Leadership Lounge: How to Nail Your First Year as CEO

Taking on a new CEO role is both the most rewarding time of your career and the most isolating. The scope of responsibility is unparalleled. The decisions you make ripple across thousands of people, suppliers, shareholders, and communities. And unlike any other role you have held, there is no peer group to lean on, and no one above you to provide air cover. The weight of responsibility sits squarely on you.

Getting off to a strong start sets the tone for the rest of your tenure. Get it right and you build momentum that carries you through the inevitable challenges ahead. Misstep early and you may spend years trying to recover lost ground—or never recover at all. Yet many CEOs enter the role underestimating just how truly different it is.

What are some of the common things that could surprise you as you transition into the CEO role?

Laura Sanderson, Leadership Advisor, RRA: One of the biggest surprises the CEOs I advise experience is finding out the true state of the organization and everything that comes along with that. Often the culture is very different from what was described. Another common surprise is the emotional weight of the role. As a new CEO transitioning into the role, you know you’re now responsible for a huge number of people, but the magnitude of the role is still a surprise.

Why are CEO transitions so hard?

Ty Wiggins, Leadership Advisor, RRA: As a new CEO, you’re out of your comfort zone at the exact time when everyone is looking to you for answers and direction. It’s incredibly lonely. You’re responsible for thousands of employees, for their families, your suppliers, and shareholders. It’s a heavy weight that you can’t put down. In addition, you’re busier than you’ve ever been, and that can be quite a shock. Lyssa McGown, CEO of Pets at Home, shared in my book The New CEO that she thought the CEO role would be 40% harder than being a C-suite leader, but it wasn’t any percent harder. It was a totally different role.

What should you prioritize in your first few months as CEO?

Justus O’ Brien, Leadership Advisor, RRA: Your first year as CEO is the most important of your tenure. It's your opportunity to make your mark. It's important to identify your strengths and the strengths of those around you early on, and to get to know your blind spots who can help plug the gaps. Another important aspect to prioritize from the start is listening and learning. People are much more likely to be open and candid with you in those first few months, so use that to your advantage.

Loneliness is something that is felt by many new CEOs. How does this manifest?

Ty Wiggins, Leadership Advisor, RRA: Becoming a new CEO is lonely in many ways. It’s lonely intellectually. You don’t have the sparring partners that you previously had as a senior executive. It’s lonely in the sense that at any one time, there might be 20-30% of things that you cannot share, even if you have a very trusted team. It’s lonely in candor, you have to be so guarded about how you share your thoughts. It’s lonely emotionally. In my book The New CEO, I interviewed Carol Tome, CEO of UPS. She made it clear, when you’re a member of the executive team, you hang together. When you’re a CEO, your team will likely wait for you to leave a meeting so they can debrief.

About the authors

Ty Wiggins is the global lead of Russell Reynolds Associates’ CEO and Executive Transition practice and the author of The New CEO: Lessons From CEOs on How to Start Well and Perform Quickly (Minus the Common Mistakes). He is based in New York.

Laura Sanderson co-leads the firm’s operations in Europe, Middle East and India. She is based in London.

Justus O Brien co-leads the Board & CEO Advisory Partners Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. He is based in New York.