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If someone is already handling the functions of the CxO role internally and doing it well, they should be considered as a forerunner for the position. Anyone h
by PragmaticPulp 4y ago
If someone is already handling the functions of the CxO role internally and doing it well, they should be considered as a forerunner for the position.
Anyone hired externally must be expected to meet a substantially higher bar than the existing employees. Bringing in an external CxO who is less qualified than internal candidates will destroy morale and lead to attrition.
However, there’s a lot to be said for bringing in an external CxO who can take the team and the company to the next level.
A CxO role is quite different than a traditional manager role. You can’t expect good managers to automatically be good C-level executives because the work is just too different. It’s the same story as promoting ICs to managers - Different responsibilities and different skill sets.
But internal employees should always at least be considered and given a fair shot.
- mathattack 4y agoYou’re very right on the bar. They have to be so clearly better (in reality as well as resume) that they can move skeptics from the bias of “I could do the job better” to “I can learn from them.”
- smugma 4y agoEric Schmidt was a great example of bringing in outside help to take the company to the next level. Sheryl Sandberg is another example, probably more famous mostly because I think Schmidt almost seemed like he was a founder whereas Sheryl’s story is always about coming in as the Adult to be #2.
- mc32 4y agoWhere the CxO role interfaces a lot with external parties is where an external hire often is better suited because they have prior experience dealing with external facets of their roles. An internal person in Finance may not have the requisite experience regarding dealing with public company reporting requirements, for example.
- throwawaysleep 4y agoThe Great Resignation has proven that companies don’t give one whit about attrition.