Insights
How we think about leadership hiring
Field notes, tools and market perspective from the Managing Directors of Reffett Associates.
Leadership Transitions Report: Third Quarter 2026
What more than 200 organizations across government contracting, grocery and consumer, higher education, the public sector, nonprofits, manufacturing and companies under financial pressure tell us about where leadership change is heading.
Read the report →CalculatorThe Cost of an Empty Seat
A vacant leadership role saves a salary and costs far more. Estimate what an open seat is costing your organization each month, using your own numbers.
Run the numbers →SamplesInside a Retained Search: Sample Documents
What you actually receive during a search: a position specification, a weekly progress report, a candidate assessment and a slate summary, shown with fictional data.
See the samples →Self-checkBefore You Launch a Search: A Readiness Self-Check
Twelve questions, about three minutes. See how ready your organization is to recruit a senior leader, and where a search is most likely to stall.
Take the self-check →ArticleWhy Executive Searches Stall Before They Start
Most searches that go sideways were in trouble before the first candidate call. Here are the four gaps we see most often, and how to close them.
Read more →Field guideHiring From Government: A Field Guide for Contractors
Former officials bring customer knowledge and credibility. They also bring restrictions that can derail a hire, or a contract, if no one checks. What to know before the first conversation.
Read the guide →Field guideHiring a Provost: What Search Committees Get Wrong
The provost runs the academic enterprise day to day, yet provost searches are often designed like presidential ones. Six mistakes we see, and how to avoid them.
Read the guide →Field guideHiring a Chief Development Officer: A Field Guide for Mission-Driven Organizations
Development leadership is one of the hardest seats in the nonprofit sector to fill and to keep filled. How to define the role, evaluate candidates and set the new leader up to stay.
Read the guide →Case studyCase Study: Recruiting the Architect of the Capitol
The first Architect appointed under a new law, by a twelve-member bipartisan, bicameral commission of congressional leaders, with no precedent to follow. The selection was unanimous.
Read the case study →Reffett Insights
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