Bring in the new

New Executive hires at young organizations are notoriously hard to make. The failure rate, defined as the new hire leaves in less than two years, is cited anywhere from 50-70%.

There are many reasons why this is so  - including the pace of change for startups, the difficulty for both the talent and the organization to understand what will be required for success in the role, and the strong 'inside' culture of many young organizations that lean against a new leader coming in.

But there is one failure mode that I believe can be avoided: Allowing the new Executive to be judged according to the strengths of his/her predecessor.

Here's what happens.  Jane is a terrific Head of Product.  She is technical, can help developers plan and build, leans in during sprints and code reviews.  Jane understands how to build.

When Jane leaves, Bob fills her role. Bob isn't from a technical background, he moved to Product Leadership from customer facing roles. He has deep empathy with customers, intuits their needs and effectively translates that to a terrific product roadmap for the organization.

Both leaders could be great, in general and in our specific company.  Executive leadership is creative work.  As with all creative work, there is no one solution. Many models will work, and each person will develop their own unique approach.

But, Bob isn't stepping into a blank slate organization.  His team, and the company 'know' what a great Product leader is. It's Jane. So, feedback on Bob will emphasize his deficiencies ('he can't weigh in on our code', he 'doesn't understand us') rather than his strengths.

As that feedback mounts, it presents a gut check to any leader. Did I make a mistake in hiring?  Perhaps this isn't working out. Knowing that up to 70% of all Executive hires fail, there is a strong pull to tell your Board this one just missed.

The team will back you.  Everyone will nod their head and say, 'yea, Bob just didn't have what it takes to lead Product in our company.'  And then...you will need to launch a entire new search, and be 6-9 months behind where you wanted to be.

Instead, lean into the new leader's strengths.  Give him/her a chance to do what they do best, and help the team see this as an entirely new asset to the organization. Don't let 'good' be defined by the old scorecard, where the last Executive was clearly stronger. Build a team and process around the leader that offsets the weaknesses, and still ensures quality work across all functions.

So many advise on 'fire quickly, hire slowly' and 'trust your gut' if an Executive doesn't step right in and win everyone over internally.  I say - check your biases. You weren't irrational when you made the offer.  Perhaps you aren't setting the new hire up for success internally.

Are you evaluating against the previous person, or against what can drive success for the organization going forward?  Is the person learning quickly? Can you build a team and system around them for success?  Can you help the team see that success?    

The situation may not resolve itself.  We all do make hiring mistakes. Yet pausing, and taking these steps will at least reduce the chance of a painful separation.