CEO Succession
More than ever, companies need leadership continuity. Key stakeholders, shareholders, investors, customers, vendors, and employees want to feel that everything will run smoothly no matter what happens with the executive leadership team.
A CEO succession plan not only reduces the risk of making a poor hire, it creates a greater degree of certainty that a board is ready and able to make an informed decision about its next CEO.
But effective CEO succession planning does not happen overnight.
Planning for a company’s next CEO should begin the moment the current CEO is named. The planning process should be continuous, rigorous, objective and transparent. Yet many boards are often unfamiliar with or hesitant about the steps needed to effectively plan for CEO succession.
MDA Leadership Consulting helps boards create a customized blueprint for CEO succession planning – a specific set of “what we need” requirements and attributes for the CEO role. Ultimately, MDA provides companies with an explicit and well-defined CEO planning process that leads to better hiring decisions.
CEO Blueprinting
A board’s governance guidelines, makeup and strategy will determine its approach toward selecting a chief executive. In fact, all of these elements must be in place before succession planning can begin in earnest. MDA directly advises boards and CEOs on effective CEO succession planning governance and administration.
Based on this foundation, MDA’s CEO blueprinting process helps boards create the strategic vision and plan they’ll use when developing, assessing and selecting a CEO. It also provides guidance on all the tactical elements of succession planning, such as board/CEO cooperation, the board’s use of internal resources (like Human Resources) and external resources (such as executive search firms), talent monitoring, and the matching of company and market needs.
With more than 25 years of experience counseling boards and CEOs on succession planning, MDA has the experience and objectivity needed to help organizations make the best hiring decisions.
CEO Selection
Whether a board has been proactively planning for CEO succession or has an immediate need, MDA Leadership Consulting helps boards select the best CEO for their organizations. In fact, all of the CEOs MDA has recommended for hire have remained in their roles for at least four years -- a remarkable achievement considering that 64% of all CEOs never make it to their four-year anniversaries.
Executive search firms are adept at finding and identifying potential candidates for the CEO role, and board members may know candidates through prior professional and social interactions. But when it comes to making a smart hiring decision, a board should also obtain input from objective and experienced hiring counsel such as MDA Leadership Consulting.
Based on the criteria specified in the company’s succession plan and blueprint, MDA helps boards consistently and objectively interview and assess potential CEO candidates -- a vital step to ensure that all candidates are treated equally. MDA then analyzes and assesses the strengths and potential leadership derailers of the candidates to provide the board with a final hiring recommendation. Based on MDA’s information and counsel, a board is able to make a well-informed and confident decision about its next CEO.