Forty percent of executives in new roles fail or exit between six months and one year. (Elbin, Scott. The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success) At six years the retention rate is a slim 40%. The cost to the company is at least $500,000. Major reasons for failure include:
- Inadequate relationship building
- Not understanding the culture
- Lack of clarity about explicit and implicit roles and expectations for self and others
- Employing previously successful strategies that don’t fit the context
- Insufficient support for change
The “First 90 Days” model is insufficient for successful integration. It takes the new executive and the organization only through the honeymoon period when everything looks unrealistically optimistic. True integration occurs when all parties move beyond the honeymoon, experience disappointment and accept the reality of some good and some not so good qualities. This takes between 12-18 months. At this point the leader should be valued and trusted by the organization and work gets done faster.
Given all this, it is surprising that almost no executives have a plan for the first 3 months or beyond. Neither do they think they need to do anything to prepare for the new role. Most companies also have no process for helping to integrate the incoming executive. (Egon Zehnder, 2007) Recent research by RHR International indicates that when executives has such a plan and a coach to help guide them, success increases to 80% retention at the 6 year mark. The cost of such a coaching program ranges from $22 – $35,000, yielding an ROI of 14.3% – 22.7%.
Germane Coaching & Consulting offers a coaching program for the new executive. We work with the new leader and the company before the first day on the job through the 9 – 18 month period to ensure successful integration and effectiveness in the new role. We assess leadership style and evaluate fit with the new organization, then coach for change as needed. We also help the new executive
- develop relationships with key constituents
- understand how to get things done in the new culture
- discover the critical business imperatives and strategies that fit
- garner needed support for change
- understand explicit and implicit role expectations for self and others
We make sure the new executive gets feedback and addresses potential derailers before it’s too late. We also work with companies to design and implement their own integration programs.
For a detailed description of the program click here.