Here’s something most search firms won’t say out loud.

The candidate isn’t usually the problem. The market isn’t usually the problem. Even the comp package, more often than not, isn’t the problem.

The board is the problem.

We know that’s a bold thing to say. But after sitting through hundreds of executive searches, watching brilliant candidates walk away and seeing organizations restart processes they should’ve finished six months ago, the pattern is impossible to ignore. The same handful of board behaviors keep showing up. And every single one of them is fixable.

So if you’re a board chair, a search committee member, or a CEO trying to land your next great hire, this one’s for you. We’re going to walk you through the behaviors that quietly torpedo searches — and what to do instead.

Let’s get into it.

Here’s a number that should make you uncomfortable: roughly 40% of executives hired into new roles fail within 18 months. Read that again.

Now ask yourself: when a hire fails that fast, where did the failure actually start?

Almost always, it started before the offer letter was signed. It started in the search process itself. And more specifically, it started with how the board behaved during that search.

A bad search doesn’t just cost you time. It costs you your top candidates (who quietly take other offers). It costs you your reputation in your sector (people talk). And it costs you internal momentum, which is the hardest currency to recover.

So when we say board behavior derails searches, we’re not being dramatic. We’re telling you what actually happens.

This is the biggest one. And we see it constantly.

The board kicks off a search. Everyone nods. The committee gets formed. The job description gets written. And then, three months in, the wheels come off, because nobody actually agreed on what they were looking for in the first place.

One trustee wants a fundraiser. Another wants an operator. A third wants a “visionary.” Someone in the corner wants the predecessor back, just younger. And the search committee is trying to honor all of it.

You can’t.

Before you talk to a single candidate, lock down the answers to three questions:

• What does success in this role look like in 18 months?
• What are the two or three problems this person absolutely must solve?
• What are we willing to compromise on, and what are we not?

If your board can’t answer those questions in one room, in one sitting, you are not ready to start a search. Pause. Get aligned. Then go.

This one’s painful because it’s so avoidable.

You launch the search looking for a transformational change agent. Three months in, you’ve met some great candidates, and suddenly the board pivots. Now you want a steady hand. A consensus builder. Someone who will “stabilize before they innovate.”

What just happened? You changed the job. And every candidate you’ve already met no longer fits the description.

Here’s the truth: every time the goalposts move, you reset the clock. You lose the candidates already in your pipeline. You confuse your search firm. And you signal to the market that your board doesn’t know what it wants — which is the kiss of death for top talent.

Top candidates have options. They are watching how your search runs as a preview of how your board governs. If your search is chaotic, they assume your boardroom is chaotic. And they will pass.

We’re going to be blunt. The number one reason organizations lose their top candidate is timing.

Your search committee meets every two weeks. The full board meets monthly. Background checks take ten days. References take another week. Then there’s a “final conversation” with the chair, which gets pushed because of a scheduling conflict.

Meanwhile, your top candidate, the one everyone agreed was perfect, has been sitting on a competing offer for three weeks. They liked you. They were ready to say yes. But they couldn’t wait. And nobody could tell them when a decision would come.

So they took the other job.

If you want great talent, you need to move at the speed great talent expects. That means tight committee timelines, pre-scheduled meetings, decision frameworks set before interviews, and a clear path from “we like you” to “here’s the offer.” Not weeks. Days.

Here’s a question we ask every board: who actually makes the decision?

Most of the time, the answer is some version of “well, the committee makes a recommendation, and then the full board votes, but we’ll defer to the chair, who’ll consult with the CEO, who’ll loop in the founder…”

That’s not a decision-making process. That’s a hostage situation.

Great searches have clear decision rights. Someone owns the process. Someone makes the call. Everyone else has input, but they don’t have a veto. When everyone has a veto, nobody gets hired.

Pick your owner. Empower them. Then get out of their way.

You know this one. Three rounds into a search, with two finalists ready for final interviews, a board member casually mentions they have “someone in mind” who “would be perfect” and “just needs to be looked at.”

This is poison.

It tells your finalists they were never really finalists. It tells your search committee their work didn’t matter. It tells your search firm you don’t trust the process. And nine times out of ten, the phantom candidate isn’t actually better. They’re just better-known to that one board member.

Set the rule at the start: candidates come in through the front door, on the same timeline as everyone else, or they don’t come in at all. No exceptions. No favors. No “just one more look.”

