Allen Austin is a global management consulting firm specializing in retained executive search, leadership advisory, interim leadership, and project consulting, with more than twenty partners managing client engagements from offices across North America and Europe. They are trusted advisors to boards, CEOs, and senior leaders of companies small and large, public and private, family-owned, private equity, venture-backed, domestic and international.
Today Allen Austin is among the most influential consulting firms in the US and has extended its reach into five of seven continents worldwide.
TODAY ALLEN AUSTIN IS AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CONSULTING FIRMS IN THE US AND HAS EXTENDED ITS REACH INTO FIVE OF SEVEN CONTINENTS WORLDWIDE.
Building Allen Austin’s Solutions
Rob Andrews, founder, CEO, and Chairman, believes that a purpose-driven organization strives to build peak performance cultures every day. To him, purpose is distinct from mission. The two are often treated the same but mission answers the questions of what an organization does and for whom. Meanwhile, purpose is the reason for the firm’s existence and drives mission, vision, values, and strategy.
While reflecting on the firm’s journey Rob said, “Our 26-year-long history has been an exciting one, as we have made a tremendous difference in the lives of both the leadership and workforces of organizations for which we’ve worked.”
Rob stated, “Allen Austin’s purpose is literally the reason we exist. Our commitment to enhancing the lives and effectiveness of all our stakeholders means we are committed to our associates first because we can’t hope to deliver an exceptional customer experience unless we do the same for our employees. It also means we are in business to help our clients optimize their performance, and we don’t deliver solutions in a vacuum.”
Success Mantra
Generally, retained search tracks a dismal success rate with almost half of every executive hire leaving their position within two years. Allen Austin was founded to address this problem and their innovative processes have led to a 92% retention rate at the two-year mark for their placements. They believe that the hiring process is broken and that poor leadership practices are largely responsible for a disengaged workforce. Allen Austin’s proprietary trademarked ForesightTM search process and Total Performance LeadershipTM architecture have been developed to facilitate high-quality matches that last to build cultures of peak performance.
When asked what has led Allen Austin to this great success, Rob Andrews replied, “Over the last twenty-eight years, we have invested tens of thousands of hours developing the most comprehensive, battle-tested, and effective search process, and the most powerful leadership architecture of which we are aware. It has been our observation that most professional service providers are transactional, which is not necessarily bad, it’s just not our approach. For us, the commitment to start each engagement with a clean sheet of paper, and lead each client through a line of inquiry, questioning, and a process that extracts from the client exactly what they’re trying to accomplish before proposing solutions is our fundamental commitment.”
Shipping Tailored Solutions
When conducting a high-level retained search, filling an interim engagement, or delivering a leadership advisory solution, one size never fits all. As a matter of fact, it rarely fits more than one. Every client is unique, as is every solution. For Allen Austin, helping clients achieve their most important objectives, means approaching the client with an open mind and the empathy and expertise necessary to meet them where they are, and bring them along as quickly as they’re capable.
To develop their advisory practice, Allen Austin has invested countless hours of research into perfecting their process, including a comprehensive survey of over five hundred board members, CEOs, CHROs, and senior officers in public, private, private equity, and non-profit organizations. The survey revealed exactly what these decision-makers are looking for when retaining professional services firms. The results were clear and unambiguous: trustworthiness, flexibility, responsiveness, and results orientation. Understanding these principles, Allen Austin has the flexibility to customize their tools, workshops, assessments, and coaching to help their clients achieve their unique objectives.
ALLEN AUSTIN HAS THE FLEXIBILITY TO CUSTOMIZE THEIR TOOLS, WORKSHOPS, ASSESSMENTS, AND COACHING TO HELP THEIR CLIENTS ACHIEVE THEIR UNIQUE OBJECTIVES.
Challenges
The biggest challenge that Allen Austin faces is that their thinking and ideas often diverge from the mainstream. While there have always been organizations that practice the principles highlighted in Total Performance Leadership, their original architecture for building peak performance cultures is few and far between. Allen Austin has the research, developed processes, and quality expertise to distinguish them from their peers.
Over 90% of corporate leaders have a quantitative bias. It is the tendency to rely entirely on financial statements to measure success that falls woefully short. Organizational transformation, whether fundamental or incremental, cannot be achieved by making changes without evaluating the purpose of the organization. There is no organizational transformation without first transforming the CEO and their leadership team.
What’s Ahead?
Allen Austin’s interim practice has made a huge difference in terms of adding speed, flexibility, and a much wider array of options in assisting clients. They often play the role of a lead consultant within the clients’ organizations. Being capable of quickly delivering an interim officer, a project consultant, or a fractional officer has made them a valuable thought partner and resource for clients.
In addition to enhancing their consulting prowess, the world can expect the organization to continue to find ways in which they can influence corporate, non-profit, government, and academic institutions to think differently about leadership and organizational health.
