Our Commitments

We will work with you until the search is completed, developing as many candidate groups as required. We will redo the search for no additional fee if the successful candidate leaves the institution within a year – regardless of the reason – provided we are in routine contact throughout the year.

In all phases of our work we will serve as facilitators, consensus builders, and planners so that we can successfully engage the many divergent stakeholders in a complex environment. We do this by:

  • respecting and understanding the distinct character and circumstances of your organization and the context of this hire;

  • respecting and honoring every person we encounter in the search;

  • recognizing that if a candidate isn’t aware of and interested in the hardest part of the job, it doesn’t matter if they are good at the best part;

  • utilizing our scientific background combined with appreciative inquiry to acknowledge that all organizations (clients) and individuals (candidates) have strengths and areas for improvement and that hiding either is an unhelpful starting point;

  • focusing on results;

  • working at multiple levels across the organization as needed;

  • producing flexible solutions while maintaining equity; and

  • providing effective communication, even if it is uncomfortable, throughout the search process.

Commitment to Diversity EDDA partners celebrates and thrives on the diversity and empathy of the individuals and organizations with which we work. Partnering only with organizations with a strong and demonstrated goal of inclusion, EDDA partners works proactively to gather information and source candidates inclusively, paying attention to representation, providing access, and seeking out voices that are not always heard. EDDA partners commits to open feedback, clear communication, and investing time and energy in building for the future.  

Over the last five years our commitments to social justice and IDEA work have come into much clearer focus. Being female-identifying in historically male work environments, and for Jennifer as an Asian American raised in Alabama, the starting points were unsurprising. After a barrage of unhelpful corporate harassment training, we have each taken more personal paths to deepening our understanding of the extent of systemic racism, where access and equity have been blocked, and how we can work with our colleagues, clients, and candidates to make change, now. 

Through volunteer work (such as that coordinated by Michael Bobbitt, new director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council) and self-guided study (The AntiRacist Table 30 Day Challenge, for example), we have engaged with ourselves and others – “getting comfortable being uncomfortable” and working towards a more equitable present.

On a policy level, whenever we engage any outside contractors we only move forward when we have proposals from ≥3 providers, at least one of whom is from a historically excluded group, and at least one of whom is female-identifying.

All of this leads to our definition of success. A bit like house painting, most of the time and effort lie in the preparatory work. 

  • In the initial phases, we feel ready to move from information gathering to being your ambassadors when there is clarity around where the organization is currently and what the opportunities and challenges are on the path to where you want to be in the future. 

  • As we move into defining outreach groups and candidate pools, representation across demographics and sectors is critical. This is also the one phase that has made us ask for more time once a search is active. Although our experience is not quite as dire as Stefanie Johnson and colleagues’ 2016 Harvard Business Review article entitled “If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired” would suggest, we feel very strongly that time in the outreach and pool building phase is one of the only short-term variables we have control over in increasing the diversity of leadership.

    • Our outreach groups typically skew to a higher degree of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity than those found in leadership in the sector.

    • We are not satisfied presenting candidate pools that are homogeneous; precisely what that means varies greatly in the sector, and is something we work to define with our client early on in the search.

  • As candidates begin their interactions with the Search Committee and the organization, it is paramount that they are treated both equitably and as individuals. Each candidate will bring a specific set of skills and experiences to a new environment. We will work with you to figure out what each candidate might require to be successful, during the search process and post-hire.

We are aware that these commitments may not lead us to being the fastest partners you could choose. With careful coordination of schedules and a bit of good luck, a search can be carried out within a four month time frame. Our singular focus on this search ensures that you will have our full attention.