How To Maximize Your Chances Of Landing The CEO Role

In the new book, CEO Ready, authors Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin reveal what you need to do to maximize your chances of being the one who secures the top spot. Specifically, they detail the seven key stakeholders who weigh in on whether to choose you as CEO.

“Collectively, we have coached more than 200 executives who have been selected by their board members to become CEOs,” share the authors. “We can help you prepare to be a great CEO either in your current organization or elsewhere. We will share tools you can use to get objective feedback from all stakeholders, so you have complete visibility into what you’re up against.”

As you seek the CEO role, the authors explain that leadership selection isn't the methodical, objective process that one often imagines. They add that decisions aren't made by robotic executives ticking boxes for attributes such as strategic fit, core competencies, or cultural alignment. Instead, the process is deeply personal, emotional, and often unpredictable.

Plus, your track record of success isn't enough. And quite often no matter what you've heard, you are not alone in the race, and the odds are against your getting the job, according to the authors.

They recommend you ask yourself these five tough questions before the race even starts as you seek a new CEO role:

Do you understand how the CEO decision will be made and who’s shaping it?
Are you being typecast by your current role? What can you do to shift that image?
Are you respected for your judgment or just liked for your performance?
Do you know how you’re perceived and who’s helping you see your blind spots?
Are you building relationships that matter to the process or waiting to be discovered?

Next, fully understand that these are the seven stakeholders (Jurors) who weigh in on whether to choose you as CEO:

You. You should pause to evaluate your blind spots and delusions of grandeur.
The Board of directors. The board has the ultimate authority and responsibility to hire and fire CEOs.
C-suite peers. Fellow executives may have connections with other influencers that can help or hurt your candidacy.
The current CEO.
Owners.
Recruiters and assessors.
Direct reports, employees, and the customers they serve.

If you are an internal candidate for the CEO position, the authors say the following factors favor internal candidates:

Knowledge of the company, its culture, and how it operates. An insider is already up to speed.
A proven track record.
Continuity, allowing for a more likely smooth transition.
Stronger morale and loyalty among employees. When employees see one of their associates rise through the ranks, they feel the company cared about its own.
Lower risk: the stability that comes with an internal candidate.

External candidates have the following factors in their favor:

Fresh and broad experience. An outsider candidate may bring new and innovative ideas that can help the company adapt to changes in its market or industry.
Absence of ready internal candidates.
Different skills and experience that may lead the organization in a new direction or navigate through a specific challenge.
Objectivity. An outside candidate may be viewed as more neutral and capable of honestly assessing the business than an internal candidate.
Lack of internal politics. An outside candidate, unencumbered by the history of maneuvering and power plays, might be perceived to be better able to make decisions based on what is best for the organization.

Finally, once in your new CEO position, the authors stress that you will need to wear these essential CEO “officer hats” to ensure success in your new leadership role:

Chief Architect – Reinventing what must change while preserving what works.
Chief Transformation Officer – Knowing the fewest, most powerful things that will drive value.
Chief Customer Officer – Understanding your customers as they face times of uncertainty.
Chief Engagement Officer – Reading the signals in your employee data to energize your team and to build your reputation as a credible, inspiring leader.
Chief Culture Curator – Knowing which cultural elements to protect and which ones must evolve.
Chief Reputation Officer – Being ready for the spotlight and being prepared to lead when your every word, gesture, and pause is amplified.
Chief Gratitude Officer – Being anchored enough to honor the people and culture that got you here.

Filled with practical advice and compelling and instructive stories from those who've gone through this arduous process, CEO Ready is essential reading for anyone who aspires to the ultimate leadership position.
___

Thompson is a globally recognized authority on CEO succession, executive readiness, and high-stakes leadership transitions. He has led more than a hundred board-level engagements to prepare C-suite successors. He is the founding chairman and CEO of the Chief Executive Alliance and the CEO Leadership Plan Review. Previously, he served as chief executive of the CEO Academy, a SHRM company, in partnership with Wharton and McKinsey.

Loflin is a two-time CEO who currently serves as the Global Head of Board Advisory at Nasdaq and is the former CEO of the Center for Board Excellence, now a part of Nasdaq. With more than two decades of experience advising corporate boards, CEOs, and executive teams, Loflin is globally respected for his pragmatic approach to board leadership, integrity, and strategic alignment. He has interviewed over a thousand CEOs and board members and continues to pioneer tools and frameworks that elevate board effectiveness, helping organizations strengthen their oversight and strategic impact.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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