Working with toxic C-kit before it’s too late

Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter

EP 3074 has clues in the recruitment process, and even at the execution level, there are nightmares waiting for you.

What recruiters are looking for when scanning, and don’t look for it

OK, let’s get started. You know, working on a C-suite is a big deal for your career, but it is a wrong thing, choosing the wrong job, which can be a disaster, a real professional killer. Your success there often boils down to a very critical skill, finding hidden red flags during the interview process, and those bets are high before you consider signing a contract and don’t laugh at yourself.

This sentence is just a nail, isn’t it? No matter how smart you are, how hard it is, the damaged execution environment is like the power of nature, it doesn’t matter. If you go wrong one, it’s not just a bad show. That kind of environment will actively fight you and will eventually put you in trouble.

So, how do you avoid this trap? Well, it all starts with recognizing when you step into what I call a C-Suite hazardous area. The signals sent by the company may be subtle, but trust me, they are very, very convincing. Your job is to learn how to read them.

So let’s talk about the actual appearance of these warning signs. I think clearly that these are not only troubles, but also huge red flags. Keeping a close eye on is your best defense.

Just imagine how much these things can tell you. A chaotic, chaotic interview process? It’s not just a headache. Honestly, it screams internal chaos, lacks respect for you and your time.

Long delays are not explained? This may mean they are fighting internally, or they are unable to make a decision. And if you meet three different leaders and they have different ideas about what your job is, then wow, it’s a huge misalignment sign that you can spot before you even get a quote. But this is probably the most powerful sign of all.

If you sit in that interview room and you can literally feel the tension between leaders, you have to trust your intuition. That friction is embarrassing. That is the daily reality of working there.

Once you join, it will definitely not magically get better. In fact, there is a good chance that you will be the new target for all tensions. OK

So you’ll see all these warning signs and the obvious suggestion is to turn, right? OK, stick with it. Here, the whole process becomes more interesting because there is another way to look at the matter, which forces you to ask a very important question. Are these red flags always a signal that can get out of there? Or maybe, they might actually be invitations? It does boil down to seeing the same thing in two completely different ways.

Yes, for most people, this dysfunction is a clear red flag. This is a sign that you should avoid toxic places like plague. But for some kind of leader, these exact same signs look like a huge opportunity.

Cracking the work search code: valid

They proved that the company was hurting and desperately, desperately needed someone to come in and fix the problem. That’s a special type of leader, we call them change agents. Look, it’s not just another execution effort.

Change agents are people hired because things break down. The whole reason they are there, their whole task is to get into the chaos and build something better. For someone like this, all the red flags we talk about, are not warnings, they are job descriptions.

So this brings us to the most critical part of all. In the world, how do you tell the difference between a real turnaround opportunity and a career end trap? This is where you have to do some serious homework. This is the absolute key.

The dysfunction itself is not important. Look, every company has problems. That’s why they hire you.

The most important question you have to answer is. Do they really provide you with the strength and support to really solve the damage? Listen, you can’t just say their words. You must check.

You must verify your power through this three-step test. First, what are they publicly acknowledge the problem? Secondly, this is crucial, is the CEO making these changes publicly? Third, does the board fully support the task? If you don’t have support from the highest stability, unified support, then any effort you make is almost dead when you arrive. So after all the research, after all your hard problems, it all boils down to a stark choice.

Are they hiring you to be a scapegoat? Are they hiring you to be the solution? You’re really looking at two completely different futures. In one, you are the scapegoat. You were hired as a prop and someone blamed the problems that leadership didn’t really solve.

But in another future, you are the solution. You are the real change agent and brought with the full explicit support of the CEO and the board. And, you give the power and resources to achieve truly lasting change.

So, next time you want to check out the opportunity for a large C suite, keep this in mind, signs of dysfunction and they will be there. The real question you have to answer with your eyes wide open is, are you set up as a scapegoat? Or are you entitled to be the solution? The choice is yours.

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