The CEO succession challenge: How do newcomer CEOs create qualitative collaboration with(in) existing top management teams

Abstract

For a new CEO, the process of entering, understanding and mastering an organization is far from simple. This challenge is particularly acute when a new CEO arrives in an existing top management team (TMT). Since leading an organization is a dynamic and collective effort among all members of the TMT, the capacity to lead collectively requires the new CEO and the other TMT members to develop a new collaboration. This study aims to improve our understanding of the dynamics involved in this process. Based on 14 CEO succession cases, we focus on the practices used by new CEOs during their early tenure to develop a high quality collaboration between all members of the TMT. Our results suggest that new CEOs form a first impression about the unique composition and existing processes within the TMT. Based on this impression, task-focused and person-focused behaviors can be employed to create effective TMT role constellations, strengthen team processes, and support the emergence of desirable states within the TMT such as team cohesion and mutual trust.