According to McKinsey & Entrepreneur, nearly 1 in 2 leadership transitions fail within the first two years, and over half of new CEOs don’t make it past 18 months. The gravity of leadership transition is aptly captured by Liz when she says, “when transitions go wrong, it’s not just the new leader who struggles, the whole organisation suffers. Team performance drops, disengagement rises, and momentum stalls. This is why CEO transitions matter so much and why boards must step up. Succession isn’t just administrative. It’s strategic. It’s legacy-defining. It is a high stakes game!”

Having served as the CEO of Living Goods and now running a successful enterprise Volante, Liz walks us through her journey as CEO, her role in developing people and leading a successful leadership transition. A risk taker and always embracing change, she oversaw the growth of Living Goods to multiple countries, and a major shift in strategy that defines the organization today. 

In thinking about transition, Liz asserts that thinking about transition should be at the start of the job! “The best CEOs think about this at the beginning because it defines the kind of legacy you want to leave”, she quips.  Looking at the organization cycles such as strategic plan cycles, funding cycles etc could be good markers on how to time a leadership transition. It is great to leave when things are going well.

The process is as important as the plan. She advises. Think about the decisions to be made, by when, and if possible create sufficient time to plan and execute.  Get an external facilitator to help navigate the sensitive conversations. When the candidate is eventually found, give them a break before they step into the role. On the same note, normalize succession planning in the organization so that conversations on transition take place at all levels.  Stepping into being a CEO is tough so be deliberate in providing support to the new leader. 

For those currently playing the role, be intentional about curving out time for reflection, develop a support circle of peer leaders that you check in with regularly, take up physical exercise, listen and talk to people, save for the transition and when the time comes, you can look back to that time with pride.

You can connect with Liz to hear more on this and get support from the range of services she provides on Linkedin or  liz.jarman@volante.co.ke