The 4×100-meter relay is one of the most thrilling events at the Summer Olympics. Inspired by ancient Greek couriers' "message stick" tradition, the event debuted at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. Throughout the entire twentieth century, the United States The team was the clear victor of the event. Yet, not a single time in this current century has the U.S. The team secured a gold medal, even though many of its athletes had already achieved similar success in their solo competitions.
What is the issue? Poor transitions. New York magazine detailed a handoff at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, noting that as the athletes tried to exchange the baton, their movements seemed more More like Keystone Cops than two of the world's five fastest runners. Consequently, the team was eliminated before the final round. Similarly, when handoffs are well-coordinated, the relay times are usually two to three seconds quicker than the combined best individual times. Individual participants
When you're a highly esteemed CEO who's guided a company through numerous periods of enhanced performance, it's difficult to envision appearing Like a bumbling Keystone Cop at the tail end of your career as you hand over the reins. As the handover draws nearer, the prospect of never having managed a CEO transition before can feel quite overwhelming. While Olympic athletes meticulously rehearse their baton passes, speed, form, and calls with silent stadiums, you will only You'll get one highly public opportunity, and you'll be doing so under significant emotional stress. Leaving is ultimately the most challenging aspect of the CEO position, according to former Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens.
Effective leaders prioritize the institution's well-being during transitions over concerns about their personal image. Advancing with a plan. HCA Healthcare's Sam Hazen explains the aim of the handover process: "In a relay race, success means the baton is never dropped." Furthermore, you're ensuring the subsequent runner is better prepared and faster than you were in your segment of the relay.” Fumbled batons, on the other hand On the other hand, this comes at a considerable price. Each year, flawed CEO and C-suite leadership changes within S&P 1500 firms result in market value losses nearing $1 trillion.
Microsoft Satya Nadella, CEO, emphasizes the need for an institutional perspective on change, recalling his father, a civil servant in India, who always said To describe institution builders as individuals whose achievements are surpassed by those who follow them. That definition resonates strongly with me. My hope is that if the next CEO of Microsoft achieves even greater success than I have, it might indicate I've fulfilled my responsibilities adequately. Should the next Microsoft CEO falter spectacularly, it could lead to a revised conclusion.
Regardless of how each handover unfolds, any CEO who has performed exceptionally and feels it Now is the time to consider the final stages. To do so, please take the following steps:
- Firmly decide when to go.
- Finish the job of preparing successors.
- Hand over gracefully.
- Embrace what’s next.
Firmly Decide When to Go
Michael Fisher, CEO of CCHMC, began his tenure with a defined timeframe in mind, as he shared: “When I started the role, I told The board understands that if I remain healthy and stakeholders are satisfied with my performance, I intend to continue in this role for approximately a decade. Fisher's situation, however, resulted in Remaining in the position for nearly 12 years, exceeding the average tenure of 11.2 years for top-performing chief executives. The average tenure for CEOs of major corporations is significantly shorter, lasting only 7.3 years.
Timing your departure precisely is of utmost importance. Just as a fine wine ages and improves, your skills in your role will have honed with time and experience. However, this progression will eventually reach a point where a natural decline becomes unavoidable. Numerous indicators suggest a CEO is undergoing this situation. From one perspective, it's the drive to safeguard their reputation for meeting quarterly targets that makes them hesitant to take significant risks. And allocating capital for future growth. Conversely, it's when veteran CEOs, whose established strategies have run their course, grow anxious about a decline in growth and decide to pursue significant, costly initiatives Acquisitions that are unlikely to boost the institution's profitability. A self-serving urge to quell rising worry, unease, and perhaps even tedium often underlies such actions.
Exceptional CEOs understand that personal ego should not influence their departure timing; the paramount consideration is the institution's well-being. Frequently, a company requires a shift in strategy, and the current CEO may not be the most suitable leader for such a change. Gail Kelly stepped down from her role at Australian lender Westpac once she believed her focus on customer needs was firmly established and a suitable replacement had been identified who Could better guide the organization towards a more digitized future. Sony's Kazuo Hirai believed he was the ideal candidate for the company's turnaround but less so for the subsequent period of stability.
Although others' experiences offer valuable insights, determining the right time to relinquish a position is a deeply individual and challenging choice. "The decision of when to depart is a challenging one to make," states ex-Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. During difficult periods, you must remain. When conditions improve, the desire to depart diminishes. Following his leadership role at Medtronic, Bill George transitioned to teaching at Harvard Business School. Courses designed around the entire duration of a CEO's time in charge. He proposes that top executives routinely ponder these questions to determine the optimal moment:
- Do you still find fulfillment and joy?
- Are you continuing to learn and feel challenged?
- Have any recent changes in your personal situation, such as family matters or health concerns, arisen that you need to consider?
- Will there be singular chances beyond what we might encounter again?
- What's the status of succession planning? Do we need more time to develop a successor? Are we hindering the emergence of a leader for the future?
- Does the company's internal trajectory, like the completion of a significant acquisition or the introduction of a A significant new offering, or the culmination of an extended endeavor)?
- Could the industry's significant shifts present an opportunity for the company to gain an advantage through fresh insights?
- Is your continued presence due to an inability to envision what follows?
Taking these factors into account, the most effective CEOs will establish and agree upon a departure timeline with their board of directors considerably before their intended exit. “When there’s no clear timeline,” George notes, “it’s difficult to groom internal successors and maintain a structured succession plan.” Generally, th The quoted lead time is a minimum of two years.
The principle that "it's always better to drink wine a year early than a day too late" also holds true for CEO transitions. Intuit's Brad Smith shares: "Some of my friends remained in their roles a bit longer than they should have. I was thinking, ‘Good heavens, how could they not have anticipated this?’ Then I considered all the athletes who continue for one or two years beyond their Prime. You might think, 'I really don'want to be that kind of person.' The only decision you need to make is whether you want to be the one setting the timeline, or if you want to be... Another person to make that selection for you.
CEO FOR ALL SEASONS© 2025 Dewar, Keller, Malhotra, Strovink. Reprinted with permission from Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.