Boards and CEOs are understandably thrilled when they find an internal candidate to be the next CEO. It sends so many positive messages to the organisation, including proven succession planning, opportunities for growth in the company, likely continuity of strategy, and a leader who already understands and lives the company’s values.
For the new leader, it presents three key challenges:
- Stepping out of the shadow of the previous CEO to bring new ideas… putting their stamp on the business without disrespecting the past.
- Rising above peers to be their new leader. Some will be supportive, and others will not.
- Being authentic, while hitting a switch to flip from a competent executive to a visionary CEO.
These challenges are addressable, and many great leaders achieve this change, however some do not.
The biggest risk for the company is point three. When the competent C-level divisional or functional leader does not grasp how much they must change their mindset and approach to be a great leader and CEO.
A competent C-level leader can achieve significant success in those roles with the following attributes, which are potentially insufficient for the CEO role:
- Strong but sometimes narrower leadership styles than a Group CEO requires.
- Powerful analytical intellect and yet to be tested strategic skills.
- Skill set and ability that is more experience-based, versus an agile mind capable of handling the ambiguity a CEO must sometimes grasp.
- Customer centricity in their area of responsibility and their peers, however uncertain around CEO-level clients.
These skills are, without a doubt, necessary as a CEO. But they are not sufficient. The new CEO must be able to transition and quickly demonstrate the following capabilities to inspire the organisation:
- Demonstrate a burning ambition and higher purpose, creating resilience to overcome challenges. “Purpose” may be looked back upon as one of the most meaningful words in business in the 2020s.
- Being a visionary, while also being able to see the roadmap to get there. This is not a precursor to being a competent C-level executive; it is a massive step up.
- Galvanise the organisation, taking the whole diverse organisation with you.
- A disrupter. As Andy Grove, previous CEO of Intel, famously quoted, “only the paranoid survive”. Another great quote that is relevant is “be pleased but never satisfied”. This is beyond just pushing your team. It is providing the environment for alternative perspectives and ideas.
- Demonstrate the above while being authentic to who you are.
There is no simple mantra that solves this challenge for the new CEO, but a few ideas are:
- Know that how you lead will likely need to change… what got you here will not necessarily make you a great leader as the CEO.
- Reflect on successful leaders who you have worked with, or those you know about – visionaries such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Indra Nooyi. Reflect on the positives that you could emulate authentically.
- Build a guiding council that can keep you on track with this journey – these people may be your Chair, your People and Culture Leader, your partner, your coach.
If you are transitioning to a CEO role, Impactful Leadership can help.
Impactful Leadership is a unique mentoring and advisory framework for CEOs, developed by Founder and CEO, Dane Hudson.
Not just another executive coaching experience, our constantly evolving program is a combination of coaching, mentoring and proven tools and frameworks. Based on the needs of the leader and the business, we offer different approaches to deliver the program:
- Executive coaching
- Mentoring and advisory services
- Consulting
- Workshops to support strategic and organisational changes
Impactful Leadership is designed to rapidly develop and support the leader, no matter where they are on their leadership journey. Through a structured and disciplined process, participants:
- Develop the traits & skills to deliver strong and sustainable business performance in any arena
- Build personal resilience to handle the unique and multi-faceted demands of being a CEO
- Access bespoke tools & templates, enabling them to maximise time focusing on the business and leading with impact
Credits: featured image – iStock.com/Morsa Images
