Mastering Executive Transitions: The Definitive Guide: Mastering Executive Transitions, #1

Mastering Executive Transitions

Mastering Executive Transitions

The Definitive Guide

Navid Nazemian, PCC

New Degree Press

Copyright © 2021 Navid Nazemian, PCC

All rights reserved.

Mastering Executive Transitions

The Definitive Guide

ISBN

978-1-63730-813-4 Paperback

978-1-63730-875-2 Kindle Ebook

978-1-63730-975-9 Ebook

To fellow executives who are leaving behind a leadership legacy that inspires many, and far extends their tenure:

This book is for you.

To fellow coaches who are supporting executives during critical transitions:

This book is for you.

To fellow HR leaders who are identifying, hiring, and developing exceptional executive talent:

This book is for you.

To my family who are the bedrock of a strong and stable social network:

This book is for you.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

History of Executive Transitions

Chapter 2

The Science & Intentionality of Onboarding Frameworks

Chapter 3

Why Now?

Chapter 4

The Difference between Transition Advisers & Leadership Development Coaches

Chapter 5

Organizational Onboarding Frameworks

Chapter 6

The Top 10 Reasons for Executive Transition Failure

Chapter 7

The True Cost of Failed Executive Transitions

Chapter 8

Key Executive Transition Challenges: People & Culture

Chapter 9

Key Executive Transition Challenges: Business & Technical

Chapter 10

The Business Case for Successful Executive Transitions

Chapter 11

Key Interventions for Successful Executive Transitions

Chapter 12

Introduction to the Double Diamond Framework© of Executive Transitions

Chapter 13

The Double Diamond© Framework of Executive Transitions

Chapter 14

How to Successfully Transition Out of an Executive Role

Appendix

Acknowledgments

It is when we are in transition that we are most completely alive.

—William Bridges

Introduction

Most people think or believe executive transitions are absolutely doable and there are plenty of processes and guidance available for executives going through a transition by their organizations. It would be fair to assume organizations have invested heavily in their executive onboarding and transition processes, and in any case if the best leader is hired, they are smart enough to make their onboarding and transition work.

However, 40 percent of all executives are pushed out, fail, or quit during their first eighteen months in a role (Keller and Meaney 2018).

Let’s imagine you have just signed your new contract (or received confirmation of your appointment if you are based in the USA) for that executive position. Congratulations! It feels exciting to embark on a new chapter of your executive journey. At the same time, you have that 40 percent figure in the back of your mind. How can you avoid being part of that 40 percent club?

Let me help. Through this book, I will share strategies and tactics to elegantly and confidently achieve the following:

De-risk your executive transition

Substantially reduce the likelihood of derailment

Significantly reduce your time to become productive

Current State

When companies announce their CEOs are leaving, they often offer any number of vague reasons. Rarely would they ever say the chief executive was fired and explain precisely why. One study from Exechange news, who determine the so called Push-out Score, suggests that from 2018–2020, 52 percent of announced CEO departures from companies on the Russell 3000 Index were the result of executives being shown the door (Exechange, 2020). That includes those who say they resigned, stepped down, just felt the time was right to leave or had a sudden urge to spend more time with their family. So, it becomes clear CEOs often have to justify their sudden departure by providing all sorts of creative explanations. As we can see, the 40 percent failure rate doesn’t stop at the CEO’s corner office.

McKinsey cites several research papers suggesting two years after executive transitions, between 27 percent and 46 percent are regarded as failures or disappointments (Keller and Meaney 2018).

Leaders rank organizational politics as the main challenge, and 67 percent of leaders wish they had moved faster to change the culture; hence, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s advice seems fully applicable to executive transitions: What got you here, won’t get you there (Goldsmith 2008). So, past accomplishments don’t always predict future success. Bearing in mind all of the above studies, we can see nearly half of all executive transitions fail. With more and more executives facing shorter tenure in the role, this issue is like a bubble that is going to burst in the foreseeable future. Bearing all this in mind, more and more executives are going to fail and be given increasingly shorter tenures in the role, almost like a slow-motion of a snowball that is gaining traction. The war for talent may have never really ended, but looking at this scenario and its implications of an ever more competitive talent market can pose real threats to organizations.

Why Write This Book, Now

The pace and magnitude of change are constantly rising in the business world. It comes as no surprise executive transitions are increasingly common. There is a very practical and pressing need for organizations to safeguard their investments in sourcing and onboarding these senior talents. The CEO turnover rate has increased substantially, and since more than two out of every three new CEOs reshuffle their management teams within the first two years, transitions cascade through the senior ranks. Two-thirds of executives report their organization is experiencing some or many more transitions than they did in the previous year (Keller and Meaney 2018).

Typically, organizations work extremely hard to identify and hire new executive talent—but then seem to rely on hope when it comes to making their investment successful.

Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the top ten search firms in the world, suggests 90 percent of the total cost of hiring a new executive is spent on the front end (Dineen 2021). This includes the recruitment and selection process such as search firm fees, assessment fees, cost of internal and external interviews, etc. As a result, only around 10 percent of the total executive hiring cost is spent on the back-end process such as a structured onboarding, executive transition coaching support, etc. This is a clear imbalance of the organizational investment.

When was the last time you experienced an accelerated and structured executive onboarding that was accompanied by a specialized executive transition coach?

