What makes executive search firms exceptional?

My esteemed colleague Emil Kang recently posted a thoughtful Substack piece (here…you should definitely put it on your weekly read list). And it got me thinking about my collaboration with TOC Arts Partners in executive search and how to incorporate these observations into our work.

The best moments in my career come from helping talented people find the right role with the right organization and supporting them in their success. The program notes editor who wanted to be an artistic planner, the assistant who wanted to become a producer, the annual fund manager who wanted their first chief development role - that I can support these colleagues and help them find the right next opportunities is truly exciting. Sometimes I was finding the talent, but just as often, I was helping a talented colleague take their next step because they were ready and had outgrown their job working with me!

Working with TOC Arts Partners (formerly Tom O'Connor Consulting Group) is an alignment of my values with this team. They are relationship, not transaction, oriented. They care about supporting the leaders they place to success. And they approach each organization and each candidate with a desire to understand the unique situation and talent match needed. And last but not least, every senior member of the team has actually BEEN in the practice of leading arts organizations - whether theater or music, whether fundraising or marketing - and they KNOW first hand the challenges and rewards that arts leaders face.

These are qualities in a search firm I would want to work with, either from the hiring or the job seeking side of the equation. And these are the values that underpin my excitement about being in this part of the arts ecosystem.