainly, on every candidate conversation, because a candidate deserves to know whose money is in the room. It is also why we will not represent someone into a job we do not believe in: the fee is not worth the relationship, and the relationship is the whole business.

The work does not stop at acceptance.

A 90-day landing plan arrives with the offer. It names first priorities, working agreements and check-in dates.

We stay in contact with both sides so they can address questions as the working relationship develops.

The commercial terms, including refund and replacement conditions, are explained with the engagement.

See support and commercial terms

Come with the decision,
not a job description.

A consult is a working session on the decision in front of you. If we are not the right firm for it, we will say so and point you somewhere better.

Book a Consult → See how matches hold up →