When I joined Goodwin Recruiting, I wasn’t stepping into just any executive leadership role. I was assuming the reins from a beloved founder whose legacy carried pride, deep relationships, and a culture developed with great care for two and a half decades. 

My job was to lead and to honor that history, earn trust, and guide the company into Goodwin 2.0, building on what was already great while raising the bar for what’s possible. 

What is the role of a CEO in year one on the job? Looking back on my first year, I’d like to share my definition, along with lessons that have shaped how we continue to lead, grow, and evolve in today’s dynamic world of talent acquisition.  

For new company chiefs, caring alone isn’t enough: Engaging and responsive leadership skills are essential  

Key stakeholders across an entire organization watch closely when a new leader comes on board, especially a newly appointed chief executive officer. People are eager to learn about the new chief’s management style, leadership skills, and approach to business management, accountability, business strategy, and strategic goals. In our case, key stakeholders include our full executive team, our recruiting partners, and our employees and clients. I welcomed their scrutiny. 

At a company like this, no one earns the right to change anything until people know you care, and until they see that you respect what they have built. From day one, I genuinely did, on both counts. But more than any other senior executive, I had to prove it. And in the process, I also had to help our people believe that new actions would lead to better results than they were already achieving…for themselves, for their clients and candidates, and for company performance. 

This is why I often talk with our team about Raising the BAR

To me, Raising the BAR stands for Beliefs, Actions, Results. It’s not possible for leadership or anyone else to coach ‘results.’ What we coach instead are actions. And people change their actions when they believe that doing so will create better outcomes.  

I also try to remind our team that what we do matters. I ask them to think back to the first time they realized talent recruiting is more than filling a role – that it’s also about changing a life. After our recent 2026 Summit, one of many things people shared on social media about the event was a quote from me that someone paraphrased (more eloquently than I probably delivered it):  

“Only you can make the decision to believe in yourself…to decide that your life, your work, and your efforts to help change lives truly matter.”  

That is at the heart of why I do this work, and I want our people to know and see how their actions lead to real impact every day.  

7 lessons and pivotal actions during my first year as CEO 

1. Change only works when people feel respected and heard  

Before anyone would follow me into transition and uncertainty, they needed to know first that their experience, perspective, and contributions were seen and valued. 

I spent months meeting with my colleagues at Goodwin Recruiting and our clients across the United States. The distance of my cumulative travels exceeded the circumference of the earth by 6,000 miles – just to listen, understand, and make sure our constituents know how much they matter.  

When people feel respected and truly heard, they open their minds.
When they feel seen, they gain confidence.
And that respect and recognition are what make change possible.  

2. Don’t sell certainty; tell the truth  

I never promised anyone on our team that getting to Goodwin 2.0 would be easy. In fact, I said the opposite, because people don’t need false reassurance. What they need is honesty from strong leaders. Transformation would mean new roles, new expectations, new systems, new processes, and sometimes, new people. It also meant navigating economic headwinds impacting our business. 

At the same time, our nationwide team also needed clarity about our company’s vision and the concrete steps we would take to get there. Transparency is motivating! People respond and engage when they understand both the “why” and the “how,” and that clarity is more powerful than optimism alone.  

3. Leadership doesn’t change results by demanding more; we change beliefs that drive results  

Our Raising the BAR framework became more than a slogan over the past year. It became how we lead. No one was saying, “Do more, do better, or go faster.” Instead, we showed examples of how our people were using new actions and new tools to create better results – and that created belief. 

If leadership only pushes for results, people burn out, and progress stalls if actions are coached without changing beliefs.  

The past 12 months have been about helping our people believe that higher standards, better tools, and stronger ownership would actually lead to better outcomes. We’ve focused on hiring and supporting business partners who own their outcomes, helping them believe new actions would turn their ownership into measurable results. 

We continually reinforced the bigger picture that every action matters, every effort impacts someone’s life, and our work truly changes lives.  

4. Sometimes, you have to go slow to go fast  

Early in my first year, I was genuinely excited to bring better tools, new techniques, and more streamlined processes to our team. I had heard clearly where things felt broken or inefficient, and I wanted to fix them quickly.  

In one case, I moved too fast. I rolled something out before it was fully ready, and it didn’t work the way it should have. More importantly, it created frustration for people who were already being asked to absorb a lot of change. 

So, I went to the mic, owned the mistake, and committed to doing it in a different way. That moment reminded me of a lesson I heard years ago but had forgotten: Sometimes, you have to go slow to go fast. 

Successful adoption of something new doesn’t come from speed; it comes from a team’s belief and trust in a new tool or process. Belief and trust are built with piloting, testing, listening, and getting full buy-in before scaling. Focusing on high ROI first has helped us gain momentum and set the stage for bigger wins, stronger results, and long-term success. 

5. Evolution comes before execution  

We called 2025 The Year of Evolution for a reason. We invested in new tools, tested new approaches, and learned what works and what doesn’t. That work wasn’t glamorous, but it was necessary. A company simply can’t execute at a higher level until the foundation for advancement is built and solidified. 

In 2026, The Year of Execution, we’re putting what we learned into action and focusing on what comes next. 

6. Listen to your customers  

In mid-2025, a candidate publicly criticized one of our job postings on LinkedIn. Instead of defending our company or brushing it off, I opened a conversation with the candidate. I responded directly to their LinkedIn post, listened to their perspective, and acknowledged where we could improve. 

This engagement turned frustration into understanding, criticism into collaboration, and reinforced a key leadership lesson: Leaders learn and grow by listening to those we serve.  

Our actions have impact beyond internal metrics. Our actions affect real people’s lives, and listening carefully is one of the most powerful ways to drive positive change – in processes and external perceptions!  

7. The real win wasn’t the change; it was the trust   

What I’m most proud of during my first year as CEO of Goodwin Recruiting isn’t a single metric or milestone. It’s the way this team showed up, stayed engaged, stayed professional, and stayed committed…even when evolution wasn’t easy. They leaned in. They kept building. And most importantly, they trusted the process…and they trusted me.  

That trust is not something I take lightly. I’m deeply grateful to every member of Goodwin Recruiting for giving me that in year one. More than any system, strategy, or tool, it’s that belief that makes me confident about what’s ahead for our firm. It reminds me every day that what we do matters, that our work changes lives, and that when we believe in ourselves and in each other, there’s no limit to what we can build together.

Year One as chief executive was about laying the foundation for Goodwin 2.0

Year Two is about delivering on it. 

And I couldn’t be more excited for what we’ll build next.  

Let us be a genuine partner in your own leadership success 

Whether you need top talent to build a stronger team, or you’re a professional ready for the next chapter in your career, you’re in good hands and hearts with the team at Goodwin Recruiting. 

Explore our website, meet our expert recruiters, and get in touch when you’re ready to grow!