A recent study found that 70 percent of CEOs are either underwhelmed by their onboarding process or have had no structured onboarding process at all (Byford, Watkins, and Triantogiannis 2017). This is quite a surprise as the bestselling book by Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into twenty-four languages (International Institute for Management Development 2021). It was widely praised when it launched and was called the Bible of onboarding. Revolutionary at the time, it provided a systematic onboarding process for new leaders that included a roadmap and an action plan for the first ninety days in a new role. However, it was written for a general audience with the subtitle Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels— speaking to line managers, C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, and Human Resources leaders at the same time (Watkins 2003). Since then, there have been numerous books that touch upon the same topic using different angles. A selection of these are:

Right from the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role (Ciampa and Watkins1999)

The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results (Bradt, Check, and Pedraza2006)

Your Next Move: The Leader’s Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions (Watkins2009)

Your First 100 Days: Make Maximum Impact in Your New Role (O’Keeffe2011)

Before Onboarding: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results (Burroughs2011)

First-Time Leader: Foundational Tools for Inspiring and Enabling Your New Team (Bradt and Davis2014)

Transitions at the Top: What Organizations Must Do to Make Sure New Leaders Succeed (Ciampa and Dotlich2015)

Master Your Next Move: Proven Strategies for Navigating the First 90 Days (Watkins2019)

Yet, here we are, over two decades later, and many large and established organizations haven’t managed to set up a structured onboarding process for their executive leaders. I recall several instances where my onboarding experience was rather underwhelming. In one instance, I was chased to complete the legally required compliance training although I had completed it. Mind you, nobody was chasing me to plan a series of meetings with key stakeholders to better understand the business and people challenges. Nobody was giving me a briefing about the team I had just inherited or setting up structured meetings to help me understand the leadership and culture of that organization as a newly on-boarded executive.

I must admit the executive onboarding experience tends to be somewhat neglected in a number of organizations, and I am puzzled as to why that is the case. Readers of this book will learn the multiple benefits that will arise from getting executive transitions right.

Why Me

Over the last twenty-five years, I have gained a great deal of expertise going through executive transitions myself, having lived and successfully worked in five countries across six companies and sectors as an executive leader.

My professional background includes two decades of HR experience in some of the world’s most admired organizations at the country, regional, and global leadership level, in both emerging and developed markets. I have seen firsthand why executives fail during their transitions and what are successful interventions.

In addition to the above, I have helped numerous executives successfully transition into new roles by maximizing their leadership impact, building high performing teams, and creating admired organizations as an executive transition coach. An executive transition coach combines the skills of an onboarding expert (aka a First 90 Days Transition Acceleration Adviser) coupled with elements of a leadership development coach. We combine the best of both worlds. It is common a transitioning executive will face many challenges that requires both a structured and more near term focus with elements that are tackled ideally for the mid and long term, too.

One client of mine described my rare combination of relevant experiences and our working together as the triple-lens approach; hence, combining the embodied experience and viewpoints of an HR leader, a transition coach, and a corporate executive.

Existing Body of Work

Research conducted by Michael D. Watkins and Genesis has proven that the risk of executive transition failure can be reduced by 50 percent and the time for the newly on-boarded executive to break even by another 50 percent (Byford, Watkins, and Triantogiannis 2017). These are substantial gains made in a management world where executives are sometimes chasing Six Sigma type improvements (in other words, 3.4 defects per one million chances), such as improving the operating profit margin by 0.5 percent or increasing market share by 1 percent, reducing employment cost by 2–3 percent, etc. It surprises me to see how organizations are prepared to invest a lot of effort and attention in pursuing small, marginal gains, and it’s even more surprising they are not focusing more on supporting executive transitions.

As highlighted above, there are a number of books available seeking to provide guidance and advice to transitioning executives. Most of these books are really useful and provide meaningful frameworks to the transitioning executive. However, the main issue with guided books is, essentially, it’s all left up to the new executive to do it. The other problem perceived could be the lack of the so-called onboarding guru’s actual experience of executive transitions. This book is grounded in my own embodied experience as an executive who has professionally and personally transitioned several times. In addition, there is a digital companion, e-learning, and one-on-one work available that are deemed to help the executive leader to put this body of work into practice.

Who Is This For

This book has been written with a key readership in mind: senior leaders and executives who are embarking on their transition journey. That said, senior Human Resources leaders and coaches who have specialized in executive transitions will most certainly gain value from this work too.

Why Read It

This book provides an insider guide to executive transitions through a triple-lens approach. As an executive going through a transition, you will be able to:

Understand why executive transitions feel more like being on a perpetual rollercoaster ride than a managerial process.

Identify the most common types of executive transition challenges and how to successfully maneuver them.

Avoid the ten biggest mistakes made during executivetransitions.

Learn about the true cost of failed executivetransitions.

Learn what support is out there to help with executive transitions.

Understand the business case behind successful executivetransitions.

Learn proven interventions to transition more successfully into a new executiverole.

Learn more about the Dark Side of executive transitions and how to best prepare for your last ninety days to leave behind a leadership legacy that far extends beyond your actualtenure.

A Brief Summary of This Book

The first part of the book looks at the Foundations of executive transitions. Where did it all begin, why onboarding frameworks can be useful, why care about the topic right now, and what the true definition of an executive transition coach is?

The second part of the book explores Challenges & Failures. We will look at existing organizational onboarding frameworks, what gets in the way, and what is the true cost of failed executive transitions. We will conclude this part with common executive transition challenges.

In the third part of the book, we will look at how executives can move Toward Transition Mastery. First, by looking at why getting executive transitions right makes a compelling business case before exploring key interventions to make executive transitions more successful. In the last two chapters of this part, I will introduce you to the Double Diamond Framework© of Executive Transitions.

The fourth and