Leadership transitions

The earliest test of leadership comes with that first assignment to manage others. Most new managers initially fail this test because of a set of common misconceptions about what it means to be in charge.

Focus on the big picture, not just the execution.

Hit the ground running with a thoughtful personal pitch.

Four traps that hold leaders back.

Accept that things will change.

Six reasons people left well-established careers to do just that.

Why the “back-to-the-future” approach to succession can work for some companies.

Encourage them to build a career outside the firm first.

The biggest mistakes I see executives make when hired in from the outside are (1) trying to recreate the organizations they left behind and (2) overestimating their change mandates. Both set up vicious cycles that can end in outright derailment for the new leader. And you can usually see these problems start during the recruiting […]

As the chairman of a publicly traded multinational corporation, it's difficult to contemplate replacing a charismatic, visionary CEO who tripled your...

Do you give them the dirt?

Dick Costolo is leaving Twitter, and Jack Dorsey will take over, at least temporarily.

Surely you know the tale of the three executive envelopes? A retiring CEO presented his successor with three sealed and numbered envelopes. “Open these if you run up against a problem you don’t think you can solve before going to the board. Trust me on this,” he told her. Not four months later, sales unexpectedly […]

Emphasize learning, not just doing.

What to consider when choosing your next chief.

We can do a lot virtually — but not everything.

There was a collective intake of breath as noon arrived and the CNN announcer quietly reported, over the occasional music by John Williams, that Barack Obama had just become the 44th President of the United States. Another faintly audible gasp occurred moments later when, a few minutes behind schedule, Obama actually took the oath of […]

2011 will force China Inc. to come of age, according to my little crystal ball. For the first time after China’s economic reforms began, CEO succession is threatening to become a major problem, particularly for globally competitive companies such as Haier, Huawei, and Lenovo. Their founders — China’s first generation of entrepreneurs — are nearing […]

In his recent Businessweek blog entry on The CEO Revolving Door, Kevin Kelly, the CEO of Heidrick and Struggles, correctly laments the short-term orientation...

You can't expect to just step into mom or dad's shoes.