The Textbook Approach Isn’t Enough
Most boards are meticulous when it comes to CEO succession. They retain search firms to scan for external talent. They commission assessments of internal candidates, complete with psychometrics, leadership blueprints, and development plans. They build coaching programs. They craft the ideal CEO profile. They hold board one-on-ones with candidates and benchmark compensation.
It’s a model process — by the book.
The sitting CEO, usually part of the board, is often deeply engaged. They collaborate on timing, development steps, and even mentoring their successor. It’s a well-oiled machine that seems to leave nothing to chance.
And yet, despite all this rigor, things often go sideways.
When a Seamless Transition Starts to Unravel
A plan that looked airtight suddenly stumbles. The sitting CEO begins to question the successor’s readiness. They raise doubts about timing, scope, and whether certain key relationships or business units should remain under their purview “a bit longer.”
They might even suggest that the board revisit external options.
Meanwhile, the board — once confident and unified — starts to second-guess the plan. The CHRO, who has lived this story before, feels the first twinges of anxiety. Executive sessions grow tense, whispers get louder, and what was once a linear transition becomes a swirl of uncertainty and concern.
The underlying issue rarely surfaces directly: the CEO doesn’t want to let go.
What’s Really Driving Resistance
This reluctance has little to do with the successor’s competence. It has everything to do with the incumbent’s lack of clarity about what comes next.
Many long-tenured CEOs will quietly admit they’re tired — even ready for change. But without a clear, compelling next chapter, they cling to what they know. The thought of having “nothing” to move toward is paralyzing.
It’s not that they want to stay. It’s that they have nowhere else to go.
The Cost of a Life Built Entirely Around Work
Over the years, CEOs sacrificed nearly everything that could make their eventual transition easier. They give up hobbies because there’s no time. They step off nonprofit boards. They miss family milestones. They take calls on vacations. Their health often suffers — too little sleep, too many dinners out, too much stress and alcohol.
When the day finally comes to step aside, they’ve lost the anchors that might otherwise help them transition with grace and excitement.
And yet, in most succession processes, all the attention — and all the investment — is focused on the successor. The incumbent is largely invisible in the plan.
A Better Way: Plan for the CEO’s Next Season
Boards and CHROs can dramatically improve succession outcomes by treating the outgoing CEO as an essential part of the plan. The goal: ensure they finish well, leave well, and lean confidently into what’s next.
This means providing structured “next season” planning support — ideally 18 to 24 months before transition. Encourage exploration of personal passions, new roles, board opportunities, philanthropy, or mentoring paths.
When CEOs have something meaningful to move toward, they’re far less likely to cling to what they’re leaving behind.
The Bottom Line
The failure of many CEO successions isn’t rooted in flawed processes or ill-prepared successors. It’s rooted in human psychology — the inability to let go without a clear next horizon. Boards that understand this, and help their CEOs design that next horizon, will find that the transition not only succeeds — it transforms.
