Your leadership team and management are a key part of your company. A company's strategy is pushed down to all employees through these crucial levels, so it is important the right people are in place for these roles. That starts with hiring the right leadership. Here are some articles to help you think through how to bring in the right people to fill these crucial roles. 

1) Hire Great Bosses from SmartBrief

"One of the most important hiring decisions companies make is who to put into leadership roles. How well does your company do on this critical task? The Gallup organization reports that organizations make bad leadership hiring decisions 82% of the time (!). Gallup’s research indicates that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. That huge impact on employee engagement translates into good or not so good performance, customer service, quality, profitability, and discretionary energy being applied to daily tasks."

2) 11 Ways to Kickstart Better Leadership from HR.com

"Organizations today are experiencing a leadership deficit. In recent years, surveys have revealed that CEOs fear a shortage of leaders across the globe will impede their plans for growth. Yet business press and business research show the leadership deficit is continuing unabated. However, some organizations have managed to buck this trend and are effectively developing leaders within their organizations. APQC conducted a best-practices study with several organizations that are best-practice in training and developing leaders."

3) Instead of Butting Heads, How Hiring Managers and Recruiters Can Work Together from Fast Company

"Businesses benefit from better recruiter-hiring manager relationships, so let’s fix them. It’s a congested job market and businesses face fierce competition in the bid for top talent. Still, smart companies aren’t rushing to hire--in fact, they’re approaching recruitment and hiring more methodically than ever. Business leaders with big-picture mentalities aren’t interested in bringing in dozens of candidates for an open position, but rather want access to just a few prospects with the highest potential for long-term success."

4) Why Incentive Schemes Are No Substitute For Leadership (And May Actually Undermine It) from Forbes

"Thinking back to my days as a turnaround specialist helping companies out of trouble, I am struck by how much of that trouble was self-inflicted. Consider this, for example. In a manufacturing company, I found the purchasing manager , Laura, about to place an order for four years’ forecast usage of one item. This is absolutely as mad as it seems. The company’s policy was that any year end inventory in excess of two years’ forecast use was to be written off, which meant that almost half of this delivery would be written off almost as soon as it was received in stock. The other relevant fact was that the company was desperately short of cash, but here it was paying for materials that wouldn’t be sold and turned back into cash for four years."

5) How Thoughtful Leaders Earn Employee Loyalty from Entrepreneur

"It’s axiomatic that customer satisfaction is every business owner’s first and highest priority. When customers are satisfied they will return and bring others. More customers means rising sales and profits. Right? Close, but wrong. The best companies understand that it’s the employees that are their lifeblood. When employees are happy, motivated and engaged, they deliver that extra bit of creativity, dedication and hard work that makes a product or service stand out from the competition. For proof, look no further than the financial performance and employee satisfaction at Starbuck’s or Costco."

6) 6 Things Effective Leaders Should Do to Inspire Their Teams from Entrepreneur

"A leader’s job description can seem like an ever-growing list of bullet points, but the priority for CEOs, CFOs and staff managers alike is always the same: leading their team. The question is, 'how?' As a chief operating officer, my goal has been to foster excellence at my company, N2 Publishing, which is home to a range of personalities, skills and temperaments. I searched long and hard for the key to effective team management, and it is simply this: inspiration. Employees will have challenging days. To get through them, they’ll need motivation, which leaders can supply by creating an inspirational environment, all day, every day."

7) Hiring a Manager from Entrepreneur

"The people who run your business while you're out are some of the most important staff members you'll hire. Use these tips to help you find and interview managerial candidates. If you're the owner of an absentee business, you'll likely be at your business very few hours each week. And if you have a retail or food business, the hours you're open may far outstrip the hours it's possible for you to be on location. Or, you may just be too busy with top-level priorities to be able to closely manage your lower-level employees. In any of those cases--and likely a dozen more--it's time for you to hire a manager. This will take time and effort, and your main consideration will be finding a manager you can trust."

Lexi Gordon is a Lead Consultant for exaqueo, a workforce consultancy that helps organizations build their cultures, employer brands and talent strategies. Contact exaqueo to learn more about how we can help you build a workforce that’s aligned with your company culture and develop an employer brand that will allow your business to scale the right way.