Handling C-suite changes
CAREER MOVES An unexpected loss of any C-suite professional can throw the best performing company into a tailspin if immediate succession plans are not placed in advance
Transitions are becoming a way of life in modern organisations and senior executives can—and will—leave at a moment’s notice. That’s the takeaway from the recent instances of many top CEOs and heads of businesses who have made major career moves. Be it Arun Malhotra, who moved from being the former head of international sales at Mahindra & Mahindra to joining Nissan India as managing director, or Dave Thomas’s appointment as the new MD by the Ger man Sportswear brand or Markus Braunsperger departure from BMW to join Hero MotoCorp as its CTO or Erick Haskell’s exit from Adidas India – one thing is clear. Change is the only constant.
Such an unexpected loss of any C-suite professional can possibly throw the best-performing company into a tailspin if immediate succession plans are not placed in advance.
As the average CEO tenure continues to fall, transitions in the C-Suite are becoming increasingly commonplace as employers are persistent in their search for the right leaders to guide organisational profitability and growth.
Says Pankaj Minglani, principal consultant and director, Career Shapers HR Consulting Pvt Ltd, “Drastic changes at the top management do effect overall organisational operations. And many a time, it has a detrimental impact on productivity and short-term profitability and shakes the confidence of customers and investors.”
In today’s dynamic business environment and unpredictable market conditions, the C-level league has to read beyond the obvious and decide the what, when and how of the future course of the business. Board members are becoming more aggressive in their approach to sustain growth, pushing top management to deliver faster results.
So, is the uncompromising approach of the board members responsible for the sudden C-suite transitions? Explains Sidharth Agarwal, director, Spectrum Talent Management, “No wonder organisations look at able and agile leadership to assume charge and deliver results in a defined timeline ensuring objectives and goals of the business are being met. Firms can’t afford to allow indefinite time to witness a change that is quickly required.”
C-suite changeovers are major organisational events and whenever such changes happen more frequently, headhunters are also thrown into a chaotic ordeal. That’s enough reason for the staffing professionals to scour the job market for the best and most importantly long-standing talent. Minglani agrees that headhunters do have an important role to play in lessening C-suite shuffle, “The sooner transitions happen, the lesser the impact it will have internally and externally. Considering the criticality of the assignment, headhunters are supposed to look for talent with the right mindset to lead team/department.”
Agarwal validates further, “Headhunters should selectively approach only such candidates who’re excited to work for organisations, who are in the process of evolving from their current situations. Such candidates are likely to be more agile and ready to take up roles with more ambiguity and uncertainty. They would rather not work for the status quo and hence are more likely to be ready to take on such transitioning situations.”