5.1. Common Challenges in Executive Transitions (part 1)

I felt lost in the beginning of starting my new role...

In my previous articles we learnt that nearly half of executive transitions fail[1]. We also learned that there is little good guidance out there when it comes to successfully mastering executive transitions. Furthermore, we know that there are successful strategies for existing transitions [2]that can be learned and embodied. Among them using a skilled Executive Transition Coach can substantially reduce the risk of failure and accelerate the transition by +50%.

“Executive Transition Coaches combine the best of both worlds. Effectively integrated executives deliver results up to 50% faster, reduce the likelihood of derailment by 50%, enable the executive to have a 90% likelihood to meet 3-Year performance goals, and learn an enduring skill set that can be applied throughout their careers.” Navid Nazemian, PCC

From today on, I’d like to share with you the most common challenges that executives face when transitioning into a new role as identified by Michael D. Watkins. And I would like to demonstrate how I have experienced these myself next to adding a couple more to make the list of top transition challenges that I have helped executive transition coaching clients of mine to successfully overcome over the years.?

So what are the most common types of executive transitions?

According to Master Your Next Move[3] by Michael D. Watkins there are 8 main types of executive transitions. Note that most moves to new leadership roles involve multiple types of transitions often occurring at the same time. The general advice is to work with an expert Executive Transition Coach when the leader is confronted with more than one challenge at the same time. Generally speaking, the more types of transitions an executive is experiencing simultaneously, the greater the overall challenge will be. I will add a couple more to make the list of top transition challenges that I have helped executive coaching clients of mine over the years:

1. The New Organisation Challenge

How does work get done around here?

That is a great question and one that I have had to grapple with over the years. I have worked in 6 sectors, and for 5 large multinational companies during the last 25 years.

Each time, I had to understand and adapt to a new organisational culture, master organisational politics, identify and align with expectations of key stakeholders. These are direct reports, line manager/s, peers, and other key stakeholders such as Executive Committee members etc.

The same applies to my executive transition coaching clients who sometimes find it particularly hard to adjust and embrace a new organisational culture after a long tenure with 1 or 2 previous organisations. There is a particular stretch that is required when leaders are faced with this challenge and hence why it is such a common and prominent executive transition challenge.

Getting the organisation culture wrong also happens to be one of the top 4 aggregated reasons why executive transitions fail.

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[1] Nazemian, Navid, ”3. The Massive Costs of Failed Executive Onboarding“, LinkedIn, July 2020

[2] Nazemian, Navid, “4. Successful Strategies for Executive Transitions”, LinkedIn, August 2020

[3] Watkins, Michael D., “Master Your Next Move”, HBR Press, April 2021