Interim CEOs

I promise I'll get off the subject of CEO transitions soon! It's just that when I think of things to write about, the flash of inspiration takes me that direction. It's a subject that is not often written about, and when it is, it's often treated in a legalistic or formulaic way. Legalistic and formulaic is almost the opposite of what it is -- emotional, upsetting, and often surprising.

When a CEO leaves employment, it's always expensive (see earlier blog posts). One way to mitigate the expense, as well as to increase prospects for long-term success, is to quickly identify an interim CEO to take the helm while the board assesses the organization's position and prepares for the CEO selection process.

Ideally, an interim CEO: 1) knows how to run the organization; 2) knows how to work with a board of directors; 3) has NO interest in seeking or accepting the permanent CEO position; 4) comes from OUTSIDE the organization (there are rare exceptions to this rule; 5) has the ability and willingness to serve more than full-time for the 3-6 months it will take to put a new CEO in place; and 6) has the requisite leadership skills to do all this while exuding a sense of reassurance to employees, board members, and all other stakeholders.

In our experience, having a list of 25-50 names of potential interim CEOs will result in 3-5 suitable candidates being identified for a specific situation. Why? Most candidates are busy or retired people, having other priorities and claims on their time. One of the key vetting criteria is "Are you available for this 3-6 month full-time-plus assignment?"

The good news is that, having such a list, it's often possible to identify an interim CEO within days and have them in place in as little as 1-2 weeks after the previous CEO's departure.