Accepting the Offer for a Leadership Position at an Organization

Accepting the offer for a leadership position at an organization is a crucial decision in any professional’s career. Getting an offer for a leadership position at an organization is tough but making an exit from such a position is many times tougher. Hence it is important for those seeking a leadership position at an organization to gather information on certain aspects before accepting the offer.

At the time of hiring, companies and recruitment consultants show the position is all rose with no thorns. The following questions can be helpful to gather information on the thorns that come with the rose. These will help in making an informed decision when the offer for a position is made by a company:

• Who all will I report into? This gives good idea about reporting effort and complexity. This is quite important in matrix organizations.
• Who all will report into me? This gives good idea about team handling effort. There may be more than one team reporting into a role.
• Who will be my peers? This gives good idea about influencing power in the position being offered. Being placed lower in the hierarchy as compared to others with peer-level responsibilities will impede effectiveness.
• What is the company’s latest revenue figure? This gives good idea about how big or small the organization is, especially in case of privately held firms.
• What is the company’s future growth plan and outlook? This gives good idea about where the organization is likely to be in a few years hence and the longevity of the stay with the organization one can look forward to.
• Who will handle the budgets for the area I would be responsible for? This gives good idea about the existence of old boys’ club culture in the organization.
• What next position can I look forward to? This gives a good idea about the career growth path and possibilities or lack of it.