When to hire next in command to CEO

The CEOs and Business owners often struggle, to decide the right stage when they should add a second in command, which is essentially a number 2 in the company. First of all, if you are reading this, you have a positive mindset and I want to congratulate you for that.

Yes one does understand, there is economy slow down and one need to be cautious to add costs to the bottom line of organization. One needs to responsibly add expenses to the organization and maintain a healthy bottom line. The cash situation has to be very carefully studied.

One of the most important aspect to ponder is, that without a 2nd layer, many a times, the business moves at a slower pace, which itself impacts the top line and the cash situation.

So how do you make the balance and identify that fine moment, when it is neither early nor too late to add in your 2nd is command in the organization.

To identify the delicate moment of balance, three aspects need to be considered.

(1) Growth stage of the organization – is the organization in struggle stage or sustained stage or growing stage or scale-up stage.

(2) The Capability gap between you and the current next reporting level.

(3) The organization’s size.

Now if you are asking that question, most probably your organization has crossed the “Struggle stage“ and there is a high possibility you have crossed the “Sustained stage”. if not then delay that decision of hiring the leader.

Now if your organization is in sustained stage and the capability gap between you and your current next level is more than double, which means your reporting level is up to 2 steps lower than you, and your organization size is less, you are a SME, and not major glitches are happening, you may continue without adding a level in between.

In the sustained stage, you have a defined vision and goals. Organizational departments are set and established processes are running the organization. And you are not a SME, as a CEO, your time is consumed in monitoring the existing systems. Somehow, a CEO’s valuable time may be spent in activities, which could be handled by a new leader.

In a scale-up stage the organization has exponential revenue from investment. This is ideally through innovation, product diversification or mergers and takeovers.

It is now the time, to hire a 2nd in command. CEOs do one mistake in such hiring. They hire a person, who is capable either of the same capability level as them, or a level lower. For a scale-up, hire a leader with business capability of scaling up and people capability of leading. Be Bold, hire the best. Cultural fit is the most important parameter for hiring a leader at this level

So now we know, when to hire a second in command in the organization, we shall also consider, who to hire.