# Leadership Recruitment Lieutenant Strategy > A methodology for identifying and recruiting top-tier functional leaders (Product, Sales, Legal, etc.) by targeting high-performing "lieutenants of lieutenants" at best-in-class companies. Use this when you need an expert leader but want to avoid the friction and potential mismatch of hiring a sitting VP from a giant corporation. - Skill: `samarv/leadership-recruitment-lieutenant-strategy` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add samarv/leadership-recruitment-lieutenant-strategy` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/samarv/leadership-recruitment-lieutenant-strategy/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: samarv (https://skillmd.com/u/samarv) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/samarv/leadership-recruitment-lieutenant-strategy --- This strategy focuses on "raiding" the lieutenants of best-in-class organizations to find battle-tested talent that is ready for a "step up" in scope without the baggage of inflated titles. ## The Lieutenant Search Process ### 1. Identify Reference Companies Do not look at your direct competitors. Instead, identify companies that are "best-in-class" at the specific function you are hiring for and serve a similar customer profile. * **Match Customer Types:** If you serve SMBs, look at companies like Square or DoorDash. If you serve Enterprise, look at Salesforce or Workday. * **Functional Excellence:** Identify who is currently winning in the specific domain (e.g., Square for Compliance/Risk, Airbnb for Design, Facebook for Growth). ### 2. Map the Org Chart Use LinkedIn and your network to reconstruct the organizational structure of the reference company. * **Identify the "Head of":** Find the person currently leading the department at the reference company. * **Identify the Lieutenants:** Look for the people reporting directly to that head. * **Target the "Lieutenant of the Lieutenant":** These individuals are often the ones doing the deepest tactical work while managing significant teams. They are frequently ready for a "Head of" role at a smaller company but are blocked by the hierarchy at their current firm. ### 3. Implement the 2-Hour Daily Hiring Habit Founders must dedicate significant, consistent time to this outreach to build "deal flow" for talent. * **Hour 1 (Outreach):** Perform manual LinkedIn searches and personalized reach-outs. Do this during low-energy periods of the day, as it is "busy work" that requires consistency over creativity. * **Hour 2 (Interviews):** Dedicate this hour to two 30-minute introductory calls. * **Goal:** By meeting two people daily, you will vet 40-60 high-potential candidates per month. ### 4. Vet for Impact and Problem Solving Use specific questions to determine if the candidate is a "problem solver" or a "feature factory" worker. * **The "Pride" Question:** "Tell me about the career accomplishment you are most proud of." * **Listen for:** Do they describe the *impact* on customer behavior/metrics, or just the fact that they *shipped* a feature? * **Listen for:** Do they emphasize their personal contribution versus the team's contribution? * **Empowerment Check:** Ask how they solved a specific problem. Look for candidates who understand the "why" behind a project, not just the "how." ### 5. Standardize Minimalist Titles To maintain flexibility for future "upgrades" as the company grows, avoid granting VP or Director titles too early. * **Use the "Lead" or "Head of" Suffix:** Instead of "VP of Product," use "Product Lead" or "Head of Product." * **The Scope Rule:** Titles like "Director" often lead to internal contention and focus on hierarchy rather than impact. Keeping titles vague (e.g., "Square Lead") keeps the focus on the work. ## Examples **Example 1: Hiring a Head of Marketing for a Consumer App** * **Context:** A Series B startup building a consumer subscription app needs a marketing leader. * **Reference Company:** Instead of looking at direct competitors, they look at Duolingo or Spotify (best-in-class consumer growth). * **Target:** They identify the "Director of Performance Marketing" who reports to the VP at Duolingo. * **Offer:** They offer the title "Growth Lead" with the promise of building the entire marketing function from scratch. **Example 2: Hiring a Lead Lawyer for a 25-Person Fintech** * **Context:** A small fintech is in a legal-heavy space and needs a dedicated lawyer. * **Reference Company:** They look at Square or Stripe (best-in-class fintech compliance). * **Target:** They find a Senior Counsel who has been at Square for 4 years and knows the regulatory landscape deeply. * **Offer:** They offer the title "Head of Legal" rather than "General Counsel" to leave room to hire a more senior GC when the company reaches 250 people. ## Common Pitfalls * **Hiring Sitting VPs:** Hiring someone who is already a VP at a giant company often fails because they are used to having massive support structures and may no longer be "builders." * **Granting the "General Counsel" or "VP" Title Too Early:** If you give a VP title at 25 people, you cannot easily hire someone more senior above them later. You will likely have to fire the original hire to "upgrade" the role. * **Outsourcing Outreach:** Founders often try to have an assistant or recruiter do the LinkedIn reach-outs. Gokul argues the founder's personal touch in the initial message is what converts "passive" lieutenants at great companies. * **Ignoring the First PM Internal Transfer:** For the *very first* PM hire (usually around 8-10 engineers), the best candidate is often an internal engineer or analyst who already has the trust of the team, rather than an external "professional" PM.