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The earliest months of a CEO's tenure create a unique window to build momentum, align the enterprise, and establish the trajectory of their leadership.

Success as a new CEO isn't predetermined. While many leaders enter the role with a strong track record and broad support, only 32% use a customized transition plan despite evidence that structured transition support can significantly increase the likelihood of success. Further, nearly 40% of CEOs lose board confidence midway through year two.

Through decades of CEO succession, assessment, and advisory work, Spencer Stuart helps CEOs and boards accelerate impact, build organizational alignment, and establish the foundations for enduring performance.

52%

52% of CEOs experience a “sophomore slump,"1 underscoring how early decisions can impact performance long after the transition period ends.

1Spencer Stuart research

You’ve Earned the CEO Role. Now What?
Critical Steps for New CEOs

The transition into the CEO role is unlike any other leadership move. Expectations are immediate, stakeholders are watching closely, and early decisions have an outsized impact on organizational momentum and confidence.

Through our research and experience advising CEOs and boards, we have found that the most successful leaders focus on five interconnected areas during the transition period.

  • Activate the Executive Team – Align the leadership team around priorities, expectations, and ways of working while determining the capabilities and composition needed for the future.
  • Define Early Signature Moves – Identify and launch a small number of visible and strategic “signature moves” – actions that signal intent, build credibility, and create momentum across the organization.
  • Build Organizational Connectivity – Engage the critical layer of leaders beyond the executive team – the “engine room” – who translate strategy into execution, influence culture, and provide insight into the realities of the business.
  • Strengthen Board and Stakeholder Relationships – Build trust, align expectations, and establish productive relationships with directors, investors, customers, and other key stakeholders before challenges emerge.
  • Evolve Leadership Effectiveness – Develop the self-awareness, adaptability, resilience, and leadership approach required to succeed in one of the world's most complex and demanding roles.

Enabling your success

Every CEO transition is unique. Our CEO Performance Acceleration program is designed around the realities of your situation, priorities, stakeholders, and business context.

Over a focused period of support, we serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner, helping CEOs build momentum, navigate complexity, and accelerate impact.

Our support may include:

  • Individual CEO Advisory – Regular one-on-one sessions, including a dynamic Fast Start Summit, focused on priorities, decisions, stakeholder dynamics, leadership effectiveness, and emerging challenges.
  • Executive Team Sessions – Targeted workshops and working sessions that align the leadership team, strengthen team effectiveness, and accelerate progress against key business priorities.
  • Board and Stakeholder Counsel – Guidance on stakeholder mapping, board engagement, communication strategies, and expectation management during critical moments.
  • Diagnostic Insights – Research-based assessments and organizational diagnostics that provide visibility into team dynamics, culture, and potential barriers to execution.
  • Progress and Impact Tracking – A structured approach to monitoring priorities, measuring progress, and recalibrating as new opportunities and challenges emerge.

Explore Our Insights

The Life Cycle of a CEO

In this groundbreaking new book, Claudius Hildebrand and Robert Stark combine unprecedented research—analyzing the individual performance of every twenty-first century CEO of the S&P 500 and accompanying macroeconomic and industry cycles—with 100 in-depth interviews to reveal the distinctive life cycle of a CEO.

What Your Team’s Not Telling You

Most CEOs are unaware of their team’s frustration with the way they lead. Here is how CEOs can actively develop a team able to drive a step change in business performance.

Meet Our Team

Christopher DeRose

Christopher DeRose

Chicago
Rachel Ingram

Rachel Ingram

London
Marie Nitzgen

Marie Nitzgen

Copenhagen
Rowen Bainbridge

Rowen Bainbridge

London
Sahiba Singh

Sahiba Singh

New Delhi
Silvana Zenere

Silvana Zenere

Buenos Aires
Darleen DeRosa

Darleen DeRosa

Stamford
Michael F. Milad, Ph.D.

Michael F. Milad, Ph.D.

Chicago
David Metcalf

David Metcalf

Atlanta
Adam Kling, Ph.D.

Adam Kling, Ph.D.

Los Angeles

Connect with our CEO Acceleration team

CONTACT US