CHICAGO, Jan. 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Human nature being what it is, it is very difficult for any CEO to step down and hand over the reins of the company to someone else. The psychological forces and organizational dynamics involving such issues as power, ego, legacy, and personal agendas have as much influence on the CEO succession process as objective data, procedures, and timelines.
For this reason, Drs. Thomas J. Saporito and Paul C. Winum, authors of "Inside CEO Succession: The Essential Guide to Leadership Transition," developed 10 Key Dimensions that must be managed well to ensure that organizations avoid the risks and reap the benefits of a CEO leadership transition. The list is the result of insights obtained from RHR's internal research studies combined with the authors' decades of personal experience consulting with board members and CEOs.
In a series of articles for RHR International's thought leadership publication, Executive Insight, the authors provided a summary of best practices required for a successful succession program. The first of these ("Inside CEO Succession: First Steps") presented an overview of the three components that give the program a solid foundation.
1. Board Ownership, Involvement and Oversight
2. Succession Time Frames
3. Preparing for Emergencies
Building on these guidelines, the next issue ("Inside CEO Succession: Who, What, Where") presented a more detailed look at defining the attributes desired for the new leader, creating a template to measure candidates against and how to carry out internal and external searches to find the perfect fit for the needs of the organization.
4. Alignment on Strategy and Profile
5. Building the Talent Pipeline
6. Sourcing External Talent and Managing Search Firms
The last edition of the series, "Inside CEO Succession: People & Processes," offers suggestions on managing the actual selection process and the all-important steps that must be taken after the new leader takes office to ensure the transition is swift, seamless and successful.
7. Selecting the CEO
8. Proactively Managing the Transition
9. Measuring Performance and Improving Process
10. Managing the Dynamics in CEO Succession
Taken together, the guidelines outlined in this series of articles, and in greater detail in "Inside CEO Succession", provide a ten-step blueprint for successful CEO succession that board members will find invaluable when planning their programs.
ABOUT RHR INTERNATIONAL
We are a firm of management psychologists and consultants who work closely with top management to accelerate individual, team and business performance. We focus on four key areas of client need — Individual Assessment, Executive Development, Senior Team Effectiveness and CEO Succession & Transition. We have been proven difference-makers for more than 65 years, unique in our combination of top management focus, psychologists' perspective and high-level business acumen.
RHR International has offices in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Ill. For more information, please visit www.rhrinternational.com or follow us on the RHR blog site, Twitter and Facebook.
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