You Found the Best C-suite Leader. Here's How to Make Them Even Better

You've just completed a process to find your next C-suite leader. After months of rigorous evaluation, countless interviews, and careful deliberation with your CEO and board, you've selected your new C-suite leader. Their track record speaks for itself. The board is thrilled, the market responding positively.

And now someone suggests implementing a leadership development plan for your new superstar. Your first instinct? "We chose them because they're already excellent. Development sounds like we're questioning our judgment and admitting we made a mistake hiring this person."

The reality is that even your most exceptional C-suite hire can struggle to deliver. These are the leaders who made it through rigorous selection processes, impressed boards, and came with glowing recommendations—and yet they can still stumble. Not because you chose wrong, but because transitioning into a new executive leadership role is inherently complex (whether they’re first-time CxOs or veteran CxOs).

The solution starts with challenging the assumptions that hold leaders back.

Here, we debunk four pervasive myths about executive development—and explore the concrete steps CHROs can take to set new C-suite leaders up for lasting success.

Myth 1: “C-suite executives don't need development—they've already arrived.”

Many CHROs hesitate to suggest development for a newly appointed C-suite leader, fearing it might imply weakness or signal that the wrong choice was made. Yet the opposite is true.

The learning curve at the C-suite steepens, not flattens. The complexity of the role—new power dynamics, board visibility, and enterprise-wide accountability—demands continuous learning. What got leaders here won't be enough to sustain them.

Development work provides space to think strategically, test decisions, and strengthen influence. Far from a sign of deficiency, reflection is a source of competitive advantage.

Leaders who are given the chance to pause and recalibrate move faster and with greater precision than those who simply charge ahead.

Myth 2: “C-suite development is remedial.”

Development at this level isn’t about fixing what’s broken—it’s about expanding what’s possible. Too often, coaching and support are introduced only when performance dips, reinforcing the misconception that development is corrective.

At the C-suite, development gives leaders the perspective, tools, and space to handle challenges they’ve never faced before: navigating complex peer dynamics, balancing stakeholder priorities, and leading through influence rather than control.

This isn’t about correction; it’s about amplification—helping already strong leaders operate with greater clarity, agility, and composure under pressure. C-suite jobs are ultimately learning jobs, and if any leader—new to the team or established—rests on their laurels and lives in the past, the job will quickly overwhelm them.

CHROs can set the tone by clarifying the purpose of development early. When positioned as a mark of confidence rather than concern, it signals that learning at the top is both expected and essential for sustained success.

Myth 3: “Experience and expertise guarantee C-suite success.”

Deep experience and technical mastery may get leaders to the top—but they rarely keep them there. What made individuals exceptional as functional leaders—their ability to go deep, solve problems firsthand, and deliver results through their own expertise—can become limiting when they need to operate across the enterprise.

In the C-suite, leaders must open the aperture of their thinking—from “What’s best for my function?” to “What’s best for the organization as a whole?” Leaders can’t assume that their proven playbooks will work in a new context. The most effective executives know how to adapt their approach, discerning what still fits and what must evolve in light of new strategic realities.

CHROs can help by reframing development around unlearning as much as learning: identifying which instincts no longer serve the enterprise and building the flexibility to lead at a higher altitude.

One of the most powerful accelerators at this level is connection with someone who’s sat in that chair before—a former C-suite executive who understands the demands of the role firsthand. Whether internal or external, these mentors help normalize the learning curve, offer perspective on the unwritten expectations of enterprise leadership, and provide a safe sounding board as new executives navigate early challenges.

Myth 4: “C-suite teams naturally know how to collaborate.”

A common misconception is that integration begins and ends with the new leader. In reality, successful transitions depend just as much on the readiness of the existing team to receive them. Collaboration at the top isn’t automatic—it’s engineered.

Every executive team has its own rhythm: how it debates, decides, and disagrees. There are unspoken rules about who speaks first, whose opinion carries weight, and how dissent is expressed. When a new leader joins, those patterns shift—sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. If the rest of the team isn’t prepared to adapt, even the strongest hire can struggle to find traction.

CHROs who focus only on structured development for the newcomer risk overlookling this shared responsibility. Development work needs to extend to the entire team: surfacing norms, clarifying decision rights, and establishing trust from the outset to support executive integration and team collaboration.

Authors

Joey Berk is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Development Practice. He is based in Chicago.
Heather Blonkenfeld is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Development Practice. She is based in San Francisco and Boston.
Shannon Knott is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Consulting Practice. She is based in Durham, NC.
Mike Krivan is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Development Practice. He is based in Chicago.
Andrew White is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Development Practice. He is based in London.