Change makers in civic leadership search

Our core operating principles and values guide us in our everyday work and provide a strong foundation of alignment with our civic sector clients.

Ballinger|Leafblad is committed to approaching our work with these things in mind:

Core Operating Principles

inclusion and equity

We are committed to cultivating, building and supporting leadership diversity and capacity in the civic/social sector. We strive to identify and eliminate the barriers that prevent or discourage qualified people from advancing in the search process. We challenge ourselves and our clients to address the assumptions, beliefs, and systemic factors that influence recruiting and hiring decisions. We engage and invite feedback from people whose perspectives differ from our own.

social responsibility

As an executive search firm, we believe our efforts can and should impact the leadership gap for under-represented people including women, BIPOC+, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. Our goal with every search is to make connections that expand access to opportunities, broaden perspectives, promote diverse candidate pools, and lead to meaningful changes in the civic/social sector.

ethical business practices

Our ethical standards are based in authenticity, transparency and integrity. We say what we mean. We stand by our promises. We share our professional knowledge for the betterment of all. We own our mistakes and make things right. We believe in being competitive and also cheering the success of others.

We recognize that in the U.S., racism underlies many of our deepest disparities and we’re committed to rooting it out in our professional practices.

Values we hold

Collaboration

We conduct our work as a team and want to include our clients’ stakeholders in the process as much as possible. We believe a highly inclusive search will produce better hiring decisions.

Community

We will leave our communities in a better place as a result of our work. An executive search is more than a search; it’s an opportunity to share your story and deepen your relationships with those who matter most to your organization.

Excellence

We stand behind our commitments, our processes and our results. Individuals participating on hiring or search committees are the unsung heroes of organizational culture, governance and stewardship. They deserve nothing less than our best.

Integrity

We interact respectfully, honestly and ethically. We do the right thing.  Successful hiring by boards and committees requires commitment, trust, vulnerability, resiliency and courage for all involved, including your search partners.