Build Your Ecosystem: Smart Prep for Hidden Executive Roles
October 2, 2025
Executive job searches aren’t about chance; they’re about prep: building a target-company ecosystem, warming your network, and being clear-eyed about where your skills fit. Even seasoned leaders stumble when they skip the groundwork.
In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles kick off a three-part series with Part 1: Prep for the Job Search. They share practical strategies for mapping the market, testing culture fit, and tackling the hard truth of startup vs. scale transitions. Whether you’re exploring your next move or navigating unexpected change, this is your playbook for a smarter executive search.
Executive job searches can throw even the most experienced leaders off balance. In this episode of Mission One: The Executive Edge, hosts Dan Hampton and Gerard Miles kick off a three-part series with Part 1: Prep for the Job Search. They lay out the foundations every senior leader needs: building a target-company ecosystem, researching market cycles, and warming your network before you need it.
They also unpack why culture due diligence can save months of wasted effort, how personal brand and reputation play differently at the C-suite level, and the cold reality of skill-role fit, including why startup versus scale transitions are often tougher than they look. Along the way, Dan and Gerard share clear-eyed guidance on risk-averse hiring, the timing of executive markets, and why flexibility around location or structure can expand your options.
It’s a practical, strategic, and candid playbook for executives ready to search smarter. Whether you’re proactively eyeing your next role or responding to unexpected change, this first part of the series sets you up with the clarity and tactics to compete at the top level.
What You’ll Learn
They also unpack why culture due diligence can save months of wasted effort, how personal brand and reputation play differently at the C-suite level, and the cold reality of skill-role fit, including why startup versus scale transitions are often tougher than they look. Along the way, Dan and Gerard share clear-eyed guidance on risk-averse hiring, the timing of executive markets, and why flexibility around location or structure can expand your options.
It’s a practical, strategic, and candid playbook for executives ready to search smarter. Whether you’re proactively eyeing your next role or responding to unexpected change, this first part of the series sets you up with the clarity and tactics to compete at the top level.
What You’ll Learn
- How to build a target-company ecosystem (tiered lists, trackers, investors, talent partners).
- Where to research market cycles and spot expansion vs. consolidation before you apply.
- The right way to warm your network (ask for market insight, not favours).
- Why culture due diligence saves time and how to assess decision style and autonomy early.
- A clear, honest test for skill-role fit, including startup vs. scale realities.
- When personal brand matters (especially at C-level) and why references/reputation always do.
- How timing and expectations shape exec searches (long cycles, fewer roles, flexibility helps).
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Episode Resources:
- Gerard Miles on LinkedIn
- Dan Hampton on LinkedIn
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on Apple Podcasts
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on Spotify
- Mission One: The Executive Edge on YouTube