How can new executives succeed when replacing a former leader who failed?
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Chief Information, Innovation and Digital Officer in Healthcare and Biotech7 months ago
First, ask to what extent the executive (CEO?) knows the extent of the presumed "damage" to the environment. Then admit, that you don't yet know the extent of the damage. in the ensuing multiple meetings, "take him (or her) down a step at a time" but, importantly, use the disclaimer that you've yet to assemble a comprehensive assessment... Example - "backup is in serious trouble and it'll take $x to fix.... At a later meeting, cover the next item... "Wash and repeat as necessary"...IT Director in Healthcare and Biotech7 months ago
In my opinion, a key success of factor replacing a leader that failed is to understand the past. Before making any change it would be key to understand what made his/her predecessor fail. By reviewing performance data, examining the decisions that were made and talking to stakeholders they should learn from the past and to avoid repeating the same mistakes.With that understanding, the new leader should develop a plan to build new relationships and new OKR along the right strategy to succeed.
CIO in Energy and Utilities7 months ago
I believe that when a new executive assumes a leadership position, they should create a 100-day plan. This plan should be divided into three phases: Analyze, Optimize, and Deliver. During the Analyze phase, the new executive engages with multiple stakeholders to understand their perspectives on past events, identify necessary actions, and learn valuable lessons. Once these views are gathered and analyzed, the next step is to optimize existing activities and identify quick wins. It’s important to note that not all identified activities in the analysis stage will have equal priority. Prioritizing these activities and kick-starting their implementation occurs in the third phase of the 100-day plan. While this process may seem straightforward, organizational politics can significantly impact the success of the new executive. Regardless, defining what success looks like remains crucial for any leaderSVP Chief Data Officer in Finance (non-banking)7 months ago
Build relationship. Earning trust is extremely important to the role. Understanding the history is important as well. But don't just walk in with a bunch of questions and sort of conduct the conversation like an interview. Talk to your stakeholders, get to know them. Ask questions and listen. This may need more than one personal visit/connection. Do this to stakeholders and your people. Validate your findings and come up with a plan to address the opportunities. Pick top 3, come up with a solid plan with proper measures (KPI's etc.). Get the buy in from Key Stakeholders and the leadership, make sure that you have the right resources lined up (if you don't, get the resources and or skill them up if learning curve is small) and execute to get results. Head of Transformation in Government6 months ago
I'd flip the question. How can organizations succeed when a former leader resigns? While I do believe in Peter's Principle and that some individuals do end up in jobs that are larger than they are, my observations of peers who have failed are almost always due to a dysfunctional organisation or a strategic fundamental that is mission impossible. Any c-level individual mandate is going to have to be a c-team effort. Second, often people are not given a proper mandate. Turnarounds require careful analysis of the root causes of the problems for which a leader is hired, and if team work is not extant then the mandate needs to cover those critical dependencies.