Are you a CEO or a leader?

“He’s here!”

“The new guy is in!”

“The top man has been replaced!”

“Hmm…Let us see how he behaves.”

Chats are full of these speculations. The change of the head of a company is big news. The social media displays it. WhatsApp gossips on it. Employees whisper about it. Change of the CEO normally gets a mixed bag reaction. Those who were not happy with the older one hope against hope. Others who were in good books of the predecessor feel scared of the unknown “evil”. With a culture pregnant with paradoxes, enters the new CEO. The company is expecting. They are expecting new ways, new policies and new modus operandi. Quickly the grapevine starts. Everybody has a theory. Everyone has an opinion. Everybody has a prediction.

CEO turnover rates climbed to 12.5 percent in 2025, up from 9.8 percent in 2024, according to a research published in the Harvard Business Review by The Conference Board. Most CEOs change in the first 18 months of joining. Changing top leadership is a very costly affair. Harvard Business Review research also reveals that poorly managed CEO transitions destroy close to USD 1 trillion in value annually among S&P 1500 companies alone. In certain companies, it creates deadly destruction. That is why it is important to understand what are the mistakes new CEOs make, and what should organizations do to prevent those disasters. New CEOs are people who have been hired by the Board of a company. A Board is perceived by the CEOs as their big boss. CEOs feel that the Board wants quick results. This perception puts pressure on the CEOs to prove the Board’s choice right by showing results in the shortest possible time. This mindset then makes them get trapped in the following pitfalls:

Pitfall#1: What brought you here will not take you there– The typical CEO is full of his experience. He goes to the new company brimming with ideas about what should be done. His entry is marked by looking at the gaps in the company and then telling all about in his previous company where he did miracles. That approach is a guarantee of creating a culture of resistance. His constant reference to other organizations may invoke some token appreciation by the opportunists over there, but adds to the already uncertain and apprehensive culture.

**Pitfall#2: Understand before being misunderstood --**CEOs feel they need to be seen, heard and projected in order to make their presence felt. Some go in the meeting plethora. Some become social media posers. Some go into the “my vision for the company” speech mode. This creates the “me and myself” perception that alienates many people who were tentatively waiting to be heard and involved.

Pitfall#3: Blend in the roots before uprooting–Another cardinal mistake is to take your loyalistsfrom the former company along and install them instantly. As soon as the new ones come and some oldies are removed, panic spreads. Many CEOs term it as “Good – the message must spread that non performance will not be tolerated”. Instead, the message that goes around is “Here comes another boss who is surrounded by his loyalists”.

A wise CEO would know that the position he holds is as good as his leadership ability. Yes, he probably competed with the best to get the top slot. That, however, does not mean that “he has made it”. The real battle starts now. Here comes the difference between a CEO and a leader. A CEO will rest on his laurels. A leader will be proactive and prepared. Can we be both? Of course. How? By focusing on the 90/30/90 approach to leadership:

Leadership Focus#1:The First 90 hours – The going mantra is the first 90 days. However, the first 90 hours are very important. Imagine the scene. For weeks the company has been waiting for this moment. All sorts of talks have been taking rounds. Hundreds of eyeballs are popping out with curiosity. These 90 hours – whatever the CEO does – will be the echo everywhere. As they say first impressions sometimes become very sticky. As a CEO you may enter through your “reserved” parking lot, sit in your office, meet the highups. As a leader, try doing the opposite for the first few days. Enter the office through the public parking. Walk around the offices. Greet, sip tea with a few not-so-high. In a recent change of CEO in the banking industry, the peon told me proudly, “The new CEO is very good. He always greets us with our names.”

Leadership Focus#2: The First 30 days--To use the first month effectively, the CEO must have spent one month before joining in doing his LOD i.e. learning organization DNA homework. In American Presidential elections, the President-elect takes office after 11 weeks. Those 11 weeks are then spent on learning and developing the first 100-day plan. As a leader, the CEO needs to plan the most important townhalls that will focus more on listening than on speech making. As a leader he needs to spend time in meeting people from diverse functions and levels.

Leadership Focus#3: The First 90 days – The next three months are important. The CEO may love to sit with the FFC i.e. faked fan club. The leader, having done his homework, will ensure equal touch points. His team needs to be structured in a way that gives voice to every representative. Regular feedback sessions need to be held. A few planned easy benefits can be announced to create cultural acceptance. A CEO announced covering parents in medical care after his calculation categorized it as a low-cost, high-impact measure. That paved the way for a much more receptive culture in the company. The new vision of the company should be shared with people in townhalls, having dialogues and instilling hope should be the major target at the end of the 90 days.

The CEOs who feel that winning over the Board and the top seat is the main challenge are going to have a challenge in winning over the teams. Leadership on the other hand is all about understanding the existing culture of the company. Initially it is all about signalling learnability and approachability. Ultimately, it is about creating that comfort where people heave a sigh of relief and say, “At last we have somebody who feels we are worth something.” One of the litmus tests is how the new head makes you feel. If he makes you feel unworthy, he may be just a CEO. If he makes you feel worthy, he may be a leader too.