The business landscape is changing at an unprecedented pace, and with that comes a significant increase in executive turnover, even at the very top with CEOs. It’s not just a feeling; there’s a recognized CEO shortage across many industries, and it’s projected to impact all industries soon. Why? The immense pressure and burnout leaders face often make their roles feel like an “unwinnable game.”
On this episode of the Life + Leadership podcast we dive into the challenging truth behind this executive exodus. But more importantly, we explore how executives and organizations can proactively prevent this common problem with focused, strategic approaches.
The Ripple Effect: How Executive Exits Disrupt Organizations
Imagine the relentless demands on today’s senior executives: boards and investors pressing down, internal workforces seeking reassurance amidst economic uncertainty and potential layoffs, plus a myriad of social and political topics they are expected to address. It’s an incredibly taxing environment. This often isn’t attractive for professionals in their 40s and 50s, who are also navigating personal responsibilities like aging parents and raising children.
Many executives are now choosing to leave organizations in pursuit of greater work-life balance. They’re opting for roles as independent consultants or even starting their own businesses, deciding that “golden handcuffs and bonuses” are no longer worth the personal cost of lost family time, declining health, and anxiety. While this fuels entrepreneurship, it also creates a significant crisis for organizations. Senior leader exits are highly disruptive to both operations and financials.
When an executive departs, the ripple effects are significant and immediate, often starting within the executive team itself. What are the results?
- Increased Workload for Remaining Leaders: Often, the responsibilities of the departing executive are inherited by existing leaders who are already operating at full capacity. We can’t expect them to take on this newly acquired workload with ease; at best, they can keep the work afloat by relying heavily on their own teams.
- Lack of Succession Planning: It’s surprisingly uncommon for organizations to have thorough and consistent talent mapping and planning. This means there’s rarely a clear “number two” who has been groomed and is ready to step into an interim, let alone permanent, role. This lack of proactive investment in talent development exacerbates the disruption.
- Declining Morale and Burnout: An executive exodus often leaves existing leaders feeling like they’ve lost their “game.” They may feel unseen, unheard, and adrift, becoming nervous about hitting goals and securing bonuses. This can lead to increased finger-pointing and a significant amount of distraction through gossip about the reasons for the departure and who might take over the role. These conditions can quickly lead teams toward burnout. Even if a role is filled quickly, it takes a new executive at least three to six months to make meaningful contributions and truly grasp the complexities of their role.
Fortunately, there are several strategies to mitigate the negative effects of executive turnover. Utilizing the strategies below can help set new executives and their teams up for long-term success.
Empowering Remaining Leaders Through Transition
To mitigate the negative impacts of an executive exit, it is crucial to empower the leaders who previously reported to that executive. This period can actually be a profound development opportunity for them.
- Proactive Business Reviews: Leaders who were direct reports should prepare a comprehensive business review for the interim leader. This review should include slides, data, marching orders, functional aspirations, progress on goals, and what support they need to succeed during the interim period. Providing this information proactively can act like “soothing water for somebody who’s on fire,” allowing the interim executive to quickly understand the situation and empowering the functional leader to tell their own team that the situation is managed, maintaining focus on business as usual.
- Calling Leaders Forward: CEOs and interim executives should actively call these next-level leaders “up and forward,” framing this period as a significant development opportunity. Asking them to think like an executive and own their function in a new way, even temporarily, is invaluable for their growth.
Navigating a New Executive Role: A Strategic Onboarding Approach
For new executives joining an organization, the onboarding period is critical for setting the tone for their tenure and establishing credibility. There are many vital strategies that help onboarding leaders feel comfortable, prepared, and capable of getting into the work quickly.
- Stakeholder Mapping and Goal Alignment: The first step for a new executive is to map their stakeholders with their CEO to gain a clear understanding of the organizational landscape, including key players, customers, and overarching goals.
- Balanced Onboarding Focus: A new executive’s first 90 days should be split equally between two key areas:
- 50% Focus on Company Artifacts: Dive into all available “paper” or digital data, such as board decks, meeting minutes, executive team agendas, past and current goals, performance reports, financials, and organizational charts (not just for their team but for cross-functional partners). This provides a one-dimensional understanding of the company’s history and performance.
- 50% Focus on Relationships: Dedicate significant time to relational aspects. Schedule one-on-one meetings with peers and direct reports, visit key clients if applicable, and share personal details about family and hobbies to build rapport. This human component is essential for getting anything done, as relationships are paramount.
- Setting Boundaries from Day One: A critical, often overlooked, aspect for new executives is to establish expectations and standards for their availability from day one. Entering a new role with high energy can lead to being available 24/7, which becomes unsustainable. It is much harder to walk back expectations of constant availability after six months than it is to set healthy boundaries from the beginning. Modeling work-life balance and discipline from the outset helps prevent burnout across the organization and encourages similar behavior in their teams.
The Role of Executive Coaching in Transition
Executive coaches play a vital role in navigating executive transitions, both for leaders stepping into new roles and for teams experiencing turnover. Coaches can bridge the gap between new and existing staff, while also providing a trusted sounding board for new leaders.
- Onboarding Support: Coaches can elevate a seasoned executive’s approach to stakeholder mapping, communication planning, and articulating a new vision. They encourage new executives to act as objective consultants in their first three months, maximizing their initial contributions and creating early wins without requiring immediate major changes.
- Conflict Resolution and Team Alignment: When conflict arises within leadership teams due to departures or differing views, coaches can step in as a trusted third party. They identify root causes, facilitate open communication, and help executives develop actionable plans for conflict resolution, focusing on shared goals and building mutual respect. This helps transform unmanaged, unhealthy conflict—which leads to communication breakdowns, undermining behavior, worsened team dynamics, stalled innovation, and toxic work environments—into healthy, productive debate that drives growth.
- Deeper Relationships: Coaches also help executives build stronger relationships proactively through regular communication, shared experiences, assessments (like DISC or Hogan) to understand styles and triggers, and a commitment to continuous professional growth. They can foster traits like mutual respect, effective communication, commitment to shared goals, support, collaboration, personal connection, consistency, and recognition.
Ultimately, how leadership team members treat each other and manage conflict sends a strong message about the organization’s desired culture. By intentionally managing executive turnover and fostering strong leadership relationships, organizations can maintain momentum, prevent burnout, and drive better business outcomes.
Learn how Bright Arrow Coaching’s executive coaching services can help your leaders and teams navigate complex transitions and unlock their full potential.
In this Episode:
Tegan Trovato, Founder and CEO of Bright Arrow Coaching:
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