Listening., page-8

As I said earlier - judging on whether someone is articulate or not is not a good way to evaluate suitability.

So how about we take a look at what we could judge and what is far more relevant. FYI I have left out a lot of detail and I have omitted competencies or dimensions that I couldn’t get any reasonable reading on. In making this comment I am well aware that we saw the tiniest snapshot of Dirk but it is as valid to include thus assessment as to say that someone who might have been a little nervous to start with, and who says uuuumm aaah is not CEO material.

INSPIRES AND INFLUENCES ACTION
Translates the strategic intent into an operating framework that is meaningful to others; conveys a compelling purpose and sense of direction for the functional work unit; generates commitment to the desired outcomes and objectives by using appropriate interpersonal styles and methods to gain buy-in and commitment; sets operating policies and practices that are consistent with organisational values and direction; engages people in cohesive and purposeful action.

What I heard was a respectful and collaborative approach to his team, a shared view of what was important and strong sense that they are working to the same goal. I have also checked the Alexium values that appear on the web site and to the extent I could judge I heard some good matches.

BUSINESS ACUMEN
Demonstrates an understanding of the key business disciplines and fundamentals relevant to developing Alexium’s strategy; shows a sound appreciation of key performance indicators for measuring and evaluating performance and the economic value of opportunities; uses and balances information about business drivers and trends such as revenue, costs, customer needs, market conditions, competitor activity and short and long-term commercial needs to guide activities and decisions.

I was pretty happy with what I heard here and let me tell you I have been involved in assessing enough senior executives to have a good sense of this.

THINKS STRATEGICALLY
Aligns thinking and decisions with strategy and direction, Evaluates multiple solutions, Handles ambiguity, Manages complex data

I was pretty happy with what I heard. By that I mean that he seemed to be able to recognise that the strategy has to be useful and consistent with commercial reality.

OPERATIONAL DECISION MAKING
Same response as above – not much to complain about on the basis of what we heard

PLANNING & ORGANISING
I could not actually judge but I got the sense that he understood very clearly what us needed to be successful in this business in terms of securing and applying the right resources, setting the right goals and establishing a long term direction

CHAMPIONS A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE AND IMPROVEMENT
Well I did hear someone who is not afraid of changing what he is doing because it didn’t work, r isn’t striving to do the right thing or have a team that thinks the same way

INTEGRITY
Possesses and maintains a high level of personal, organisational, and societal values; is honest and trustworthy, engages in law abiding behaviour; and respects the property and possessions of others demonstrating a high level of ethical standards. – it felt that way to me.


So now we come to the area you are judging – and I haven’t even included around 6 or so other competencies that I had no hope of judging

PRESENTS INFORMATION/ORAL COMMUNICATION
Structure - presents using a logical structure/organisation – yes
Mechanics – presents messages clearly and succinctly – yes.
Engages the audience –(this is the area you have a problem with and is a small part of judging this competency which is defined as “Chooses an appropriate style (formal/informal) for communicating varying types of information; tailors; speaks with authority and conviction - uses variations in tone, pitch and volume to project confidence, enthusiasm and/or to convey meaning or emphasis; uses gestures and maintains eye contact appropriate to the setting; creates and maintains attention by using different presentation techniques to keep listeners attention (e.g. uses an expressive style; uses illustrations, analogies, storytelling or imagery to illustrate key messages; adjusts presentation style in keeping with audience reactions and feedback; uses active listening and questioning skills to promote 2-way communication.
Ensures understanding – couldn’t judge because this was one way but I dIdn't have any difficulty understanding what he said.

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