CEO succession is one of the most critical things for companies today. In the CEO transition, all the company must be represented to guarantee a successful succession.

1. By
Jason Hanold
Some important considerations you
need to know for a successful CEO
transition
Courtesy of Tim Gouw at pexels.com

2. CEO succession is one of the most critical things for companies today. A new
Chief Executive Officer could mean for any organization a totally new approach
for doing things which can reverberate in a positive or negative way. Besides, a
new leader can bring with it a different corporate culture and fresh ideas,
meaning changes for employees, so businesses must think very carefully before
bringing a new CEO to not affect the performance of workers and company.
The responsible for the CEO succession is the company’s board, so the transition
can not be handled by some specific members. The transition process must be a
duty for every board participant because in their hands is the future of the
organization who will undergo change. Moreover, businesses should include
more employees than the board members, because finally, they are who will be
working with the new leader. In other words, in the CEO transition, all the
company must be represented to guarantee a successful succession.
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition

3. Transition periods
The succession times are one of the most important and critical things for CEO’s
replacement. In companies is very important to understand that a leader will not
last forever and its substitute must be prepared at any moment. For some
experts, the perfect preparation time before the succession is five years, but this
period does not guarantee the best results, however, could increase the
possibilities for a successful transition.
It is very important for businesses to establish a succession times plan. With this,
company's board can act in a better way when a transition occurs. These
strategies must establish a projected active time for the current CEO, so
organizations can think in the successor and possible times to prepare it. In
addition, the board must think if the transition process will involve a headhunter
firm, how will be the connection between the outgoing and the new CEO and
how much time will remain in the company the leaving leader.
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition

4. In conclusion, for companies is vital to have a transition times strategy,
because it will help them to optimize these times, making easier and simpler
the joint between CEOs. Furthermore, with a well designed times plan,
businesses will be more prepared for these critical situations.
CEO Profile
Due to the CEO functions complexity, the successor must be a person who
understands the responsibility of its position and can deal with the difficulties
of this role. Besides, the board has to determinate the skills and abilities for
the next chief executive, that is to say that the substitute has leadership
experience, good interpersonal relations, industry knowledge, and proven
results. Having this clear, the board can establish the possible candidates,
watching if their profile adjusts in what they need and the company requires.
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition

5. Another significant element to be considered for the next CEO is if
its profile fits with the company’s culture, people and its strategy.
The board members have to see and analyze if the candidate agrees
with the corporation’s plan because this will determinate the future
and direction for it. For the leader, to know, understand and accept
company’s tactics establishes how it will work for the future.
Besides the company’s plan, the next CEO must know the people
who it will work with. This will determine the success of the strategy
because workers are who support it. In other words, if the new
leader does not engage with its coworkers, the business results may
not be as expected. To have a good relation and closeness with all
the employees will leverage company’s strategy for good.
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition

6. The CEO’s successor also must understand business culture. The
working environment is a very important aspect, because if the
substitute does not share it, it will not know how the company
works from the human side.
Headhunter firms
What has been mentioned above applies both for inside and
outside successor, however, for an external substitute, there is
some care to take. Companies and board members must also
contemplate that an external substitute could have higher
probabilities of failure, so a headhunter firm could help to reduce
this risk.
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition

7. These headhunter companies consider a lot of things for new candidates, like
industry experience, leadership understanding, achievements, career path,
among other things to identify and propose the ideal candidate for what business
wants, decreasing failure chances. However, board members and the
organization should analyze and see the profile of the possible successor,
because they are who really know what company needs. In other words,
headhunter firms and board must work together for hiring the CEO they want,
keeping and improving business results.
CEO succession is a very critical process for any company, mostly if it comes from
outside, but if company and board elements truly know what company requires,
the new CEO will be a successful one and its failure chances will be minimal.
Related: 10 pieces of advice for hiring C-Level executives
Some important considerations you need to know
for a successful CEO transition