Managing Director

The role of a Managing Director at Kotter is equal parts business development, thought leadership, innovation expert and engagement architect.  We work at critical inflection points for organizations and must be able to create a space for executive leadership to identify and articulate their need and develop a unique solution.

We lead engagement teams to deliver a best-in-class service to our clients.  Both internally and externally we help to identify and remove barriers, develop capacity within individuals and teams, and support and grow ideas from all levels.

Each Managing Director has different skills and strengths that they contribute to our organization and we value and celebrate each person’s uniqueness.  It is what makes us strong.  But in general, to be successful in the Managing Director role we strive to demonstrate:

• A strong business acumen with an understanding of the market landscape of our clients; a Managing Director must be knowledgeable of current change trends in our client’s and potential client’s  industries.
• An ability to sell solutions addressing complex client change challenges – we are selling a promise to a client that we can help them solve complex problems at speed and scale.
• A facilitation mastery with an ability to read a room, a client, a moment and know how best to be present in order to advance the client’s strategic goals.
• A deep practice and understanding of the change and leadership landscape. To serve as a catalyst for innovation a Managing Director must have a strong foundation of the global landscapes of change and leadership.
• An ability to build relationships with authenticity and expertise such that one becomes a trusted advisor to the most senior levels of an organization.

“An average day could be running a whiteboard session with a prospective client, conducting interviews to prep for an alignment session with leadership, working on an article with our PR firm and interviewing potential candidates.  The tasks are all about creating and driving strategic alignment.”

– Pat Cormier, Managing Director, Boston, MA

“I love being able to get to peer into many unique windows of different companies, the variability of the work is amazing! This week alone: Monday at a pharma client, Tuesday with an oil and gas giant and Wednesday helping a global nonprofit transform the American educational system.  I came to Kotter because I didn’t want to be too specialized in one industry, I love the variety I get here.”

– Justin Wasserman, Managing Director, Denver, CO

• It is important that you enjoy bringing the best out of others; a Managing Director must be a coach, sounding board, facilitator or whatever role necessary to best capitalize on and unleash the potential of the team.
• The ability to tolerate ambiguity in your work is a key to happiness in this role. Each client and engagement team is different.  There is no script.
• A Managing Director must have an entrepreneurial spirit to thrive at Kotter – Kotter is an authentic culture supported by soul and grit – so Managing Directors must be keen to jump in and help out at all levels.
• Core consulting skills are a must; a Managing Director needs to be able to envision the possibilities of engagements and guide long-term planning.
• We are a mission-driven firm guided by our desire to have a positive impact on the world by helping people and organizations through complex change problems.
• While we enjoy a great deal of freedom and flexibility, our clients’ needs determine the amount of travel required.

The Managing Director plays a lead role in developing business and in maintaining the trusted advisor relationship with the most senior leaders in client organizations. The Managing Director is ultimately responsible for understanding the client’s need, architecting the solution, and – with a deep understanding of how the Kotter research, methodology and approach can be effectively applied to achieve the client’s strategic imperatives – leading the engagement team to deliver outstanding results.

At Kotter, the relationship between Managing Directors are thought partners with and cheerleaders for Principals as well as their coaches and mentors.  The give and take nature of the relationship between Principals and Managing Directors is built on cross-level mutual respect and learning from each other.