Leadership
Confidence starts at the top
Briefings for managing directors almost never mention the word that matters most right now. What separates confidence from optimism, and how to test it in an interview.
Executive search · Headhunter for managing directors and decision-makers
Appointments that hold after signing.
As a headhunter and executive search consultant, I find the leaders who stay and make a difference for business owners, shareholders and managing directors. For more than 15 years I was an HR director myself. I know why leadership changes fail, and I search so that they don’t.
Insights by Sven Braun, in German
“Erste Wahl”
On leadership and the decisions that matter.
Analysis for business owners and managing directors who have a leadership decision to make. Written from the perspective of the person who decides.
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Leadership
Direction, not consensus
What negotiations with works councils teach about leadership: respect comes from a clear, reasoned position, and from whether it holds under pressure.
Assessment
Self-confidence or narcissism?
Where the line runs, and why in a selection process the way someone talks about others reveals more than how they present themselves.
About Sven Braun
Both sides of the table
I know why appointments fail after the contract is signed. That experience shapes how I search, how I assess candidates and what I tell clients, even when it is not what they want to hear.
In industry
15+ years
Head of HR in mid-sized companies and corporate groups. Organisational change, negotiations with works councils and unions, post-merger integration and building succession planning.
In executive search
since 2021
Appointments at managing-director and division-head level and in commercial and technical management. Cross-industry, with roots in manufacturing.
Principle
“I take on only as many mandates as I can lead personally. No more.”
Executive Search
A shortlist with substance
The person who will truly change a role is rarely looking. I approach them directly, based on a structured analysis of the market. Every mandate follows the same logic.
- 1
Define the brief
What must the new leader solve in your situation? The profile follows from that answer.
- 2
Map the market
A structured analysis of industry and function shows where the relevant people sit today.
- 3
Approach personally
I contact every relevant candidate myself and take part in every interview.
- 4
Present a shortlist
I meet and assess every candidate before they are on the list. Few names, each one justified.
Who I work for
Business owners and shareholders
You are looking for a managing director, settling succession or bringing in someone from outside to lead for the first time. I understand what is at stake for you and your company, and I tell you openly what I think of the market and of candidates.
Managing directors and decision-makers
You are building or reshaping your leadership team and need the right people at the first and second levels: commercial and technical management, sales, plants, HR. I handle the entire search and act as your sparring partner when it comes to the decision.
Contact
Let’s talk about your next appointment.
The first conversation is confidential and without obligation. I will get back to you personally. Conversations in German or English.
- Phone
- +49 156 78 32 58 68
- info@svenbraun.de
