Entrepreneurs are always searching for their next venture. But, starting something new often means leaving behind previous projects. Before you leave an organization you’ve built and nurtured, it is essential to find someone reliable, trustworthy, skilled, and eager to take the company over.
Professional coaches usually help their clients tackle the daunting task of identifying successors to manage their businesses after they have decided to leave. Below, ten members from the Forbes Coaches Council shared some efficient ways for a retiring founder to identify an appropriate chief executive to who they can hand the helm and then leave the business in safe hands.
1. Know Your Mission
The majority of professional service firms I’ve consulted over the past 20 years or so have had this experience. Leadership transitions are always tricky. Therefore, I counsel my clients to get clear on purpose. What is success within five years? What are the measures to monitor? This outlook for the future is vital for assessing external and internal applicants for the position of succession. – Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group
2. Have The Founder Brief A Recruiter
If you are passionate about the business you’ve started and would like to see it expand and flourish, then you must eventually let it go. It’s like children: you’ll always admire the company, but eventually, you must let them go to discover their path in the world. The founder should be able to locate their successor is dangerous. An agent should brief the founder to recruit. – Antonio Garrido, Absolute Sales Development
3. Choose Someone Who Embodies The Company’s Vision
Growing a business and building the scope of an ongoing company are two different things. The successor should also reflect the vision of the company and the principles behind it. It is not necessary to be a replica of the CEO before them; However, their style and skills, knowledge, experience, and leadership capabilities should be able to influence the entire organization positively. It’s also called the cultural fit. – Michael Thiemann, Strategy-Lab(TM)
4. Understand Complementary Competencies
If you are building a company, it will require different abilities to develop or keep a company running by defining those skills according to the current way of life, the style, and the skills that brought you to this point and anticipating what skills will be required shortly. A predictive assessment and an analysis of job function can be practical and objective tools. – Natalie McVeigh , EisnerAmper
5. Identify What’s Necessary Now
Confident leaders excel in particular areas. For example, do you think the next CEO is expected to be the spokesperson for the company? Do they feel comfortable speaking in public? Are they required to possess an extensive financial background? Leadership is important. Any organization requires leaders that can draw in the best talent. What are they famous for? Find out what’s needed to be done. – April Sabral, April Sabral Leadership
6. Prioritize Values, Vision, And Style
Above the basics, identifying the fitting successor will depend on three aspects that are values, vision, and design. The founder and successor should have the same values and vision to keep the high quality of the way the business develops and the direction in which it is headed. The leadership style must be in line with the founder’s class so that their relationships are not strained in an era of change. – Lisa Marie Platske, Upside Thinking, Inc.
7. Benchmark The Role
Consider the “role” first, then match candidates to the role. Include the key individuals who interact directly with the job regularly. Ask the group to identify the essential skills and the necessary behavior, motivational factors, capabilities, and skills that ensure ongoing success in the job. Encourage different perspectives. Blend them into one holographic representation of the character. – Jay Steven Levin, WinThinking
8. Seek A ‘Culture Add.’
Know that the place you came from is not the same as where you’re going. The difficulty that you will call the “next steps” requires a distinct set of abilities and mental models. But my top suggestion is to locate an individual who is a “culture add” (notice I did not mention “culture fit”). Find someone who can contribute to the culture you’ve created, and success on a scale is within reach! – James Hotaling, N2Growth
If you’re looking to find an appropriate successor, do not give up until you have found the perfect person. It would help if you found an individual who will be able to expand the company which you established by taking it to where you are today. They must be leaders who can keep their commitment to growing the business. The most dangerous thing you can do is replace yourself with someone who will keep doing the same thing. – Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
10. Create A Hiring Committee
Set up a hiring committee comprised of both outsiders and insiders. This is a crucial decision that you must have diverse representation when hiring a C-suite successor. Use the advice of your loyal customers or board members who are currently on the job and other executives. Go through each candidate’s committee before choosing the final candidate or small group. It should be a diverse panel in all aspects and don’t have only one person. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