Here’s something boards forget. You are not the only one evaluating. They are evaluating you.

Top executives have options. They are not desperate to work for you. They are deciding whether you are worth their next chapter. And every interaction with your board is data they are using to decide.

If your interviews feel like interrogations, you’ve lost. If your board members show up unprepared, distracted, or skeptical, you’ve lost. If candidates leave the process feeling smaller than when they came in, you’ve lost.

The best searches treat every candidate conversation like a courtship. You are pitching them just as hard as they are pitching you. You are showing them the mission. You are demonstrating the strength of the board. You are giving them a reason to say yes.

If your board can’t articulate why a great executive should pick this role over the next three offers in their inbox, you have a bigger problem than the search.

This one ends careers and ends searches in the same week.

A board member mentions to a colleague that “we’re talking to so-and-so.” That colleague mentions it to someone in the candidate’s current organization. The candidate’s CEO finds out. The candidate withdraws.

You just lost your top finalist. And you’ll never know why, because they’re not going to tell you.

Confidentiality is not optional. It is the single most important promise you make to a candidate. Every breach is a betrayal, and every betrayal kills your reputation in a market that is much smaller than you think.

If you can’t trust your full board to keep names confidential, you need a tighter committee. Period.

Don’t do this. We’re begging you.

Don’t get to the offer stage and then “discover” that the comp range you advertised isn’t actually what the board is willing to approve. Don’t tell a finalist their comp expectation is “too high” three months into a process where everyone knew their number from week one.

Comp surprises at the end of a search are a sign that nobody did the homework at the beginning. They make your board look unserious and your organization look broke. Even if you eventually close the gap, you’ve created a candidate who starts the job already feeling underpaid and undervalued.

Set the range up front. Stress-test it with your committee. Get explicit board approval before you start interviewing. And honor it.

Look, we’re not trying to beat anyone up. Boards are made up of busy, well-intentioned people doing volunteer work in addition to their day jobs. The behaviors above aren’t malicious. They’re just the natural result of not having a process.

So here’s what the great ones do.

They align before they launch. They appoint a clear decision-maker. They move fast and respect candidate time. They keep secrets. They sell the role. They honor the comp range. They don’t let phantom candidates jump the line. And when the goalposts need to move (which happens), they have an honest, transparent conversation about it instead of pretending the search hasn’t changed.

That’s it. That’s the playbook.

It is not complicated. It is just disciplined.

The candidates you want are watching how you run this search. Every choice you make is a signal. Every delay is a signal. Every flip-flop is a signal. Every leak is a signal.

If you want a great executive, run a great search. If you run a sloppy search, the only candidates who will tolerate it are the ones who don’t have other options — which is to say, not the candidates you want.

So before your next search starts, sit down with your board and read this list out loud. Ask which of these behaviors have shown up in your past searches. Be honest. The answers will tell you exactly where to focus.

And if you do that work, really do it, your next search will run faster, attract better candidates, and produce a hire who actually sticks.

That’s the whole game.

Looking for a search partner who will hold your board to a higher standard from day one? That’s what we do. [Let’s talk.]

The Batten Group’s commitment to finding mission-driven leaders is not just a recruitment strategy—it’s a dedication to the long-term success of nonprofit organizations and their missions. The true art of executive search lies in identifying authentic passion, aligning it with the right expertise, and matching it to the unique purpose of each organization. By doing so, The Batten Group helps nonprofits thrive and drive meaningful, lasting change.

In the nonprofit world, values-driven leadership isn’t a luxury—it’s essential. And The Batten Group is at the forefront of making that essential leadership a reality.

We are a premier national executive search and consultancy firm with more than 75 years of collective experience in nonprofit, philanthropy, and executive recruitment. We specialize in placing transformational leaders in nonprofit, healthcare, higher education, and mission-based organizations across the country.

As experts in recruiting and talent acquisition, our mission is to connect exceptional individuals with purpose-driven organizations—helping our partners achieve their boldest strategic goals.

We believe the most impactful teams are built by welcoming varied perspectives, lived experiences, and leadership styles. That belief is at the core of every search we conduct. By fostering environments where people feel seen, supported, and empowered, we help build stronger, more resilient leadership for the future.

We’d love to learn more about your organization’s goals and how we can support your search for the next transformational leader. Visit thebattengroup.com to learn more, or click here to explore our proven hiring methodology.

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