The people who got you here won't get you there. Navigating the Mixed Emotions of C-Level and VP Succession Planning

Successful teams often grow at pace. Those who make it to the very top do so by constantly building and rebuilding. This often translates into founders taking company-defining decisions on when to stick or twist with their execs, forcing them into exceptionally difficult, yet necessary positions of head over heart.

Here are some key ideas and takeaways from our discussion on how best to tackle this often difficult, always personal reality.

Let's start with the data: How long do execs actually stay in post?

The average tenure of senior executives is considerably shorter than you might expect, demonstrated clearly in this recent Pave research:

This data, consistent with our own, categorically shows how complex the building, maintaining and succession planning of a successful executive team is.

Fundamentally, it underlines a vitally important point - the people who got you here are rarely the ones who will get you there.

So why does this happen and what should founders do about it to maximise their chances of success?

Get out of the romantic notion of “the garage”:

In the same way that the victorious Champions League winners didn’t start out as a Sunday league pub team, the startup team that works out of the metaphorical (or actual) garage rarely rings the bell at the IPO.

Those rare entrepreneurs and athletes who do go on the whole journey are almost mythical creatures.

And, like all mythical creatures, they don’t tend to exist.

Amateur level football teams don’t set “Win the Champions League” as their objective, lodging £100m bids for M’Bappé, Bellingham and Haaland from the back of the pub on a wet Wednesday afternoon. A typical recruitment strategy would be to find slightly stronger, more experienced talent who have either been promoted to that division in the past or, for the less risk averse, an unproven, raw talent that appears to be a step-up on your existing team.

Scaleups are no different. Leaders have to recognise who fits best into the stage of journey they are at, or which mission they next have to accomplish.

But how?

Don’t focus on limitations - look at motivations and missions:

Executives - like athletes - thrive at distinctly different stages of a company’s/team’s journey. Athletes tend to be moved on when it’s concluded they are no longer at the level to compete. Executives however, should be judged on a different metric - their motivations.

And just as keeping on colleagues that are too junior carries significant risk, the same is equally true of hiring “marquee signings” too big for the team you are today.

It’s not a question of scale. The biggest teams in sport are often financial, rather than sporting, giants (look at my own Manchester United!). Meanwhile, tiny startups can receive billion dollar valuations with a killer innovation or genius team member, regardless of headcount, reputation or revenue.

Candidates (and incumbents) have distinct missions they tend to get the most energy from carrying out. By way of example, candidates will often guide us:

• “I’m a zero to one leader.”
• “I’m the scaler who comes in once there is product market fit and a push to £100m/IPO/sale.”
• “I get the biggest buzz from turning around complex, multinational companies going through growing pains.”

This self-awareness is vital in scaling your business. The best players, in the right positions, at the right time and with the right motivations deliver the very best results. This is as true for C-suites as it is for any other team.

And the single most effective way to ascertain a potential joiner’s motivations? Ask them.

Be emotionally prepared for the reality of attrition:

Building a business is a highly emotional rollercoaster. Hiring and firing becomes considerably more than a transactional operation. It’s always personal.

Unlike sports managers, who are as expendable as their players, founders cannot escape the fact that the most difficult decisions rest with them - and them alone. Sadly, it’s an avoidable reality that entrepreneurs will have to say goodbye to loyal friends and colleagues, repeatedly.

As far too many founders have learned to their and their business’s detriment. Loyalty and supposed protection of company culture over pragmatic and ongoing leadership hiring usually turns out worse for all parties.

So what should you do?

Hire for what you need right now, with colleagues capable of and, crucially importantly, energised to join you on this leg of your mission.

Remember, an exec is not for life. The data here is clear. Tenure is not as relevant a statistic as “missions accomplished”. Build this into the DNA of your company.

Reward your executives if they complete the mission you collectively set. Even if this leads to their leaving the business, make sure they do so retaining their equity - they should reap the rewards of the success they created, even if it is a few years away.

Be ready to say goodbye to friends who have been instrumental in your journey when their time comes to exit, and, where you can, create a culture where “good leavers” really exist, and remain part of the history of the business. There is a reason sports teams have “legends”. Companies should equally remember those who built the platform on which they eventually succeed.