Leadership Transitions

Leadership transitions get riskier the higher up the organization they occur: two out of every five CEOs fail in the first 18 months (Harvard Business Review, January 2005).   

The cost of failure is high.  Estimates of the cost of a single failed hire range from 14 to 28 times base compensation, the higher figure reflecting more senior hires.  Unfortunately, the more senior the executive, the less consistent performance feedback s/he receives.

Recent corporate bankruptcies reveal that some CEOs fail on such a scale as to bring down the company with them.  Even the most honored, effective and acclaimed leaders go through periods of uncertainty, frustration and failure.

These periods can be triggered by both professional and personal events: coping with a bad boss, going through a divorce, taking over a demanding new assignment, living abroad with minimal headquarters contact and many others.

However, this time can be one of great personal growth and learning in developing the executive's leadership style and effectiveness.  Predictable and intense life passages pave the way for moving to the next level in a successful leader's career.  Successful transition is a result of guidance from an outside executive coach that covers not just how to meet the unique requirements of the job, but how to build and maintain business and social networks while influencing senior management and external audiences.


Sources: Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions that Make or Break a Leader, by David L. Dotlich, James L. Noel and Norman Walker (Jossey-Bass) and The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins

Comments

[stella okoh]

Thanks for your leadership tips.
They are panacea for Corporate as well as personal effectiveness and success.