Deliverable
An approved leadership mandate and candidate conversation brief.
Current priorities / Senior hires
Build the relationships behind your next critical leadership hire.
Connect a clear operating mandate with credible candidates and trusted introducers, then support the agreed path into the organisation's hiring process.
How the outcome takes shape
The operating mandateResponsibilities. Authority. Context.
Known peopleCandidates & trusted referrers
Missing relationshipsRelevant operators & advisers
- Reciprocal interest
- Hiring assessment
- Accepted appointment
One hiring owner coordinates the process.
Define the work the leader must own
Start with the business result, decision authority, resources, leadership context and constraints of the role. Agree the hiring sponsor and the criteria that will guide assessment. A title alone gives a candidate little basis for judging whether the mandate is achievable.
Existing people may include former colleagues, known candidates, trusted talent advisers and industry peers who understand the work. Missing people may include a relevant operator, specialist search partner or candidate sponsor. The first worthwhile conversation is: “What would a capable leader need to know about this mandate before deciding whether to explore it?” With a candidate, discuss the work and conditions openly within approved disclosure boundaries.
Conversion / Existing relationships
Explore fit through existing relationships
Start with people who recognise the shared context or have had a genuine prior exchange with you.
Formal hiring assessment sits at C4. Relationship familiarity is not a substitute for the organisation's assessment or approvals. StepUp prepares context and coordinates agreed follow-through. Hiring leaders, HR and appointed advisers own selection and the relevant process responsibilities.
C1Prioritise existing relationships
Confirm known candidates and introducers, shared context, relevance and contact permission; prepare a role-specific relationship brief.
C2Open the right conversation
Approach with an approved account of the mandate and a clear reason for relevance; prepare the first discussion.
C3Establish mutual fit
Explore the candidate's contribution, interest, timing and constraints against the role and decision route; record mutual willingness to proceed.
C4Progress the opportunity
Coordinate agreed interviews, assessments, references and offer steps through HR and authorised search partners; record completed commitments.
C5Sustain the relationship
Honour candidate communications, coordinate an agreed hiring handoff and maintain appropriate contact after selection or withdrawal.
Building / Missing relationships
Reach the people outside the existing network
Build the missing relationships through a relevant contribution, a legitimate introduction or an appropriate direct approach.
A new person introduced by an existing contact starts in Building. The relationship with the introducer remains in Conversion.
B1Map missing relationships
Identify relevant operators and potential introducers beyond the existing network; document contribution-based reasons for inclusion.
B2Prepare a credible route
Find an authorised introduction or prepare a direct approach with a clear, approved mandate and appropriate discretion.
B3Open contact
Make the agreed approach through the suitable channel; record interest, decline or no response without inflating activity.
B4Establish a two-way relationship
Develop a reciprocal discussion about the person's priorities and experience; establish permission for further contact.
Continue from the evidence you have
A trusted introducer can satisfy B2 and B3 together. A substantive candidate conversation may also establish B4 and C3 if it tests a particular role's fit. Otherwise continue at the first unmet Conversion step, according to whether the outcome-specific conversation, opportunity fit or future continuity remains to be established. A current agreed record and a live outcome-specific exchange can satisfy C1 and C2. Readiness follows evidence, not a prescribed public-posting schedule or elapsed period.
B4 establishes a two-way relationship. C3 tests a particular opportunity. Continue at the first unmet Conversion step with one relationship owner; there is no repeated onboarding.
Progress / Evidence
Track commitment without declaring a hire
Reciprocal progress
A candidate explicitly agrees to the next assessment with a responsible hiring owner.
Final result
An accepted appointment with agreed conditions, with actual start and subsequent performance reported separately. Introductions, interviews and a verbal expression of interest are distinct events.
One coordinated programme
Give the process one coordinated owner
The corporate hiring mandate defines access, disclosure and reporting. Any personal career or board work for the sponsoring executive has separate permissions. Each candidate and introducer receives one coordinated contact plan across authorised work, aligned with HR and appointed search partners.
The executive owns the mandate and substantive judgement. StepUp organises research, materials and follow-through with the existing selection process.
You
Set the priorities. Bring your judgement to the conversations and decisions that need your involvement.
Your office
Your chief of staff or nominated owner validates context, coordinates existing teams and exercises delegated approvals.
StepUp.One
Research, drafting, conversation preparation, coordination and agreed reporting around the relationships in scope.
Review one critical hire
Bring the role's operating challenge, assessment owner and known relationships. Agree the missing people, the first worthwhile conversation, disclosure boundaries and the next authorised commitment.
- The operating challenge and responsibilities of the role
- The assessment owner and candidate criteria
- Known people, missing relationships and disclosure boundaries
- The next authorised candidate conversation
Arrange an executive briefingFor you or your chief of staff.