Great Communities
Deserve Great Leaders
Executive search for cities, counties, public agencies, and mission-driven organizations seeking leaders with the experience, character, emotional intelligence, and cultural alignment to succeed.
More Than Qualified. Aligned.
Resumes tell us where a candidate has been.
References tell us what others have observed.
Interviews tell us how candidates present themselves.
LWL Advisory goes further…
Our executive search process examines the intersection of experience, leadership behavior, emotional intelligence, organizational culture, community expectations, and governing-body priorities, because the right leader must be able to do the job, lead the people, and earn the trust of the community.
The goal is not simply to identify the most qualified candidate.
It is to identify the leader best aligned with the organization, governing body, and community they will serve.
A Search Process Built for Better Decisions.
Every search is customized to the organization and community, but our approach follows seven disciplined stages designed to build alignment, expand the candidate pool, and support a confident selection.
Listen
Understand the organization, community, governing body, culture, priorities, and leadership needs
2. Define
Create a clear leadership profile, outlining the experience, competencies, values, and attributes required for success
3. Tell the Story
Develop a compelling recruitment profile that communicates the opportunity, community, challenges, and future.
4. Search
Conduct targeted national outreach, direct sourcing, professional network, recruitment, and strategic advertising.
5. Assess
Evaluate candidates through structured review, executive interviews, due diligence, references, and the LWL Leadership Alignment Assessment.
6. Select
Facilitate semi finalist and finalist evaluation, interview design, governing-body deliberation, and decision support
7. Align
Support negotiations, on boarding, and a First 100 Days Leadership Alignment process to help the selected executive begin successfully.
Search Process Built for Better Decisions
Technical qualifications establish whether someone can perform the role. Leadership alignment helps reveal how that person may lead within the organization and community.
The assessment provides an additional source of insight within the selection process.
It informs, but does not independently determine candidate ranking or selection.
2.
“We Have Sat on Your Side of the Table.”
We understand what is at stake because we have sat in the chair.
Dr. Scott Andrews brings nearly 24 years of local government experience, including service as a City and County chief executive and twice as an assistant City Manager. He understands the relationship between governing bodies and executives, the realities of organizational leadership, and the responsibility that comes with selecting the person in trusted to lead a community
3.
Roles We Recruit
Executive Searches We Lead
City Managers / Administrators
County Managers / Administrators
Assistant & Deputy Managers
Department Directors
Executive Directors and CEOs
Other senior public-sector leadership positions
4.
Candidate Experience
The way an organization conducts a search communicate something about its culture before a candidate ever accepts the job. LWL Advisory emphasizes confidentiality, timely communication, transparency, respect, and professional dignity throughout the process.
5.
Why LWL Advisory
Practitioner-Led
Real executive experience inside cities and counties.
Personal Attention
Senior-level involvement throughout the search rather than passing the engagement through layers of consultants.
Beyond Placement
First 100 Days Leadership Alignment designed to help the selected executive and governing-body begin well together.
6.
Beyond the Resume: The Lead With Love
Leadership Alignment Assessment.
A deeper look at how leaders are likely to lead, not simply what they have accomplished.
Experience, education, references, and interviews help establish whether a candidate is qualified for an executive role. But executive success also depends on judgment, relationships, emotional intelligence, accountability, self-awareness, and the ability to lead within a particular organizational and community culture.
LWL Advisory adds another layer to the traditional search process through a 72-question Leadership Alignment Assessment rooted in the Lead With Love framework. Selected semifinalists complete the assessment to help illuminate leadership tendencies, potential strengths, areas for deeper inquiry, and points of alignment with the organization, governing body, and community.
The assessment informs the selection process. It does not independently determine candidate ranking or selection.
How the Assessment Supports the Search
Deeper Finalist Insight
Helps governing bodies explore leadership tendencies, relational style, emotional intelligence, and cultural alignment beyond the résumé.
Better Interview Questions
Assessment results help identify areas for deeper inquiry during semifinalist and finalist interviews.
Stronger Transition Alignment
Insights from the assessment can inform onboarding and the First 100 Days Leadership Alignment process after selection.
The goal is not to label candidates. It is to help decision-makers ask better questions and make more informed choices.
Ready to Find the Right Leader?
Every great search begins with understanding the organization, the community, and the leadership moment ahead.