The situation: A longtime top executive, either CEO or president or founder, is leaving the company. The challenge is to communicate a transparent, smart succession plan that makes all audiences comfortable about the business moving forward.
What we’ve learned: Identifying all key audiences are important and communicating to them throughout the transition is important. Openly answer their questions and address their concerns. Work with the executive team to ensure that everyone is on the same page and is using the same messaging.
The takeaway: Whether the top executive is leaving voluntarily or not, these issues management situations resolve much quicker if everyone works together to create messaging. If it makes sense, this includes working with the departing executive, showing a unified front.
