CEO Transition Power Struggles & Decisions

Have you ever been in a situation with a power struggle at the top? It's that feeling when one leader believes they hold the power, and another thinks they do, leading to a relentless tug-of-war instead of true alignment. It can be exhausting. So, how do you stop it?

Here are some core beliefs and practices I've found helpful.

It Starts with Beliefs…

The first helpful belief is that we decide how WE do things. A CEO transition is fundamentally a partnership and a hand-off. The incoming and outgoing CEO get to collaboratively figure out their own way and approach for sharing decision making.  They get to create the playbook.

The next belief is that a successful relationship flourishes when two people come into agreement. It's about asking: "What do we want?" and “Why?” and "How do we want to do it?" Let's decide together. Have you ever been in a relationship where two people couldn't agree on what was most important or their shared values? It's usually painful, often a sign that a "breakup" is needed.

Third, it's helpful to believe that if you are making a decision in isolation, you are off track. There needs to be collaboration between the incoming and outgoing CEO and other key stakeholders, such as the executive team and the Board. There is no room for hyper-independence in a CEO transition.

Fourth, You Need a Process.

The process doesn't need to be complicated:

a) Figure out the key decisions you need to make together.

b) Assign a lead for major issues like business strategy, capital expenditure decisions, executive compensation, and new executive hires. These are common areas.

c) When working through these issues, include a collaboration step. This will help you get aligned on the problem or opportunity you're trying to solve, and it ensures all key people's views are considered.  Think of this as the “idea expansion phase.”

d) Have a checkpoint before delivering the final product. This is crucial! If you haven't had at least one checkpoint meeting along the way, assume you are off track.

Building on this, the outgoing CEO ideally believes their role is to set the incoming CEO up for success. The incoming CEO should feel supported in this.

But, equally important, the incoming CEO needs to bring ideas when they are "in progress." This isn't because the outgoing CEO "needs to be involved"; it's because they offer valuable perspective and can help expand the range of solutions being considered. However, if the outgoing CEO has a dominant personality, they need to keep this in check. A "compulsion" derailer is when the outgoing CEO compulsively "takes over." This isn't helpful. A coaching approach with some process clarity, agreements and collaboration checkpoints is key.

And lastly, both parties need to be rooting for each other. It’s important you both want the other person to succeed. Ideally, you feel respect and care from each other. You know the other person cares about your success. Look in the mirror. Would others say you care about their success? Would they say you are committed to helping them succeed and thrive? If you can't say this with conviction about yourself, then others might struggle because of it.

"If you want your CEO Transition to succeed, be inclusive and set up agreements."